British Industry and Economy Profile

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state situated on the British Islands. The British Isles enjoy a mixture of disparate cultures and life styles. Therefore, British society as a whole does not have a uniform cultural identity.

The United Kingdom has a fiercely independent, developed, and international trading economy. As in all European countries, its economic system is a mixture of private and public enterprises. The public sector includes the nationalized industries and public services provided by local and central government and employs about one-third of the national workforce. Hence, two-thirds of the economy is in the private sector.

The public sector consists of small private businesses which are owned by individuals; ‘public’ companies whose shares are sold to the general public through the Stock Exchange; and larger private companies whose shares are not offered for sale to the public. Private companies are important to the national economy because they generate 50% of the workforce. Some 10% of the economy is controlled by foreign private corporations, which employ 10% of the workforce.

British industries can be divided into three main groups:

a. Primary industries providing raw materials and food from the land and the sea (energy resources, agriculture) – 13%.

b. Manufacturing industries making finished goods from raw materials (electronics, aerospace, chemical) – 22%.

c. Service industries (banking, business, computing, tourism) – 65%.

Among the main trends of Britain’s economy have been:

a. The decline in the heavy industry.

b. The growth of the offshore oil and gas industry.

c. The rapid development of the electronic industry.

d. The continual rise in the service industries.

To make the British economy more efficient the government tries to stimulate innovation in industry; to encourage competition; to reduce taxes; to promote exports and to work for worldwide free trade.

It should be mentioned that the British industry raises nearly £120 000 million each year. Heavy industries include coal mining, engineering, manufacturing of cars, ships and aircraft, and steel and chemical production. Light industries include the manufacture of small electronic and household goods.

Britain has the largest energy resources in Europe and is a major world producer of oil, natural gas and coal. By successfully exploiting oil and gas from the North Sea Britain has become self-sufficient in energy. About 80% of offshore production of oil and gas is brought ashore by submarine pipeline. To the most perspective energy technologies belongs wind, tidal and solar power.

The United Kingdom has relatively limited supplies of economically valuable mineral resources: iron ore, tin, which supplies about half the domestic demand, and zinc. There are adequate supplies of nonmetallic minerals, including sand and gravel, limestone, dolomite, chalk, slate, clay and clay shale, kaolin (china clay), gypsum, etc. Sand, gravel, limestone, and other crushed rocks are quarried for use in construction.

The United Kingdom is unusual, even among western European countries, in the small proportion of its employed population (about 2 percent) engaged in agriculture. The most important farm crops are wheat, barley, oats, sugar beets, potatoes, and rapeseed. The main livestock products derive from cattle and calves, sheep and lambs, pigs, and poultry. Furthermore, the United Kingdom’s fishing industry now supplies only half the country’s total demand. The most important fish landed are cod, haddock, as well as lobsters, crabs, and oysters. Estuarine fish farming—mainly of trout and salmon—has expanded considerably.

In total the UK is a place that exerts a strong pull on a foreigner’s attitude to this country.