Scotland's No.1 market (rest of UK) is almost 10 times larger than its No.2 market (USA)

Scottish exports – UK: 60.2%, USA: 6.5%, France: 3.5%, Germany: 2.9%

And the EU? Scotland sells more to Brazil than to EU’s Denmark, more to Singapore than to EU’s Sweden

Tomorrow, the Scottish people go to the polling booths to elect their representatives (MSPs) to the Holyrood parliament. At the time of writing, the possibility of the SNP winning more or less than 50% of MSPs seems to be on a knife edge.

The intricacies of Scottish politics are for others. We will not comment for the moment on the internecine strife between the former and current First Ministers of Scotland. Instead we are providing some basic information on those who buy from Scotland – the countries, the amount of sales, and the inherent risks of electing MSPs whose priority is to leave the United Kingdom and to attempt to rejoin the EU.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Scotland’s exports 2018 (latest year for which the Scottish government has figures)

Rest of the UK: £51.19bn (60.2%)
Rest of World: £17.68bn (20.8%)
EU27: £16.15bn (19.0%)

The situation is even starker when considering Scotland’s exports by country

Below we have included the ‘Rest of the UK’ as an international country, as that is what the SNP wish us to become

Rest of UK : £51.2bn
USA : £5.5bn
France : £3.0bn
Netherlands : £2.8bn
Germany : £2.5bn
Belgium : £1.3bn
Ireland : £1.2bn
Norway: £1.2bn
Spain : £1.0bn
Italy : £0.9bn

Why are exports so much more important to Scotland than to the UK as a whole?

A key fact about the Scottish economy is rarely mentioned, but it’s a big one. In 2018 (the latest year for which the Scottish government can provide export data), Scotland’s GDP was £178.6 billion.

At £85.0bn, Scottish exports represented 48% - almost half - of Scotland’s economy.

To put this into perspective, the goods and services exports of the UK as a whole were just 31.5% of UK GDP.

Observations

With almost half of Scotland’s economy dependent on exports, and with the bulk of this business dependent on the rest of the United Kingdom, our report above must surely require scrutiny by the Scottish electorate.

We have quoted the latest facts available from the Scottish government. These are not apocalyptic and threatening forecasts of the type perpetrated by David Cameron, George Osborne, and HM Treasury immediately prior to the EU Referendum. These show the reality of the benefits of the Union for the Scottish economy, using the Scottish government’s own figures for 2018.

Should the Scottish people vote for parties such as the SNP whose raison d’etre is the break-up of the United Kingdom and – bizarrely – a desire to abandon any new-found Scottish independence in favour of a transfer of sovereignty to Brussels, then the economic consequences could be alarming for Scotland.

The will of the Scottish people must be respected completely, whatever their decision. It is, however, important that they be fully informed before casting their vote. As things stand, we have seen little evidence of this from the SNP government and we find this unacceptable. Our report above provides one more important piece in the jigsaw for the Scottish people.

Where would we be without you, our readers?

We are most grateful to readers who have donated so far this year, but we badly need more readers to do the same if we are to continue in our sixth year - researching facts, scrutinising, publishing, and lobbying MPs. Quick, secure, and confidential donation links are below this article, or you can use our Donations page here. 10 readers donating £500 per month, or 50 readers donating £100 per month, or 1000 readers donating £5 per month - on top of the one-off donations and monthly donations we currently receive, this would just about keep us going. If you have never donated before, please, please, keep us going with a donation now. Thank you so much. You will receive a personal 'thank you' email from a member of the team, but you will not be badgered by us for more funds, unlike some organisations!

[ Sources: Official Scottish government export figures ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 05 May 2021

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget to actually post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 6

1. J Slater UK , Wednesday, May 05, 2021, 08:45:

If the Scots vote for the SNP, with their policy of devolving away from the rest of the UK and becoming a separate Nation, that is the Scottish peoples' right to do so. They will be aware that the rest of the UK can stop buying anything from Scotland, as is our right so to do! Oh, and folk wishing to find employment in England, Wales or Northern Ireland will not have automatic rights to do so. Ta Ta the Noo, Scotland! (This is written by someone who is proud of having Scottish Ancestry).

2. Mike S , Wednesday, May 05, 2021, 14:54:

The sad part is, when the SNP get voted back in up here in Scotland, of which they will, Sturgeon & her clown's are going to push for Indyref2 & just like the last time in 2014, it'll be portrayed as a "once only" despite it being called, "Indyref '2!!" & if the end result isn't what the SNP decree, we will be having demands for Indyref3 then Indyref4 & so on & on until the SNP are either kicked out of office or get what it is that THEY want! The SNP are great at pointing the finger at Westminster & saying that, "Scotland's voice need's to be heard' & blaming all of Scotland's ill's on Westminster but, when the people of Scotland don't vote for their absolute obsession, they themselves ignore Scotland's voice, turn a deaf ear & demand we do it all over again & do it to their correctly the next time! Not just Scottish voices either! Their hate filled bleating about leaving the EU is also an embarrassing stain on our nation & yet another example of they themselves ignoring what the people have democratically voted for! For The UK to thrive as a WHOLE nation, we all need the SNP voted out but, undoubtedly, sadly, they are going to get back in. And, I also am a proud Scot but a Scot who can smell what the SNP are shovelling. There are a few of us up here, but, unfortunately, not enough as of yet to vote them out. One day soon, I hope though.

3. Diane , Wednesday, May 05, 2021, 15:26:

We know the SNP is totally obsessed in the drive for independence, at any cost it seems, & presumably despises any perceived regulation / control by, and any perceived lack of freedom / independence from, Westminster. We also know, that the EU regulates, one of its very few major competencies, so presumably regulation is not actually the problem. If that is what is desired though, they are headed in the right direction ! Nor can it be because they wish to break away from a failing economic bloc. No doubt emotion and identity play into it all too. Perceived and in some cases actual loss of identity, culture, values & sovereignty is high up on the list of concerns for many in the UK right now. I sincerely hope the union continues but more importantly I hope that the Scottish people will demand to know what the push for independence really entails and how their lives and livelihoods will be affected, it’s up to the electorate to ask the right questions. Apparently, replies will not be available at the moment but will be addressed later, as stated by the SNP leader. Many of the Scottish politicians' proposals though leave much unanswered, e.g. hard borders, integrity of both UK and EU single markets, the Euro or continued use of the £ Sterling, immigration, splitting of the national debt. If the SNP majority materialises, then it will be interesting and very important to hear opinions and intensions from UK businesses as a next step, and very soon.

4. Robert McDonald , Wednesday, May 05, 2021, 18:20:

In some ways I am conflicted over the potential opportunity to vote for independence .. again. I voted for independence in 2014, and I voted for independence in 2016 for the same reason .. change. There is only one reason that I doubt if I would vote my natural way if the opportunity arose again. Her name is Nicola Sturgeon .. the one trick pony, it's all she can offer. Under her governance Scotland's education standards have fallen from the best to third world at best, Health care has deteriorated (she tries to suggest she has personally managed covid better than Boris when in fact she has just done things marginally different for affect only and has triumphed over the vaccine success ... entirely of Boris's making, and crime and drugs are rampant. She has tried to stab her guru in the back and failed and spent a fortune that could be better used and there are real questions over the misuse of other massive amounts of funds during her reign .... and she has made no attempt to analyse the result of independence on our economy and the implications are horrendous. But to cap it all, she wants independence to become dependent on an arrogantly insular and over bureaucratic out of date eurocracy. That's just hypocrisy, it's not independence.

5. Jon, Wales , Thursday, May 06, 2021, 04:29:

Comments, 1,2,3,&4 - Well composed opinions where I suspect many Scots hold similar views.
Here in Wales, I often visited Scotland [a welcoming nation - as is Wales] throughout my life.
From Scots I spoke with over years, they didn't appear interested in breaking away from our well established centuries old UK Union, and, as is 'normal', all had their own reasons.
In recent years, those I spoke with tended to highlight the FACT that Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond are on record stating 2014 would be "once in a generation", and they would respect and uphold the outcome, whether for or against.
Both stated they would not thereafter demand indyref2 (there are plenty of YT videos where both confirm this).
We all knew both wouldn't (and didn't) accept the outcome.
To most people, "once in a generation" means much more than a few years. As with ALL elections, the outcome can go either way, and as Scots FREELY CHOSE in their majority to remain in the UK Union, one must question the non-stop propaganda coming from the SNP since that time.
For the benefit of international readers, the SNP are NOT Scotland (Some consider this nationalist party as extreme).
In my opinion, the devolved Scots administration should get on with the day job and cease its wilful destruction of our country.
Scotland's top ten export markets in goods and services from the Scottish government's own data in the above chart, indicate how important the rest of the UK is for Scotland.
One must question the suitability of ANY leader wishing to give away his/her nation and its people to a foreign unaccountable power they cannot remove (as we in the UK understand it)? Indeed, the United Kingdom is unique in many senses.

6. last chuckle , Thursday, May 06, 2021, 19:41:

"The will of the Scottish people must be respected completely, whatever their decision. It is, however, important that they be fully informed before casting their vote"
This is exactly what the sensible portion of the population said when Brexiteers knowingly voted out of the largest trade bloc & claimed they knew what they voted for.
I think Scots know what they are voting for - even if it hurts them. Live & let live

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.