Business, industry and trade In 2016, the approximate gross value added at basic prices (aGVA) of the UK non-financial business economy was estimated to be £1,201.1 billion; this was an increase of 3.9% (£44.6 billion) compared with 2015.
The estimate of aGVA represents the income (turnover) of UK businesses, less the cost of goods and services consumed in the production process (purchases); all four of the main sectors of the non-financial business economy (production, construction, distribution and non-financial services) saw a continuation in growth of aGVA in 2016.
The non-financial services sector, which accounted for over half (56.0%) of total aGVA in 2016, saw an increase of 3.3% (£21.6 billion); professional, scientific and technical services continued to provide the highest levels of aGVA within this sector contributing just under a quarter of the total (23.5%).
The level of total turnover increased between 2015 and 2016 by 2.3% (£77.5 billion) following a fall of 1.2% (£40.8 billion) between 2014 and 2015.
All four sectors showed growth in turnover, with non-financial services experiencing the largest increase of £41.4 billion (3.4%); within this sector, information and communication services saw the largest level growth increasing by £12.8 billion (5.9%).
Within purchases the level increased by 1.5% (£32.5 billion) in 2016; production, construction and non-financial services all saw increased growth, though, there was a fall of 1.1% (£11.6 billion) within distribution. In 2016, the number of registered businesses in Great Britain trading internationally was estimated at 305,200; this number represented 12.9% of the total number of businesses in the non-financial business economy.
Of these 305,200 businesses, over 95% were small- or medium-sized businesses (those businesses with fewer than 250 employees); however, this number only represented a small proportion (12.8%) of the total number of small- and medium-sized businesses in Great Britain.
The number of large businesses (those with 250 or more employees) trading internationally in 2016 was estimated to be 4,400; this number represented just over 50% of the total number of large businesses in Great Britain.
The largest internationally trading sector was non-financial services, with over half of the total number of businesses (51.3%) trading; this was followed by 31.0% of businesses reporting international trade in the distribution sector.
London and the South East were the regions with the highest number of businesses trading internationally in 2016; London accounted for nearly a quarter with 68,200 businesses (22.4%), while the lowest number was in the North East with 4,900 businesses (1.6%). Economy A proposed working definition of the UK sharing economy and a framework for identifying its businesses, new information on characteristics of sharing economy businesses and individuals, and experimental data science research identifying whether a business is in the sharing economy or not. Our first report on progress made towards measuring the global Sustainable Development Goal indicators in the UK. Mobilising the power of data Three years ago the UK Statistics Authority, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Government Statistical Service embarked on a five year strategy: Better Statistics, Better Decisions. Visit the National Statistical blog to read John Pullinger's reflections on the journey to-date. | 
Posts
