Economy
The UK is the sixth largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2,646 billion in 2009 according to the latest World Bank statistics. We are one of the leading trading nations in the world. We are the second largest exporter and third largest importer of commercial services, and the eighth largest exporter and fifth largest importer of merchandise. The UK is also destination for large foreign investment. In 2007, we attracted the second highest amount of foreign investment globally, representing 28 per cent of all FDI inflows into the European Union.
A substantial proportion of the world’s leading companies are UK-owned. The 'Financial Times Global 500' survey calculates that UK companies comprise the third highest number of the world’s largest companies, behind only the US and Japan. Major UK companies in the list include BP, Vodafone, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Standard Chartered, AstraZeneca, Tesco and Diageo.
We have been at the forefront of international efforts to manage the global economic downturn of 2008/9. We have taken strong steps nationally. But we also believe international cooperation is vital to build economic recovery, the trade and investment on which global prosperity depends, and to make sure this is a sustainable and low-carbon recovery. In April 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown chaired the G20 meeting that agreed on what the international community will do.
