united kingdom

Question 1

Strengths

Answer 1

• Strongest financial sector (london being 2nd biggest hub)
• High FDI
• World class education (over 90% of primary school age in education)
• Stable political and legal system
• Good service sector (makes up around 80% of GDP)

Question 2

Weaknesses

Answer 2

• Productivity issues
• Regional inequality (North vs South)
• High national debt due to govt borrowing crises like Covid - 19
• Cost of living + housing crisis
• BREXIT (disrupted trade + high business costs)
• Trade deficit (UK having a high MPM)
• Labour Shortages (post-brexit immigration restrictions, industries like healthcare, hospitality and agriculture struggling)

Question 3

Imports

Answer 3

Cars ($55.5bn)
Gold ($54.1bn)
Crude Petroleum ($32bn)

Import Growth = £2.44bn

Question 4

Exports

Answer 4

Cars ($35.4bn)
Gold ($33bn)
Gas Turbines ($29.1bn)

Export Growth = £1.34bn

Question 5

Import - Countries

Answer 5

China ($98.3bn)
United States ($58.3bn)
Germany ($76.4bn)

Question 6

Export - Countries

Answer 6

United States ($59.7bn)
China ($35.3bn)
Germany ($34.6bn)

Question 7

Economic Growth

Answer 7

+0.7% in Q1 of 2025
annual growth rate = 1.3%

Question 8

Unemployment

Answer 8

4.5% BUT should be treated with caution due to low response rate

Question 9

Current Account (% of GDP)

Answer 9

-2.7%

Question 10

Inflation

Answer 10

2.6%

Question 11

National Debt

Answer 11

95.9%

Question 12

Fiscal Policies

Answer 12

25% for companies with profits over £250,000 + 19% for companies with profits under £250,000

E.g., Covid-19 furlough scheme (2020) = costs around £70 billion to protect jobs
= Expansionary Fiscal Policy

Austerity measures (2010-2019), cutting public sector spending to reduce budget deficit after 2008 financial crisis
= Contractionary Fiscal Policy

Debt as % of GDP = 98.8% so balancing spending + borrowing is a challenge

Question 13

Supply Side Policies

Answer 13

Infrastructure Investment (HS2 railway project) = improve transport