Trade: Key Economic Indicators

In 2020, the UK’s exports of goods and services totalled £605 billion and imports totalled £602 billion. The EU accounted for 42% of UK exports of goods and services and 50% of imports in 2020.

The UK generally imports more than it exports meaning that it runs a trade deficit. A deficit of £129 billion on trade in goods was offset by a surplus of £132 billion on trade in services in 2020. The overall trade surplus was £2.9 billion in 2020.

The UK had a trade deficit with the EU of £49 billion in 2020 and a trade surplus of £54 billion with non-EU countries.

The trade deficit with all countries narrowed to £4.0 billion in the three months to November compared with a £9.1 billion deficit in the previous three months. Exports grew by 5.3% in cash terms over this period and imports increased by 1.9%.

The current account, which includes investment income and transfers as well as trade, saw a deficit of £56 billion in 2020, compared with £60 billion in 2019. The current account deficit was 2.6% of GDP in 2020 compared with 2.7% in 2019.

The current account deficit was £24.4 billion in Q3 2021 (4.2% of GDP), compared with a deficit of £13.5 billion (2.3% of GDP) in Q2 2021.

The current account deficit was £8.6 billion in Q2 2021 (1.5% of GDP), compared with a deficit of £8.9 billion (1.6% of GDP) in Q1 2021.