The United Kingdom Print E-mail
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 $57.3 billion (31 December 2007 estimate)
Gross Domestic Product - GDP 2,645,593 millions of US dollars (2009)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) 2,176,263 millions of International dollars (2009)
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% 0.7%

2009: -4.4% (estimate)    

2010: 0.9% (forecast)

GDP per capita - current prices $35,728 (2009 estimate)
GDP per capita - PPP $35,165 International Dollars (2009 estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total 3.03% (2010 forecast)
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)

1.9% (2009)

Unemployment rate 5.5% (2008)
7.6% (2009 estimate)
9.3% (2010 forecast)
Household saving rates -0.19% (2008)
Public debt (% of GDP) 46.91% (2008)
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$3.859 trillion (31 December 2007)
Largest companies in The United Kingdom BP, HSBC Holdings, Vodafone, Tesco, Barclays, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca (2009)
FT top 50 banks in the world by market value 2009
  • HSBC
  • Standard Chartered
  • Royal Bank of Scotland
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS
Current account balance US$ -101.454 billion (2008)
Shares in world total merchandising export 3.14% (2007)
Shares in world total commercial services export 8.29% (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 US$96.939 million
FDI outflows
2007 2008
US$272.384 million US$134.019 million(2009)
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2007 2008 2009 (Jan-Jun)
US$221.900 million(2009) 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
(2009)

(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
(2009) (2009)

(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

Employing workers: 35(2009)

Registering property: 23(2009)

Getting credit: 2

Protecting investors: 10(2008 estimate)

Trading across border: 16(2009)

(2009)

Global competitiveness ranking
(ranking by country on a basis of 133, the first is the best)
13 (2009/2010)(2009)
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 72.00% (2007)
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

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

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

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

WORLD'S BEST DEVELOPED MARKET BANKS

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

WORLD'S BEST SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE PROVIDERS

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

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

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

WORLD'S BEST INVESTMENT BANKS

2009:
  • COUNTRY WINNERS Rothschild (National, 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