Trade: Key Economic Indicators

Latest statistics on UK's trade performance and balance of payments

In 2019, the UK’s exports of goods and services totalled £699 billion and imports totalled £725 billion. The EU accounted for 43% of UK exports of goods and services and 51% of imports in 2019.

Overall, the UK imports more than it exports meaning that it runs a trade deficit. A deficit of £130 billion on trade in goods was partially offset by a surplus of £104 billion on trade in services in 2019. The overall trade deficit was £26 billion in 2019.

The UK had a trade deficit with the EU of £72 billion in 2019 and a trade surplus of £46 billion with non-EU countries.

The trade surplus with all countries increased to £14 billion in the three months to January 2020 compared with a £5.6 billion deficit in the previous three months. This was largely driven by increasing precious metals exports. Exports grew by 5.4% over this period. Imports decreased by 5.4% (both figures in cash terms).

The current account, which includes investment income and transfers as well as trade, saw a deficit of £84 billion in 2019, compared with £83 billion in 2018. The current account deficit was 3.9% of GDP in 2019 compared with 3.8% in 2018.

The current account deficit narrowed to £5.6 billion in Q4 2019 (1% of GDP), down from £19.9 billion (3.6% of GDP) in Q3 2019.