Snapshot of the UK – How is your region doing internationally, compared with others?

Exports and imports of goods and services by UK nation and region vary enormously

Montage Facts4EU.Org 2023

Brexit Facts4EU.Org looks at the latest available data, to see how 'levelling up' is doing

Every few years the Office for National Statistics and the Dept for Business and Trade (DBT) analyse the data for imports and exports of goods AND services by region. On this Bank Holiday Monday we review how each region has been doing in terms of its international trade, as well as providing the data for the four component nations of the United Kingdom.

With the ‘Levelling Up’ strategy an integral part of the Government’s agenda, we thought readers might want to get a flavour of what the UK’s international trade looks like across the country.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

International trade in UK nations and regions, in 2021

1. The UK’s top export regions – goods and services – 2021

2. The UK’s regions by balance of trade – who is in surplus, who is in deficit?

3. International exports by each of the four nations of the United Kingdom

[Sources: ONS and Dept for Business and Trade.]

Note : The figures above relate to 2021, which are the latest available. The next set will not be released until summer 2024. They are merely a snapshot, not a time series, and we are using them to compare the regions and the nations.

Note to readers (even Brexiteers) who frequently criticise in the Comments section, we work off the official data provided from each source - and cite the sources. We welcome more members to the team to share the workload.

We're now so close to the full funding for completing 'The Independence Documentary'

We just need to raise the last £6,000 for the 'post-production editing'. Can you help us to get over the line?'

Together with our partners at CIBUK.Org, we've organised a TV-style film with a stellar line-up of well-known politicians and all kinds of interesting people, men and women, white and ethnic origin, presented by Alexandra Phillips.

Jacob, Nigel, David Jones, John Redwood, Kate Hoey, Lord Cruddas, Ann Widdecombe, Richard Tice, Ben Habib, and many more. The big launch to the public and the media is set for 02 October.

Our presenter Alex will be known to many readers as an ex-GB News presenter and a frequent sight on everything from Question Time to Talk TV. We've finished filming - now we have the difficult task of editing by our professional production team, if we can get some extra funding. This is going to be big!

Please help today if you can: click here to read more

International trade in UK nations and regions, in 2021

In 2021, all four UK nations had a total trade surplus driven by trade in services. Of the English regions, London, the North East and the South West also had a trade surplus in goods. London had the highest total trade surplus at £51.6 billion, driven by service exports in financial and insurance activities and information and communication industries, which exported £53.7 billion and £42.6 billion, respectively.

The South East had the largest trade deficit, driven by imports of goods at £93.1 billion, with the manufacturing industry accounting for £53.5 billion (57.5%) of this. The ONS also reports that car imports played a significant part.

Observations

Firstly, optimistic news. It's good to see that all four nations of the United Kingdom had a positive trade balance in 2021.

Nevertheless, it's clear that the UK as a whole has a long way to go if the Government is ever to make any progress on its 'levelling up' agenda. Yes, international trade is only one expression of the differences between regions (and nations) but it is an indicator.

We wish all our UK readers a relaxing Bank Holiday Monday.

We must get reports like this out there

Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily. However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us? We rely 100% on public contributions from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please join now by clicking on one of the links below or you can use our Support page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 24 hours. Thank you.

[ Sources: Office for National Statistics | Dept for Business and Trade ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Bank Holiday Monday, 28 Aug 2023

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. LuxuryBalloon , Monday, August 28, 2023, 05:55:

Great to see London and the Home Counties doing so well. And glad that the Levelling-up-Strategy is being ditched. It was never going to work. And wealth created in London will slowly trickle up north anyway.

2. KB , Monday, August 28, 2023, 11:33:

Sorry LB (1) it does not work like that. London is basically a different country to the rest of the UK. Look at the house prices for starters.

3. terence patrick hewett , Monday, August 28, 2023, 12:47:

The Midlands and The North need to be "levelled up" the rest are doing OK. Levelling up the South, is not needed or wanted: in fact it is over-developed, and the area's wealth attracts workshy parasites, criminals and undesirables.

4. Sparky , Monday, August 28, 2023, 19:17:

Fascinating report. Well done Fact4EU.
.
Adding the English regions, England has an International trade balance of +£5.6 billion. The reliance on the City for the UK as a whole but especially England is staggering.
.
Looking back to the referendum, and I don't think much has changed, there was a lot of resentment from the North against London, London gets all the investment, fat cat bankers etc.
.
Will the city lose its competitiveness as a result of Brexit? Its with some relief that only 7,000 jobs have left the city but there has been thousand s of jobs created in the EU, Paris, Frankfurt etc as a result of Brexit and a number of head offices have moved from London to the EU.
.
The EU won't be happy in the long term for London to continue to dominate European Financial markets.

5. terence patrick hewett , Monday, August 28, 2023, 21:53:

Who gives a monkey's tonker what the EU thinks about the City of London: 7000 is a bit short of the hundreds of thousands of jobs, you lot promised we would lose, if we left the EU, Sparky.

6. Captain Thunderbolt , Tuesday, August 29, 2023, 00:28:

Also have to remember that out of the 7000 supposed job losses there have been about 2500 job financial jobs new hired in London at the same time. most likely from knee jerk reactions that they didn't need to move as much.
.
There is always an element of the sky is falling down when it comes to a major change.

Add comment:

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