Key facts
*  Currency: pound sterling (£)
*  GDP per head: $44,300 (2017 est)
*  Unemployment: 4.4% (2017 est)
*  Inflation: 2.7% (2017 est)

Industries and exports
*  Financial services, retailing, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals
*  Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry is declining in importance.
*  Agriculture is efficient, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labour force.
*  Leading companies: GlaxoSmithkline, BP, Rolls-Royce, Marks and Spencer, Tesco
*  Exports: manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco

Export partners
US 13.2%, Germany 10.5%, France 7.4%, Netherlands 6.2% (2017 data)