Economy
The South East of England is a very prosperous area with the second largest regional economy in the UK (after London), valued at £177 billion in 2006. GDP per capita in 2007 was estimated at £22,624, compared with a UK average of £19,956, making South East England the second richest region per capita, behind London. The South East England Development Agency is in Guildford, with another site in Chatham. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is on the A30 in Hook, north Hampshire The UKTI service for the region is on Victory Park in Whiteley, off junction 9 of the M27, opposite the Solent Hotel.
There are two strategic health authorities for the region - NHS South East Coast in Horley, Surrey, north-east of Gatwick Airport, and NHS South Central (for the west of the region), on the Newbury Business Park in the east of Newbury, off the A4. Similarly there is the South East Coast Ambulance Service on the B2163 at Coxheath (for Kent), on the A217 at Banstead (for Surrey), and on the A277 in Lewes (for Sussex). The South Central Ambulance Service is headquartered on the B4100 next to Bicester Town railway station, with offices at Otterbourne, Hampshire and Wokingham. The charity-funded air ambulances are Kent Air Ambulance at Marden, Kent; Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance at Thruxton, Hampshire; Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance at Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey; and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance at RAF Benson.
The region has the largest number of businesses of any region in the UK, and as such would be placed as the 31st largest economy in the world.
Many high technology companies are located near the M3 in Surrey and the M4 in Berkshire. Sun Microsystems have their UK base in Blackwater near Camberley. Microsoft and Oracle have their UK headquarters next door to each other in Reading, as do the Yell Group and Logica (near junction 11 of the M4). Symantec UK is in nearby Whitley. The Gatwick Diamond is also a hub for hi-tech industry, centred at Gatwick Airport with Epsom to the north and Burgess Hill to the south. The largest company, by turnover, in the South East is Vodafone, followed by Ineos.
Read more about this topic: South East England
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“War. Fighting. Men ... every man in the whole realm is in the army.... Every man in uniform ... An economy entirely geared to war ... but there is not much war ... hardly any fighting ... yet every man a soldier from birth till death ... Men ... all men for fighting ... but no war, no wars to fight ... what is it, what does it mean?””
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of generations, peoples, of entire planets, has no importance in relation to the general development.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical terms.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)