The United Kingdom


The United Kingdom Country Report: GDP data and GDP forecasts; economic, financial and trade information; the best banks in The United Kingdom; country and population overview

DATA ON GDP AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION
Central bank Bank of England (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold $84.512 billion (Source: IMF; Data updated: January 2010)
Gross Domestic Product - GDP 2,645,593 millions of US dollars (2008)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) 2,176,263 millions of International dollars (2008)
Real GDP growth
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
2.5% 2.1% 2.8% 3.0% 2.2% 2.9% 2.6% 0.5%

2009: -4.9% (estimate)    

2010: 1.3% (forecast)

GDP per capita - current prices $35,721 (2010 estimate)
GDP per capita - PPP $35,083 International Dollars (2010 estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total 3.04% (2010 estimate)
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 0.9%
  • industry: 22.8%
  • services: 76.2% (2008 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP) 1.80% (2006)
Inflation

3.6% (2008)

2.2% (2009)

2.7(2008)% (2010 forecast)
Unemployment rate 5.6% (2008)
7.5% (2009)
8.3% (2010 forecast)(2009)
Household saving rates -0.19% (2008)
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)

2007: 46.91%

2010: 81.7% (forecast)
Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: AAA/Negative/A-1+

Moody's rating: Aaa

Moody's outlook: STA

(Foreign Currency Government Bond Ratings; Data last updated Nov 2009)
Market value of publicly traded shares US$3.859 trillion (31 December 2007)
Largest companies in The United Kingdom HSBC Holdings (Banking), BP (Oil & Gas Operations), Barclays (Banking), Lloyds Banking Group (Banking), Vodafone (Telecommunications Services), BHP Billiton (Materials), Rio Tinto (Materials), GlaxoSmithKline (Drugs & Biotechnology), Tesco (Food Markets), Unilever (Food, Drink & Tobacco), Standard Chartered Group (Banking), AstraZeneca (Drugs & Biotechnology), Aviva (Insurance), Prudential (Insurance)
(2010)
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
Current account balance US$ -36.97 billion (2010 forecast)(After 2008)
-
Current account balance by percentage of GDP -1.7% of GDP (2010 forecast)(After 2008)
Shares in world total merchandising export 3.14% (2007)(2007)
Shares in world total commercial services export 8.29% (2007)(2007)
Total exports US$468.7 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)
Export commodities manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco
Total imports US$645.7 billion f.o.b. (2008 estimate)
Import commodities manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs
Exports - major partners US 14.2%, Germany 11.1%, France 8.1%, Ireland 8%, Netherlands 6.8%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 4.5%, Italy 4.1% (2007)
Imports - major partners Germany 14.2%, US 8.6%, China 7.3%, Netherlands 7.3%, France 6.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Norway 4.7%, Italy 4.2% (2007)
FDI inflows
2007 2008
US$196,390 million(2009) US$96,939 million(2009)
FDI outflows
2007 2008
US$272,384 million(2009) US$134,019 million(2009)
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2007 2008 2009 (Jan-Jun)
US$221,900 million US$51,758 million(2009) US$4,111 million(2009)
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2007

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

RFS Holdings BV, ABN-AMRO Holding NV, Netherlands, $98.2 billion
Rio Tinto PLC,Alcan Inc,Canada, $37.6 billion
AstraZeneca PLC, MedImmune Inc, United States, $14.6 billion
Vodafone Group PLC, Hutchison Essar Ltd, India, $12.7 billion
National Grid PLC,KeySpan Corp, United States, $7.4 billion
TDF SPV, TDF SA, France, $6.4 billion
Charterhouse Capital Partners VII, Vivarte SA, France, $4.6 billion
BAE Systems Inc, Armor Holdings Inc, United States, $4.3 billion
CVC Asia Pacific Ltd Publishing & Broadcasting Australia Ltd, Australia, $3.4 billion
Investor Group, Santander Central Hispano SA, Spain, $3.0 billion
Charterhouse Capital Partners VIII

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2008

(Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal)

Imperial Tobacco Overseas Holdings Ltd, Altadis SA, Spain, $17.9 billion
Serafina Holdings Ltd, Intelsat Ltd, Bermuda, $16.0 billion
Lake Acquisitions Ltd, British Energy Group PLC, United Kingdom, $6.1 billion
Investor Group, Steen & Strom ASA, Norway, $4.3 billion
British American Tobacco PLC, House of Prince A/S, Denmark, $4.1 billion
Reed Elsevier Group PLC, ChoicePoint Inc, United States, $3.8 billion
Eni UK Holding PLC, Burren Energy PLC, United Kingdom, $3.7 billion
Anglo American PLC, IronX Mineracao SA, Brazil, $3.5 billion
BG Group PLC, Queensland Gas Co Ltd, Australia, $3.3 billion
(2008 estimate)

(for a monthly update on M&A click here )

Best countries for doing business

(ranking by country on a basis of 181, the first is the best)

Overall ranking: 5(2009) (2009)

Subcategories:

Starting a business: 16(2009)

Employing workers: 35

Registering property: 23

Getting credit: 2

Protecting investors: 10

Trading across border: 16

(2009)
Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 133, the first is the best)		 13 (2009/2010)
Economic freedom index

79.0 (2009)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )
COUNTRY AND POPULATION OVERVIEW
Time zone UTC 0
Total area 242,900 km2 (2006)
Capital London (2009)
Currency British pounds (GBP) (2009)
Government type constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm (2009)
Languages English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Religions Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census)
Total population 61.14 million (2009 forecast)
Urban population as % of total population 90% (2006)
Population median age 39.0 years (2006)
Population growth rate 0.40% (2006)
Life expectancy 79 years (2007)
Adult literacy -
% of population living on less than $2 a day -
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

36 (1999)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating

Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2009)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

173.90% (2007)

(sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 76.26% (data refer to 2008 and were released in 2009)
Cost of living - Mercer index

(ranking by city on a basis of 143; the 1st is the most expensive and the 143rd is the least expensive; New York is the base city)

New York - Index: 100 (Base)

London: 16th - Index: 92.7
Birmingham: 125th - Index: .64
Glasgow: 129th - Index: 63.3 (2009)
CO2 emissions

9.7934 (2004)

(metric tons of CO2 per capita)
GLOBAL FINANCE RANKINGS AND AWARDS

WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE BANKS

2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS RBS (National, 2009)
2008:
  • Honorable Mention Western Europe Barclays Capital (Western Europe, 2008)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Barclays Capital (National, 2008)
  • Best Online FX Trading Systems / Honorable Mention Best Bank Barclays Capital (Global, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST TREASURY & CASH MANAGEMENT BANKS & PROVIDERS

2010:
  • Best Bank for Liquidity Management RBS (Western Europe, 2010)
  • Best CLS-Linked Bank Offering RBS (Western Europe, 2010)
2009:
  • Best Bank for Liquidity Management RBS (Western Europe, 2009)
  • Best Provider of Money Market Funds Barclays Global Investors (Western Europe, 2009)
  • Best CLS-Linked Bank Offering RBS (Western Europe, 2009)
2008:
  • Best Bank for Liquidity Management Standard Chartered (Africa, 2008)
  • Best Provider of Money Market Funds Barclays Global Investors (Western Europe, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE PROVIDERS

2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST DEVELOPED MARKET BANKS

2010:
  • Santander (National, 2010)
2009:
  • HSBC (Europe, 2009)
2008:
  • RBS (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE PROVIDERS

2010:
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Payables Supplier Financing Solution Standard Chartered (Global, 2010)
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Pre-Shipment Financing Solution Standard Chartered (Global, 2010)
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Customer Implementation of Supply Chain Financing Solution Royal Bank of Scotland and SAAB AB (Global, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Royal Bank of Scotland (Western Europe, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Standard Chartered (Asia, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS Standard Chartered (Africa, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS HSBC (Middle East, 2010)
2009:
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Global Supply Chain Finance Provider - Bank HSBC (Global, 2009)
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Payables Supplier Financing Solution HSBC (Global, 2009)
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Pre-Shipment Financing Solution Standard Chartered (Global, 2009)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS RBS (Western Europe, 2009)
2008:
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Global Supply Chain Finance Provider - Bank HSBC (Global, 2008)
  • GLOBAL WINNERS / Best Pre-Shipment Financing Solution HSBC (Global, 2008)

WORLD'S MID YEAR SAFEST BANKS RANKINGS

(ranking of the 50 safest banks in the world; the first is the safest)
2009:
  • HSBC Holdings plc (18, 2009)
  • Nationwide Building Society (46, 2009)

WORLD'S BEST GLOBAL BANKS

2009:
  • Consumer Bank HSBC (Global, 2009)
  • Emerging Markets Standard Chartered (Global, 2009)
  • Sub-Custody HSBC (Global, 2009)
2008:
  • Consumer Bank HSBC (Global, 2008)
  • Sub-Custody HSBC (Global, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST DERIVATIVES PROVIDERS

2009:
  • Best Interest Rate Derivatives Provider RBS (Europe, 2009)
2008:
  • Best Interest Rate Derivatives Provider RBS (Europe, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS

2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks HSBC (National, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best consumer Internet Banks/Best Investment Management Services HSBC (Europe, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best consumer Internet Banks/Best Online Consumer Credit Site HSBC (Europe, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks/Best Investment Management Services HSBC (Europe, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks/Best Online Cash Management Site HSBC (Europe, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks/Best Web Site Design HSBC (Europe, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks/Best Integrated Corporate Bank Site HSBC (Europe, 2009)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks/Best Information Security Initiatives HSBC (Europe, 2009)
2008:
  • Best Global Consumer Internet Bank HSBC (2008)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks First Direct, Division of HSBC (National, 2008)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks HSBC (National, 2008)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best consumer Internet Banks/Best Investment Management Services HSBC (Europe, 2008)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best consumer Internet Banks/Best Website Design First Direct, Division of HSBC (Europe, 2008)
  • REGIONAL SUB-CATEGORY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks/Best Trade Finance Services Standard Chartered (Europe, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST ISLAMIC FINANCE INSTITUTIONS

2010:
  • OVERALL WINNERS / Best Islamic Investment Bank Standard Chartered (Global, 2010)
  • OVERALL WINNERS / Best Islamic Commodities Provider DDCAP (Global, 2010)
  • REGIONAL WINNERS European Islamic Investment Bank (Europe, 2010)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Bank of London and the Middle East (National, 2010)
2009:
  • REGIONAL WINNERS European Islamic Investment Bank (Europe, 2009)
  • Best Asset Management Company HSBC Amanah (Global, 2009)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Islamic Bank of Britain (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC Amanah (National, 2008)

WORLD'S SAFEST BANKS

2008:
  • OVERALL SAFEST Lloyds TSB (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS

2010:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS HSBC (National, 2008)

WORLD'S BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

2010:
  • SECTORS / Health Care Barclays Capital (Global, 2010)
  • SECTORS / Technology Barclays Capital (Global, 2010)
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Barclays Capital (National, 2010)
  • LEGAL ADVISERS Clifford Chance (Central & Eastern Europe, 2010)
2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Morgan Stanley (National, 2009)
  • LEGAL ADVISERS Linklaters (Global, 2009)
  • LEGAL ADVISERS Linklaters (Western Europe, 2009)
  • LEGAL ADVISERS Clifford Chance (Central & Eastern Europe, 2009)
  • LEGAL ADVISERS Clifford Chance (Middle East/Africa, 2009)
  • SECTORS / Power Rothschild (Global, 2009)
2008:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS JPMorgan Cazenove (National, 2008)

CENTRAL BANKER REPORT CARD

2009:
ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVE