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EconomyUK edition

UK GDP growth: steady but modest gains since 2023

The UK economy grew by 1.39% in 2025, a third year of positive growth that remains modest by recent standards.

Published 2 min read

  • 20181.55%
  • 20191.26%
  • 2020-10.05%
  • 20218.54%
  • 20225.15%
  • 20230.27%
  • 20241.08%
  • 20251.39%
United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · World Bank

UK GDP growth →

The headline figure

For an ordinary household, the latest annual figure points to an economy that is growing, but not quickly. UK GDP grew by 1.39% in 2025. That is the annual percentage change in the total value of goods and services the country produced.

Sources for this paragraph (1)
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank

What the official figures show

Growth was 0.27% in 2023. It then picked up to 1.08% in 2024 and 1.39% in 2025. Each figure is an annual percentage change compared with the year before.

Sources for this paragraph (3)
  • F6 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 0.27% · 2023 · World Bank
  • F7 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.08% · 2024 · World Bank
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank

The pandemic years were very different. Growth was -10.05% in 2020, which means output contracted sharply. In 2021 growth was 8.54%, as output recovered from that low base.

Sources for this paragraph (2)
  • F3 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · -10.05% · 2020 · World Bank
  • F4 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 8.54% · 2021 · World Bank

In 2022 growth was 5.15%. That was still strong, though lower than the 2021 figure of 8.54%.

Sources for this paragraph (2)
  • F4 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 8.54% · 2021 · World Bank
  • F5 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 5.15% · 2022 · World Bank

How 2025 compares with the years before the pandemic

Before the pandemic, growth was 1.55% in 2018 and 1.26% in 2019.

Sources for this paragraph (2)
  • F1 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.55% · 2018 · World Bank
  • F2 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.26% · 2019 · World Bank

The 2025 figure of 1.39% is higher than the 2019 figure of 1.26%.

Sources for this paragraph (2)
  • F2 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.26% · 2019 · World Bank
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank

It is lower than the 2018 figure of 1.55%. Put simply, recent growth sits within the same modest range as the years just before 2020.

Sources for this paragraph (2)
  • F1 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.55% · 2018 · World Bank
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank

What it means for people in the UK

GDP growth tells you about the size of the whole economy, not about any single household. The population grew by 0.3% in 2025. These figures do not include GDP per person, so this report cannot say how much of the 2025 growth reached each resident.

Sources for this paragraph (2)
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank
  • C27 United Kingdom Population growth (annual %) · 0.3% · 2025 · World Bank

Other recent figures describe day-to-day conditions. Consumer prices were 3.5% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier. Average weekly earnings, measured as a 3-month average, were 3.7% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier. These are separate statistics with different periods and methods, so they should not be read as a precise measure of spending power.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7% in July 2026. The Bank of England's policy rate stood at 3.75% at the end of September 2026.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What the data does not tell us

The latest annual GDP figure here covers 2025. There is no annual figure yet for 2026, so the data cannot show whether growth this year is faster or slower.

Sources for this paragraph (1)
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank

The figures do not explain why growth changed from year to year. They also say nothing about how growth is shared across regions, industries or income groups.

Sources for this paragraph (3)
  • F6 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 0.27% · 2023 · World Bank
  • F7 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.08% · 2024 · World Bank
  • F8 United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %) · 1.39% · 2025 · World Bank

The monthly figures on prices, pay and unemployment cover 2026, while the GDP figures are annual and end in 2025. They describe different periods and cannot be joined into a single trend.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

Scenarios to watch

  • Scenario, not a forecast If the annual figure for 2026 comes in above 1.39%, it would mark a third year in a row of faster growth since 2023.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If the annual figure for 2026 comes in below 1.39%, the pick-up seen in 2024 and 2025 would have paused.

What to check next

  • The first annual GDP growth figure for 2026, compared with 1.39% for 2025
  • Monthly consumer price inflation after the September 2026 reading of 3.5%
  • The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate after the July 2026 reading of 4.7%
  • Average weekly earnings growth after the August 2026 reading of 3.7%
  • Any change to the Bank of England's policy rate from 3.75%

Verified data used in this report

IndicatorValuePeriodSourcesAccessed
F1United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)1.55%2018World Bank
F2United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)1.26%2019World Bank
F3United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)-10.05%2020World Bank
F4United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)8.54%2021World Bank
F5United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)5.15%2022World Bank
F6United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)0.27%2023World Bank
F7United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)1.08%2024World Bank
F8United Kingdom GDP growth (annual %)1.39%2025World Bank
C24United Kingdom Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate)4.75%2025World Bank
C25United Kingdom Fertility rate, total (births per woman)1.552024World Bank
C26United Kingdom Population aged 65 and above (% of total population)19.7%2025World Bank
C27United Kingdom Population growth (annual %)0.3%2025World Bank
C28United Kingdom central bank policy rate (month-end)3.75%2026-09Bank of England
C29United Kingdom consumer price inflation (12-month change)3.5%2026-09Office for National Statistics (UK)
C30United Kingdom CPIH inflation, including owner occupiers' housing costs (12-month change)3.6%2026-09Office for National Statistics (UK)
C31United Kingdom food price inflation (12-month change)1.3%2026-09Office for National Statistics (UK)
C32United Kingdom unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.7%2026-07Office for National Statistics (UK)
C33United Kingdom average weekly earnings growth (3-month average, 12-month change)3.7%2026-08Office for National Statistics (UK)

Sources

  • Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) — license
  • Source: Bank of England, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — license
  • Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — license

How this report was checked

  • Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
  • Figures were collected from the source on
  • Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
  • Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
  • A separate quality-check model found no unsupported or speculative sentences.
  • No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.
Update history
  • 2026-10-30 08:01 UTC — created
  • 2026-10-30 08:01 UTC — approved+published

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