Theme: Economy

Economic statistics measure different aspects of and provide insight into the UK economy. The statistics cover the UK’s national accounts, short term indicators such as the Retail Sales Index and Gross Domestic Product as well as information on UK Trade

• Topic pages

  • Personal Finances

    • Personal Income and Wealth
    • Consumers and Customers
    • Personal Debt and Insolvencies
    • Pensions

  • National Accounts

    • Balance of Payments
    • National Income, Expenditure and Output
    • Regional Accounts
    • Satellite Accounts
    • UK Sector Accounts
    • Supply and Use Tables

  • Prices, Output and Productivity

    • Price Indices and Inflation
    • Productivity Measures
    • Output

  • Government Receipts and Expenditure

    • Public Sector Finance
    • Taxes and Revenue
    • Public Spending
    • Local Government Finance

This theme covers statistics related to the UK economy. Economic statistics are designed to measure and reflect the various aspects of economic activity in the UK. 

The economy can be viewed as the circular flow of goods and services from producers to consumers, and the corresponding flow of labour and capital into the production process. Equivalent to this is a flow of money for the services provided. 

The main players in an economy or this circular flow are government, businesses, households and the rest of the world. How they interact with each other is viewed as a transaction.

Measuring the Economy

The Office for National Statistics produces economic statistics that measure the UK economy in different ways.

There are the full UK economic accounts or national accounts, which provide an overall view of the economy. The sequence of accounts follow those laid out in the System of National Accounts 1993 and the European System of Accounts 1995. 

There are also short term indicators such as Gross Domestic Product, Retail Sales Index, Index of Production and Index of Services.

There are also statistics produced on Balance of Payments and Trade in Goods and Services.

In addition, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), HM Treasury and Communities and Local Government (CLG) also provide statistics for this theme.

Users of Economic Statistics

There are many users of economic statistics, which include the following:

• Bank of England use our statistics when making their base rate decision

• The city for forecasting and investment decisions

• Businesses for planning and benchmarking

• Academia for research modelling and teaching

• The public for making decisions on government performance

• International organisations for comparing UK performance with other countries