Below is an overview of UK Manufacturing Statistics compiled by The Manufacturer from a variety of leading sources, including government agencies, industry bodies and other relevant organisations.
The UK was home to 5.5 million small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)—defined as those with fewer than 250 employees—in 2023, which represented 99.9% of all businesses., according to a House of Commons Library Research Briefing published in May 2024.
Moreover, of the 269,000 UK manufacturing organisations in 2023, over 250,000 were SMEs (90% of the total).
It is easy, therefore, to understand why SME businesses are often referred to not just as “the lifeblood of the UK economy” but “the lifeblood of UK manufacturing” too.
Despite those 269,000 manufacturiung organisations accounting for just 5% of the total number of UK businesses, they account for 9% of employment and 14% of turnover—highlighting that most are punching well above their weight in terms of contribution. In other words, manufacturing’s contribution to the country’s prosperity is significant, touching areas from delivering the tools and solutions that make it possible for us to defend our nation, to the innovations that are driving positive change in the face of existential threats like global warming.
However, the UK manufacturing sector has witnessed a decline since its heyday in the 1970s, when it contributed 25% of UK GDP.
Nevertheless, the UK is currently the 12th largest manufacturing nation in the world and contributed £217bn in output to the UK economy in 2023, according to figures published by Make UK in July 2024.
The bottom line is manufacturing matters and with the right policies in place and an environment that is conducive to growth, our manufacturing industry has the potential to thrive once more. And as you’ll see from our compilation of UK manufacturing statistics below, the sector’s contribution remains very significant.
In addition to the information below, check out our UK Manufacturing PMI archive for a month-by-month overview of the UK manufacturing sector.
UK Manufacturing Statistics, according to Make UK’s latest figures (July 2024):
- UK is 12th largest manufacturing nation in the world
- Sector contributed £217bn in output to the economy in 2023
- Employs 2.6 million people – earning an average of £38,769 (10% higher than the UK average)
- Accounts for 45% of total exports – totalling £275bn
- Accounts for 47% of all UK business R&D
- Provides £38.8bn (14%) of total UK business investment
Source: Make UK, July 2024
UK Manufacturing’s impact, according to an Oxford Economics’ report on behalf of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (April 2024):
- Total impact of UK manufacturing on GDP was £518bn in 2022 (nearly a quarter (23%) of UK GDP)
- When wider supply chain indirect impact is taken into account, UK manufacturing supported £348bn of GDP (15% of the UK
economy) and 5 million jobs (14% of the UK total) in 2022 - Sector directly contributed £184bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2022
- Average manufacturing GVA per job was £75,000 (33% higher than the average GVA per job for the whole economy (£56,000))
Upcoming events from The Manufacturer:
Don’t miss the upcoming Smart Manufacturing Week, where change-makers can find insights, solutions & connections for their manufacturing & engineering projects.
Smart Manufacturing Week, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on 4-5 June, 2025 includes:
- Drives and Controls
- Design + Engineering Expo
- Maintec
- Smart Factory Expo
- Air-Tech Exhibition
- Fluid Power & Systems
- Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit
- Industrial Data & AI Summit
- Manufacturing Automation & Robotics Summit
There’s also The Manufacturer Live in November, where the industry migrates to Liverpool to enjoy a series of award-winning events produced by The Manufacturer that champion the sector, promote innovation and recognise achievement – a tradition with a heritage of over 50 years.
The Manufacturer Live includes:
- Manufacturing Leaders’ Summit
- The Manufacturer MX Awards
- Top 100 Alumni Drinks
- The Manufacturer Directors’ Forums
UK Manufacturing Statistics by sector:
UK Aerospace industry at a glance (2022/2023)
- 104,000 employees, including 6,000 apprentices
- £30.5bn annual turnover (growth of 14% over 10 years)
- £20bn in exports (growth of 7% over 10 years)
- £10.9bn GVA contribution to UK economy (growth of 16% between 2013 and 2023)
(Information courtesy of www.adsgroup.org.uk)
UK Automotive industry at a glance (2024)
- More than 198,000 people employed in manufacturing
- Some 813,000 in total across the wider automotive industry
- £93bn annual turnover
- £22bn GVA contribution
- Accounts for 12% of total UK export goods generating £47bn of trade
- £4bn a year in R&D investments
- Over 905,117 cars, 120,357 commercial vehicles and 1.6 million engines were built in the UK in 2023
- Eight out of 10 cars produced in the UK are exported overseas to more than 140 markets worldwid
(Information courtesy of www.smmt.co.uk)
UK Chemical industry at a glance (2024)
- 138,000 employees
- 500,000 jobs supported in the economy
- 27% higher salaries than UK average
- £65.5bn annual turnover
- £61bn in exports (15% of UK total)
- £21.8bn GVA contribution
- 17.5% of total UK business R&D spend
(Information courtesy of www.cia.org.uk)
UK Construction industry at a glance (2022)
- 1.4 million direct jobs
- New work contruction output totalled £132bn in 2022
- 374,332 registered construction firms in 2022
(Information courtesy of www.ons.gov.uk)
UK Defence industry at a glance (2022/2023)
- 164,000 employees (growth of 16% over 10 years)
- £28bn annual turnover
- £12bn GVA contribution (growth of 36% between 2013 and 2023)
- £9.5bn in exports (growth of 18% over 10 years)
- BAE Systems – the UK’s largest defence company – sustains 143,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the UK
- On a rolling 10 year basis, the UK remains the second largest global defence exporter after the USA
(Information courtesy of www.adsgroup.org.uk)
UK Electronics industry at a glance
- 800,000+ direct jobs
- £78bn annual turnover
- 95%+ of the sectors 6,000 businesses are SMEs
- UK Electronics is the world’s fifth largest in terms of production
- 14 of the world’s top 20 semiconductor companies have established design and/or manufacturing sites in the UK
- In semiconductors, almost 80% of the activity comes from foreign direct investment
(Information courtesy of www.techuk.org)
UK Energy industry at a glance
- £149bn in economic activity through the energy sector and supply chain
- £13bn invested in the UK energy sector in 2021
- £100bn planned investment in new energy sources in the next decade
- 66% emission reduction in the power sector since 1990
- 56% of power generated from low-carbon sources in 2022
- 743,000 jobs supported across the UK (1 in 48)
(Information courtesy of www.energy-uk.org.uk)
UK Food & Drink industry at a glance (2022)
- Food and drink manufacturing contributes more to the economy than all other manufacturing sectors
- Food and drink manufacturers directly employ over 456,000 people across every region and nation of the UK
- £128bn annual turnover
- Output valued at £33bn
- Exports worth £25bn a year – top 3 exports partners are Ireland, France and the USA.
- £3.1bn total business investment in 2022
(Information courtesy of www.fdf.org.uk)
UK Nuclear industry at a glance
- 77,000 civil nuclear jobs (highest in at least 20 years)
- Accounts for around 15% of all electricity produced
- New generation of nuclear plants under construction
- Plans to provide about 25% of electricity by 2050 (workforce needs to triple to achieve this)
- There are currently 9 operational reactors across the UK and another 2 under repair
(Information courtesy of www.niauk.org)
UK Plastics industry at a glance
- Directly employs 155,000 people (400,000 indirectly)
- £28.7bn annual turnover
- 5,700 companies in the sector
- Plastic and plastic products are one of the UK’s top ten exports (worth £10.5bn a year)
- UK produces 1.7m tonnes of plastic material per year
- UK processes 3.4m tonnes of plastic per year
(Information courtesy of www.bpf.co.uk)
UK Security & Resilience industry at a glance (2022/2023)
- 148,000 employees (growth of 105% over 10 years)
- £23.4bn annual turnover (growth of 189% over 10 years)
- The UK is the world’s sixth largest exporter of security equipment
- £12.2bn GVA contribution (growth of 165% over 10 years)
- £10.5bn in exports (growth of 228% over 10 years)
(Information courtesy of www.adsgroup.org.uk)
UK Steel industry at a glance (May 2024)
- Directly employs 33,700 people (plus a further 42,000 in the wider supply chain)
- Wages on average 26% higher than the national median
- Contributed £1.8bn to UK economy in 2023
- Added £2.4bn through supply chains
- 5.6 million tonnes of steel produced in 2023
- Majority of UK Steel workers work in Yorkshire and the Humber, or Wales
(Information courtesy of www.uksteel.org)
UK Space industry at a glance
- 48,000 employees, including 2,300 apprentices (2021/2022)
- £17.5bn annual turnover
- £7bn GVA contribution (2021/2022)
- £788m in R&D expenditure
- exports worth £5.9bn to the UK (2021/2022)
- £143,000 productivity output per worker
- UK is a world leader in small satellites
(Information courtesy of www.adsgroup.org.uk)
UK Fashion & Textiles industry at a glance (2021)
- £62bn GVA contribution to the UK economy
- Supports 1.3 million jobs (one in every 25 jobs in the UK)
- Kickstarts careers for 197,000 people aged under 25
- Provides opportunities for 52,000 aged 65 and older
- Empowers 540,000 women
- Raises more than £23bn in tax revenues
- £1.4bn invested in R&D over the last decade
(Information courtesy of ukft.org)