Geographical pattern of UK trade

This note provides some key statistics on UK trade in 2023, recent trends in UK trade and the geographical pattern of UK trade.

Data are taken from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In 2023:

• UK exports were of goods and services worth £861 billion; imports were worth £871 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of £15 billion.
• The UK recorded a trade deficit in goods, partly offset by a trade surplus in services.
• The UK was the world’s fourth largest exporter of goods and services and fourth largest importer of goods and services, accounting for 3.5% of world exports and 3.7% of world imports.
• Services accounted for a large proportion of UK trade by international standards – services accounted for 54% of UK exports and 35% of UK imports.
• Taken as a bloc, the EU was the UK’s largest trading partner, accounting for 41% of UK exports and 51% of UK imports.
• Europe as a whole accounted for 49% of UK exports and 60% of UK imports.
• Looking at individual countries, the USA was the UK’s largest trading partner, accounting for 22% of UK exports and 13% of UK imports.
• The value of UK trade in real terms (meaning adjusted to account for inflation) and excluding trade in precious metals (which can have a distorting effect on trade figures), was roughly the same as in 2019.

The attached Excel spreadsheet (see under supporting documents) allows for easy access and presentation of data on UK trade with individual countries between 1999 and 2023.