Economy of The United Kingdom - Regional Variations

Regional Variations

See also: List of ceremonial counties in England by gross value added

The strength of the UK economy varies from country to country and from region to region. Excluding the effects of North Sea Oil and Gas (officially included in the Extra-regio), England has the highest Gross value added (GVA) with Scotland close behind, though Scotland has a higher figure, estimated as approximately £24 000 per capita in 2009, once a geographical share of oil and gas is assigned. Scotland had the best rate of per capita growth over the preceding 12 months, declining by 1.4%, ahead of the best performing region of England which was the North West with a decline of 1.9%. GVA per capita figures for 2009 for the four countries of the United Kingdom (excluding oil and gas) are:

Rank	Place	GVA per capita
1	England	20 442 ($31,545)
2	Scotland	19 744 ($30,468)
3	Northern Ireland	15 795 ($24,374)
4	Wales	14 842 ($22,903)

Within England, GVA per capita is highest in London. The following table shows the GVA (2009) per capita of the 9 statistical regions of England (NUTS).

Rank	Place	GVA per capita
1	Greater London	34,200 ($52,776)
2	South East England	20,923 ($32,287)
3	East of England	18,591 ($28,689)
4	South West England	18,211 ($28,102)
5	East Midlands	17,349 ($26,772)
6	North West England	17,263 ($26,639)
7	West Midlands	16,788 ($25,906)
8	Yorkshire and the Humber, England	16,569 ($25,568)
9	North East England	15,621 ($24,106)

Two of the richest 10 areas in the European Union are in the United Kingdom. Inner London is number 1 with a GDP per capita of €65 138, and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire is number 7 with a GDP per capita of €37 379. Edinburgh is also one of the largest financial centres in Europe.

At the other end of the scale, Cornwall has the lowest GVA per head of any county or unitary authority in England, and it has received EU Convergence funding (formerly Objective One funding) since 2000.