Economic Estimates: Digital Sector Regional Gross Value Added (2019 to 2022)
Accredited Official Statistics estimating the contribution of the Digital Sector to each UK International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) region, measured by Gross Value Added (GVA).
Documents
Details
This release is intended to be used for assessing regional trends and differences. For total national GVA, including changes over time, please see the previous DCMS and digital sector GVA 2022 (provisional) publication.
Headline findings
- We report that Digital Sector GVA grew in almost all ITL1 regions between 2019 and 2022, with growth rates for Digital Sector GVA higher than their respective regional growth rates for GVA across all industries, when accounting for inflation.
- The largest increases in Digital Sector GVA between 2019 and 2022 were observed in the North East (37.2%) and the South West of England (36.4%). The only decrease in Digital Sector GVA between 2019 and 2022 was in Northern Ireland (-3.4%), in contrast to the growth in Northern Ireland GVA for all industries (1.6%) over the same period.
- In 2022, London (38.5%) and the South East of England (20.4%) were the ITL1 regions contributing the most to the UK total Digital Sector GVA, contributing over half of the UK total Digital Sector GVA. Northern Ireland (1.2%) and Wales (1.8%) contributed the least to UK Digital Sector GVA in 2022. This is a continuation of a long-term trend, with regional contributions to UK total Digital Sector GVA being broadly consistent between 2010 and 2022.
- In 2022, London and the South East were the only two ITL1 regions that had a higher share of UK total Digital Sector GVA than their respective share of UK total GVA across all industries.
- In 2022, the Digital Sector contributed approximately 7.2% of total UK GVA. In comparison, the Digital Sector contributed 11.9% of total GVA in London and 9.7% of total GVA in the South East of England. These regions saw the highest two proportions of Digital Sector GVA to their total regional GVA. In all other ITL1 regions, Digital Sector GVA contributed between 3.7% and 5.5% of total regional GVA.
About this release
This is a continuation of the Digital Sector Economic Estimates: Regional GVA release series, previously produced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Responsibility for Digital and Telecommunications policy now sits with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
These Economic Estimates are Accredited Official Statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of the Digital Sector to each region in the UK, measured by GVA (gross value added). This is the first release of regional estimates for 2021 and 2022.
Data sources and technical information
These findings are calculated based on both the published Office for National Statistics (ONS) Regional Gross Value Added balanced tables and the ONS Annual Business Survey (ABS).
The Regional GVA balanced tables produced by the Regional Accounts team at ONS report GVA at the 2-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code level, for each International Territorial Level 1 (ITL1) region. The ABS reports approximate GVA (aGVA) at the 4-digit SIC code level, for each ITL1 region.
In this release, we use aGVA from the ABS to apportion GVA from the Regional Accounts in order to produce regional GVA estimates for the Digital Sector, which is defined at the 4-digit SIC code level.
The technical report contains further information about data sources, methodology, and the validation and accuracy of these estimates. The latest version of this guidance was published alongside this release in August 2024.
Content
These statistics cover the contributions of the Digital Sector and its sub-sectors in terms of GVA, to the UK economy by ITL1 region. GVA time series for 2019 to 2022 are presented in both current prices and chained volume measures (in 2022 prices).
Released
22 August 2024
Feedback
We aim to continuously improve the quality of estimates and better meet user needs. We welcome feedback on this release. Feedback should be sent via email to economicestimates@dsit.gov.uk.
In addition, DSIT are currently conducting a review of the Digital Sector Economic Estimates series as a whole and are consulting with users on potential changes. If you would like to contribute to this consultation, please do so using this link. The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 26 September.
A summary of the responses to this consultation will be provided in a published response within 12 weeks of the consultation closing.
Office for Statistics Regulation
The estimates within this release are Accredited Official Statistics and have been independently reviewed and regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. Accredited Official Statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The accreditation of these statistics was last confirmed in June 2019 by OSR. For more detailed information on the accreditation of these statistics, please see the OSR website.
Accreditation signifies their compliance with the authority’s Code of Practice for Statistics which broadly means these statistics are:
- Managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.
- Meet identified user needs.
- Produced according to sound methods.
- Well explained and readily accessible.
Our wider statistical practice is also regulated by OSR. OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards.
Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Pre-release access
The accompanying pre-release access document lists ministers and officials who have received privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.
Contact
Responsible statistician: Rory Attwell
For any queries or feedback, please contact economicestimates@dsit.gov.uk.