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Lecture 6

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The UK has always been the largest and most influential economy in the world. As the birthplace of the industrial revolution, the UK was at the forefront of technological advances during the 18^th to 19^th century.However other countries, and in particular the US, began to catch up to the UK technologically wise. Meanwhile, the UK’s global influence was also beginning to decline as many British colonies were in the process of declaring independence. Finally, the damage received during World War I and World War II severely weakened the UK economy. Although the UK economy has since recovered from both World Wars, it is unlikely to reclaim its former position as the top economic power in the world.

Today the economy of the United Kingdom is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal GDP (Gross domestic product), and the second-largest in Europe (after Germany). The British economy encompasses the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK has one of the world's most globalised economies, i.e. globally connected, integrated and interdependent in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres with other countries. London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York. As of December 2010 the UK had the third-largest stock of both inward and outward foreign direct investment.

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Countries by 2011 GDP (nominal) per capita (table)

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The population for the UK in 2010 was 62.222 million. Out of this population, 18.0% are aged below fifteen, 66.3% are between the ages of fifteen and sixty four, while 15.7% are aged sixty-five and above. The age groups are not evenly distributed around the country, with some areas having many youngadults and children and some areas having large numbers of older people.

The UK has the fourth highest labour to population ratio in the world, with 28.988 million workers. However, unemployment remains high in the UK at around 8%. Currently, 1.4% of the labour force are employed in agriculture, 18.2% in industries and 80.4% in services.

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Government involvement in the British economy is exercised by HM Treasury, headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank and its Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for setting interest rates. The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, which is also the world's third-largest reserve currency after the U.S. dollar and the euro. The UK is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Union, the G7 (Group of 7: the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan), the G8 (Group of 8: the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia), the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.