The United Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 11% in 2020, 1.7% more than initially estimated, the National Statistics Office (ONS) said on Monday.
The ONS, which had previously estimated the contraction at 9.3%, said the new estimate was attributable to additional data that had been collected.
The year “2020 was an unprecedented year" with movement restrictions introduced to stem the spread of Covid-19 leading to the largest drop in economic activity on record, ONS statistician Craig McLaren said.
He explained that, when the ONS released its initial estimates, it had warned that they were more uncertain than usual.
The updated estimates issued on Monday show that, overall, the British economy fared worse in 2020 than initially projected, although the industrial production sector actually performed better, he added.
The updated figures show in particular that "the health service faced higher costs than we initially estimated, meaning its overall contribution to the economy was lower," McLaren said. In the retail trade, sales were also weaker than initially calculated.
The ONS is scheduled to publish updated growth figures for 2021 and 2022 on September 30.
