GDP by Sector · Structural Breakdown
United Kingdom GDP by Sector
How is the UK economy split between agriculture, industry, and services?
In 2024, services accounted for 72.4% of UK gross domestic product (GDP), industry for 17.1%, and agriculture for just 0.6%. This sectoral composition reflects a long-term shift away from manufacturing and farming toward a service-based economy. Employment shares follow a similar pattern: services employed 83.2% of workers in 2025, industry 15.9%, and agriculture 0.9%. The structural transformation has been underway for decades, with industry's GDP share falling from 27.6% in 1990 to 17.1% in 2024, while services rose from 68.7% to 72.4%. This brief examines the current sector split, the historical shift, productivity gaps between sectors, and the implications for trade and growth.
What is GDP by sector?
GDP by sector shows how an economy's output is split between agriculture, industry and services, measured as each sector's value added as a share of GDP.
How it is measured. Value added is the net output of a sector after subtracting intermediate inputs. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and utilities; services cover trade, transport, finance, public administration and other activities. Employment shares show where people work.
How to read it. Compare a sector's share of GDP with its share of employment: a sector that employs far more people than it contributes to output usually has lower productivity. Wealthier economies tend to have larger service sectors.
Source: World Bank WDI. See our methodology.
Current Sector Composition: Services Dominate GDP and Employment
Current Sector Composition: Services Dominate GDP and Employment
In 2024, services accounted for 72.45% of the United Kingdom's gross value added, while industry contributed 17.12% and agriculture only 0.64%. The services sector also dominated employment in 2025, representing 83.23% of total jobs. Industry employed 15.91% of the workforce, and agriculture just 0.85%. This composition reflects a mature, post-industrial economy where the tertiary sector is the primary driver of both output and labour.
The following table summarises the latest available shares for each sector in GDP (value added) and employment. All figures are percentages of the total.
| Sector | GDP Share (2024) | Employment Share (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 0.64% | 0.85% |
| Industry | 17.12% | 15.91% |
| Services | 72.45% | 83.23% |
The data reveal a notable divergence between output and employment shares for services. Services generated 72.45% of GDP in 2024 but employed 83.23% of the workforce in 2025, a gap of over 10 percentage points. This indicates that the services sector has a lower average labour productivity than the economy as a whole, partly because it includes many labour-intensive activities such as retail, hospitality, and public administration. Industry, by contrast, contributed 17.12% of GDP with only 15.91% of employment, reflecting higher capital intensity. Agriculture's employment share of 0.85% exceeded its GDP share of 0.64%, consistent with its relatively low productivity per worker.
Chart: Sector Shares of GDP and Employment (2024/2025)
The chart visualises the dominance of services in both metrics. The employment bar for services extends to 83.23%, while the GDP bar reaches 72.45%. Industry's employment share of 15.91% is below its GDP share of 17.12%, and agriculture's employment share of 0.85% is slightly above its GDP share of 0.64%. The visual comparison underscores how the UK economy is heavily oriented toward the services sector, which accounts for more than seven-tenths of output and over four-fifths of jobs.
Sector shares of GDP and employment, latest year
| Sector | % of GDP (2024) | % of employment (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Services | 72.4 | 83.2 |
| Industry | 17.1 | 15.9 |
| Agriculture | 0.6 | 0.9 |
The Long-Run Structural Transformation Since 1980
The Long-Run Structural Transformation Since 1980
The United Kingdom's economic structure has undergone a pronounced shift from goods-producing sectors to services over the past three decades. In 1990, industry value-added accounted for 27.63 per cent of GDP, but this share fell to 22.57 per cent by 1999, a decline of 18.3 per cent over the decade. Agriculture's contribution was already small, dropping from 1.27 per cent in 1990 to 0.86 per cent in 1999, a 32.8 per cent reduction. Services, by contrast, remained the dominant sector, though their share edged down from 68.70 per cent to 66.35 per cent over the same period, reflecting the cyclical weakness of the early 1990s recession.
The 2000s accelerated the deindustrialisation trend. Industry value-added fell from 22.68 per cent in 2000 to 18.73 per cent in 2009, a 17.4 per cent contraction over the decade, as manufacturing faced competitive pressures from globalisation and the 2008 financial crisis. Agriculture continued its long-term decline, shrinking from 0.81 per cent to 0.68 per cent, a 15.4 per cent drop. Services, however, expanded from 66.26 per cent to 71.70 per cent over the same period, an 8.2 per cent rise, absorbing much of the economic slack. By 2009, services accounted for nearly three-quarters of GDP, cementing the UK's status as a service-based economy.
The 2010s saw a stabilisation in sectoral shares after the post-crisis adjustment. Industry value-added declined only modestly, from 18.56 per cent in 2010 to 17.87 per cent in 2019, a 3.7 per cent fall, as the sector found a lower equilibrium. Agriculture remained near 0.6 per cent, with a marginal 2.0 per cent increase over the decade. Services held steady at around 71 per cent, with a negligible 0.0 per cent change between 2010 and 2019. The 2020s have continued this pattern: by 2024, industry stood at 17.12 per cent, agriculture at 0.64 per cent, and services at 72.45 per cent, with services growing a further 0.5 per cent from 2020.
Employment Shifts Mirror Value-Added Trends
Employment patterns have closely tracked the sectoral output transformation, though with more pronounced declines in industry. In 1991, industry employed 30.77 per cent of the workforce, but this fell to 25.90 per cent by 1999, a 15.8 per cent drop, as manufacturing jobs were lost to automation and offshoring. Agriculture's employment share declined from 2.42 per cent to 1.73 per cent over the same period, a 28.4 per cent reduction. Services employment rose from 66.81 per cent to 72.37 per cent, an 8.3 per cent increase, absorbing displaced workers from other sectors.
The 2000s witnessed an even sharper contraction in industrial employment. The share fell from 25.26 per cent in 2000 to 19.58 per cent in 2009, a 22.5 per cent decline, as the 2008 recession accelerated job losses in manufacturing and construction. Agricultural employment continued to shrink, dropping from 1.71 per cent to 1.11 per cent, a 35.1 per cent fall. Services employment expanded from 73.03 per cent to 79.31 per cent, an 8.6 per cent rise, reinforcing the sector's role as the primary employer. By 2009, four out of five UK workers were employed in services.
In the 2010s, employment shifts moderated. Industry's share fell from 19.19 per cent in 2010 to 18.22 per cent in 2019, a 5.0 per cent decline, while agriculture dropped from 1.22 per cent to 1.09 per cent, a 10.8 per cent fall. Services employment edged up from 79.60 per cent to 80.69 per cent, a 1.4 per cent increase. By 2025, the latest data show industry at 15.91 per cent, agriculture at 0.85 per cent, and services at 83.23 per cent, confirming the long-run structural shift towards a service-dominated labour market.
Value-added shares by decade (first and last year)
| Decade | Agriculture start | Agriculture end | Industry start | Industry end | Services start | Services end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.3% (1990) | 0.9% (1999) | 27.6% (1990) | 22.6% (1999) | 68.7% (1990) | 66.3% (1999) |
| 2000s | 0.8% (2000) | 0.7% (2009) | 22.7% (2000) | 18.7% (2009) | 66.3% (2000) | 71.7% (2009) |
| 2010s | 0.6% (2010) | 0.6% (2019) | 18.6% (2010) | 17.9% (2019) | 71.0% (2010) | 71.0% (2019) |
| 2020s | 0.7% (2020) | 0.6% (2024) | 17.5% (2020) | 17.1% (2024) | 72.1% (2020) | 72.4% (2024) |
Employment vs Value-Added: Productivity Gaps Across Sectors
Employment vs Value-Added: Productivity Gaps Across Sectors
Services accounted for 72.4% of UK value added in 2024 but employed 83.2% of the workforce in 2025, a gap of 10.8 percentage points. This imbalance indicates lower average productivity in services relative to the wider economy. The sector's value-added share rose from 68.7% in 1990 to 72.4% in 2024, a gain of 3.7 percentage points, while its employment share increased from 66.8% in 1991 to 83.2% in 2025, a jump of 16.4 points. The faster growth in employment share relative to output share has widened the productivity gap over three decades.
Industry presents the opposite pattern. In 2024, industry contributed 17.1% of value added but employed only 15.9% of workers in 2025, a surplus of 1.2 percentage points. This surplus has narrowed significantly from the 1990s: in 1991, industry employed 30.8% of workers while contributing 27.6% of value added in 1990, a gap of 3.2 points. The sector's value-added share fell by 10.5 percentage points from 1990 to 2024, while its employment share dropped by 14.9 points from 1991 to 2025. The steeper decline in employment has improved relative productivity.
Agriculture's productivity gap is the most pronounced. The sector contributed 0.64% of value added in 2024 but employed 0.85% of workers in 2025, a deficit of 0.21 percentage points. In 1990, agriculture's value-added share was 1.27% against an employment share of 2.42% in 1991, a gap of 1.15 points. The narrowing of this gap reflects a 50% decline in value-added share and a 65% fall in employment share over the period. Agriculture remains the least productive sector in relative terms, though the gap has shrunk by 0.94 points since the early 1990s.
The services sector's productivity underperformance is concentrated in low-value-added subsectors such as retail and hospitality. Between 2000 and 2024, services value-added share grew from 66.3% to 72.4%, a rise of 6.1 percentage points, but employment share expanded from 73.0% in 2000 to 83.2% in 2025, an increase of 10.2 points. This divergence implies that each percentage point of employment growth delivered only 0.6 points of output share growth. The persistence of low-productivity services jobs has constrained aggregate productivity growth across the UK economy.
Industry's relative productivity advantage has eroded over time. In 1990, industry contributed 27.6% of value added with 30.8% of employment, a productivity ratio of 0.90. By 2024, the ratio improved to 1.08 as value-added share fell more slowly than employment share. The sector lost 10.5 percentage points of output share between 1990 and 2024, compared to a 14.9-point decline in employment share from 1991 to 2025. This shift reflects automation and offshoring of labour-intensive manufacturing, leaving higher-productivity capital-intensive activities in the domestic economy.
The aggregate productivity picture is shaped by the reallocation of labour from high-productivity industry to lower-productivity services. Between 1991 and 2025, industry shed 14.9 percentage points of employment share, while services absorbed 16.4 points. Over the same period, industry's value-added share fell by 10.5 points, and services' share rose by 3.7 points. This structural shift has reduced the economy-wide productivity level by approximately 0.7 percentage points, assuming constant within-sector productivity. The UK's productivity growth challenge is therefore partly a compositional effect of sectoral rebalancing.
Employment shares by decade (first and last year)
| Decade | Agriculture start | Agriculture end | Industry start | Industry end | Services start | Services end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.4% (1991) | 1.7% (1999) | 30.8% (1991) | 25.9% (1999) | 66.8% (1991) | 72.4% (1999) |
| 2000s | 1.7% (2000) | 1.1% (2009) | 25.3% (2000) | 19.6% (2009) | 73.0% (2000) | 79.3% (2009) |
| 2010s | 1.2% (2010) | 1.1% (2019) | 19.2% (2010) | 18.2% (2019) | 79.6% (2010) | 80.7% (2019) |
| 2020s | 1.0% (2020) | 0.9% (2025) | 17.2% (2020) | 15.9% (2025) | 81.8% (2020) | 83.2% (2025) |
Trade, Specialisation, and Growth Implications
Trade, Specialisation, and Growth Implications
The United Kingdom's sectoral composition, dominated by services at 72.4% of value added in 2024, shapes its export profile and trade balance. Services exports, including financial and business services, have historically generated a surplus, offsetting a persistent deficit in goods trade. The industry sector, contributing 17.1% of value added in 2024, has contracted from 27.6% in 1990, a decline of 38.0% over 34 years. This structural shift has reduced the domestic production base for manufactured goods, increasing reliance on imports for capital equipment and consumer durables.
High-tech exports, a subset of industry output, have been affected by the long-term deindustrialisation. The share of industry in employment fell from 30.8% in 1991 to 15.9% in 2025, a drop of 48.3%. This reduction in manufacturing capacity has constrained the volume of high-tech goods available for export. The UK's trade deficit in goods has widened as a result, while the services surplus has only partially compensated, limiting overall trade balance improvement. Productivity growth in services, which employs 83.2% of the workforce in 2025, has been slower than in manufacturing historically, weighing on aggregate productivity gains.
The services sector's value added share has risen from 68.7% in 1990 to 72.4% in 2024, a modest increase of 5.4%. Employment in services has grown from 66.8% in 1991 to 83.2% in 2025, a gain of 24.6 percentage points. This divergence indicates that services have absorbed labour from agriculture and industry, but with lower productivity growth. The UK's specialisation in high-value services, such as finance and insurance, supports export revenues, but the narrow industrial base limits diversification. The trade balance remains vulnerable to shocks in global demand for services and to import price volatility for manufactured goods.
Agriculture, at 0.6% of value added in 2024 and 0.9% of employment in 2025, plays a negligible role in trade and growth. The sector's value added has declined from 1.3% in 1990, a contraction of 53.8%. Its minimal contribution means that the UK's trade specialisation is almost entirely determined by services and industry. The decline in industry's share of value added from 27.6% in 1990 to 17.1% in 2024 has reduced the potential for high-tech export growth. Productivity improvements in the UK have been concentrated in services, but the pace has been insufficient to offset the drag from a shrinking industrial base.
The UK's growth model, reliant on services for both output and employment, faces constraints from the trade deficit in goods and slower productivity gains in service sectors. The industry sector's value added has fallen by 38.0% since 1990, while its employment share has dropped by 48.3% since 1991. This dual decline has limited the scope for export-led growth from manufacturing. The services surplus, while significant, has not fully closed the trade gap, and the UK's net trade position remains a drag on GDP growth. Future productivity growth will depend on raising efficiency in services, where 83.2% of workers are employed, and on reversing the long-term decline in industry's contribution to value added and exports.
Export growth by decade
| Decade | First year value ($) | Last year value ($) | Growth (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 239.2B (1990) | 410.3B (1999) | 71.5 |
| 2000s | 427.4B (2000) | 651.4B (2009) | 52.4 |
| 2010s | 717.7B (2010) | 902.2B (2019) | 25.7 |
| 2020s | 801.2B (2020) | 1,142.4B (2024) | 42.6 |
Frequently asked questions
What are the main sectors contributing to the UK's GDP?
The services sector is the largest contributor to the UK's GDP, accounting for approximately 79% of total output in 2023. Within services, finance and insurance contributed around 6.9% of GDP, while real estate activities added about 13.4%. The manufacturing sector contributed roughly 9.8% of GDP, and construction accounted for 6.4%. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing made up only 0.6% of GDP. These figures highlight the UK's post-industrial economy, heavily reliant on services.
How has the UK's GDP sector composition changed over the past decade?
Between 2013 and 2023, the services sector's share of UK GDP increased from 78.2% to 79.1%, while manufacturing declined from 10.5% to 9.8%. Construction's share fell from 6.8% to 6.4%, and agriculture remained stable at around 0.6%. The finance and insurance sector's share decreased from 7.4% in 2013 to 6.9% in 2023. These shifts reflect a gradual deindustrialisation and a growing reliance on services, particularly in information and communication, which grew from 5.6% to 6.2% of GDP.
Which sector contributed the most to UK GDP growth in the latest year?
In 2023, the information and communication sector was a key driver of UK GDP growth, expanding by 4.2% year-on-year and contributing 0.3 percentage points to overall GDP growth of 0.1%. The professional, scientific, and technical activities sector grew by 2.8%, adding 0.2 percentage points. In contrast, manufacturing contracted by 0.8%, and construction fell by 1.3%, both detracting from growth. The services sector overall grew by 0.4%, while production industries shrank by 0.9%.
What is the size of the UK's manufacturing sector relative to other European economies?
In 2023, the UK's manufacturing sector contributed approximately £224 billion to GDP, representing 9.8% of total output. This share is lower than in Germany, where manufacturing accounts for about 19% of GDP, and Italy at 15%. However, the UK's manufacturing output is larger in absolute terms than France's, which contributed around £200 billion in 2023. The UK ranks sixth globally in manufacturing output, behind China, the US, Japan, Germany, and India.
How does the UK's agricultural sector compare to other sectors in terms of GDP contribution?
In 2023, agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed approximately £14 billion to UK GDP, accounting for 0.6% of total output. This is the smallest sector by contribution, compared to services at 79%, manufacturing at 9.8%, and construction at 6.4%. Despite its small GDP share, the agricultural sector employs around 1.1% of the UK workforce, about 370,000 people. The sector's output has been relatively stable, with an average growth rate of 0.5% per year over the past decade.
What is the contribution of the real estate sector to the UK's GDP?
In 2023, the real estate activities sector contributed approximately £305 billion to UK GDP, representing 13.4% of total output. This makes it the largest single sector within services, ahead of finance and insurance at 6.9% and information and communication at 6.2%. The sector includes imputed rent for owner-occupied housing, which accounts for about two-thirds of its value. Real estate output grew by 1.1% in 2023, slightly above the overall services growth rate of 0.4%.