UK Balance of Payments, The Pink Book: 2025

• The UK's current account deficit moved to £63.2 billion, or 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, narrowing both in cash terms and as a proportion of GDP; from a revised deficit of £98.3 billion (3.6% of GDP) in 2023. 

• The trade balance narrowed to a deficit of 0.9% of GDP in 2024, from a revised deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2023.

• The primary income account deficit narrowed to a deficit of 0.7% of GDP in 2024, from a revised deficit of 1.7% of GDP in 2023. 

• The rate of return on investment in the UK fell to 3.7% in 2024, and rate of return on investment abroad fell to 3.6%, as interest rates in the UK and abroad reduced. 

• The financial account recorded a net inflow of £64.1 billion (2.2% of GDP) in 2024, with net financial inflows of £418.9 billion (14.5% of GDP) and net financial outflows of £354.7 billion (12.3% of GDP). 

• The value of the UK's net international investment liability position at the end of 2024 was £145.6 billion (5.0% of GDP), compared with a revised £267.3 billion (9.7% of GDP) at the end of 2023; this was largely because of changes in equity and fund shares in both direct and portfolio investment.

• Data for all periods have been open to revisions; revisions to the current account balance are because of incorporating methods improvements and updated trade, and foreign direct investment survey data. 

Data in this publication are consistent with that in our Balance of Payments, UK April to June 2025 bulletin. In both bulletins, we made improvements to recording trade in precious metals, but these were not fully applied to 2024 data because of a processing error. However, this does not affect the estimate of trade balance as a % of GDP. 

For the most up to date UK trade estimates, see our UK Trade: August 2025 bulletin and UK trade, quarterly goods and services: April to June 2025 bulletin, in which the error has been corrected. More information is available in Section 9: Data sources and quality.

The current account records: 

• international trade 

• cross-border income associated with the international ownership of financial assets 

• current transfers, like foreign aid 

It captures the flow of transactions between the UK and the rest of the world. Trade and investment income flows typically explain movements in the UK's current account balance. 

This includes: 

• the trade balance, which is the difference between the value of exports and imports 

• the primary income balance, which mainly covers investment income associated with the international ownership of financial assets, along with compensation of employees and other income 

• the secondary income balance, which measures payments made or received between residents and non-residents 

The UK's current account deficit narrowed to 2.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, from a revised deficit of 3.6% of GDP in 2023. In cash terms, this reduced the deficit to £63.2 billion in 2024 from £98.3 billion in 2023. 

The trade balance moved to a deficit of 0.9% of GDP in 2024 from a revised deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2023. The primary income balance narrowed to 0.7% of GDP in 2024 from 1.7% of GDP in 2023, as the direct investment surplus widened. The secondary income deficit narrowed slightly to a total deficit of 0.6% in 2024, from 0.7% of GDP in 2023.

The UK recorded the second largest current account deficit of the G7 (Group of Seven) economies in 2024, at 2.2% of nominal GDP. Germany recorded the highest current account surplus of 5.8% of its GDP, whereas the United States recorded the largest deficit in the G7, at 4.0% of GDP in 2024. The United States consistently ran a high trade in goods deficit accompanied by a low average savings ratio among its residents, whereas Germany and Japan had a much higher domestic savings ratio.

The UK trade balance narrowed to a deficit of £25.1 billion, which was 0.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, from a deficit of £32.1 billion (1.2% of GDP) in 2023. The UK trade balance in 2024 reflected an expansion of the trade in services surplus, partially offset by a proportionally smaller widening in the trade in goods deficit (Figure 3).

Trade in goods 

The trade in goods deficit widened to 7.3% (£210.7 billion) in 2024, from 7.0% of GDP (£192.1 billion) in 2023. This is partly because of a switch in the balance of unspecified goods (including precious metals and non-monetary gold) from a surplus to a deficit. Non-monetary gold is highly volatile and can distort trade trends. 

There were other noteworthy contributors to the widening of the goods deficit. These included a: 

• £5.0 billion increase in the semi-manufactured goods deficit, to £27.1 billion 

• £3.7 billion increase in the oil deficit, to £24.3 billion 

• £3.3 billion expansion in the food, beverages and tobacco deficit, to £38.2 billion 

These were partially offset by decreases in: 

• finished manufactured goods deficit, which decreased by £6.7 billion to £99.8 billion 

• coal, gas and electricity deficit (fuels other than oil), which decreased by £4.4 billion to £13.0 billion

The trade in goods deficit in 2024 was attributed to a fall in the value of goods exports compared with 2023. Total goods exports decreased by £30.8 billion over the year to £386.5 billion. The largest decreases were recorded in: 

• unspecified goods, which fell to £6.3 billion in 2024 from £18.3 billion in 2023 

• semi-manufactured goods, which decreased by £7.0 billion to £105.9 billion 

• oil, which fell by £6.6 billion to £27.6 billion, as crude oil prices continued to decrease following record highs during the 2022 energy crisis 

• fuels other than oil, which decreased by £3.2 billion to £4.8 billion, reflecting lower gas and electricity prices 

Imports of goods decreased by a lesser extent in 2024, by £12.3 billion to £597.2 billion. The largest falls were recorded in: 

• finished manufactured goods, which fell by £9.1 billion to £302.2 billion 

• fuels other than oil, which decreased by £7.6 billion to £17.8 billion 

• oil, which fell by £2.9 billion to £51.9 billion 

These decreases were partly offset by: 

• increases in imports of unspecified goods, which rose from £3.3 billion to £9.5 billion 

• imports of food, beverages and tobacco, which increased by £3.6 billion amid higher UK food prices during the year

Trade in goods data can be found in our 02 Trade in goods, The Pink Book dataset. 

Trade in services 

The trade in services surplus widened to 6.4% of GDP (£185.5 billion) in 2024, from 5.8% of GDP (£160.0 billion) in 2023. Exports of services increased from £460.9 billion to £507.0 billion, and imports increased from £301.0 billion to £321.5 billion.

The trade in services surplus widened in 2024, as total services exports increased by £46.1 billion to £507.0 billion. The largest increases were recorded in: 

• intellectual property (by £13.5 billion) 

• other business services (by £12.7 billion) 

• travel services (by £6.6 billion) 

• financial services (by £5.3 billion) 

Total services imports increased by £20.6 billion to £321.5 billion and the largest increases were in: 

• other business services (£11.8 billion) 

• telecommunications, computer and information services (£2.5 billion) 

• insurance and pension services (£2.2 billion)

Trade in services data can be found in our 03 Trade in services, The Pink Book dataset.

The primary income deficit narrowed to £21.0 billion (0.7% of GDP) in 2024, from £45.9 billion (1.7% GDP) in 2023. This was because of an increase in net earnings on direct investment, (Figure 6) which rose from £33.6 billion in 2023 to a total of £52.1 billion (1.8% of GDP) in 2024. The reduction in the primary income deficit was also affected by a narrowing of £7.4 billion in net earnings on total portfolio investment, to total a deficit of £49.2 billion (1.7% of GDP) in 2024. 

Primary income data can be found in our 04 Primary income, The Pink Book dataset.

Direct investment  

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) earnings have remained positive annually since 2021. In 2024, the UK's net FDI income surplus increased to £52.1 billion, following a reduction in 2023. This is mainly because of a sharper fall in FDI debits (£137.9 billion to £80.4 billion) than credits (£171.6 billion to £132.5 billion) in 2024. 

Non-residents earned £65.5 billion less from earnings on their UK equity investments, down nearly a half from £121.8 billion in 2023. This was largely because of a £41.6 billion decrease in dividends paid during 2024, to a total of £69.0 billion. These effects were partially offset by UK residents who received lower overseas investment income, with credits falling to £132.5 billion, including £50.1 billion less in equity earnings and £22.7 billion less in dividends. Credits were down £39.0 billion from 2023.

The private non-financial corporation sector was the main sector involved in direct investment income transactions, accounting for £37.6 billion less in credit-side earnings and £51.3 billion less in debits. 

Portfolio investment

The narrowing of the net portfolio investment deficit in 2024 was largely from an increase in earnings of £7.0 billion paid out on debt securities to UK residents with foreign portfolio investment holdings. This included a £4.2 billion increase in payouts by foreign monetary financial institutions. There was also increased earnings on equity and investment fund shares of £2.5 billion for UK residents.

Rate of return 

The rate of return reflects how much income is produced from a stock of external investment that is held by UK and non-resident investors. The rate of return is influenced by economic and financial factors, such as changes in interest rates.

In 2024, UK investors saw a decrease in the rate of return on their overseas investments abroad (assets) from 3.8% in 2023 to 3.6% in 2024. Non-residents saw a larger decrease in their rate of return in the UK (liabilities) from 4.2% to 3.7%. In 2023, the rates of return for both UK investors abroad and non-resident investors in the UK were at their highest point since 2008. The reduction in rates of return for assets and liabilities in 2024 occurred as the Bank of England and foreign central banks lowered interest rates in 2024.

Figure 8 shows the rate of return for UK investments abroad, broken down by continent. Although there was a decreased rate of return in Africa in 2024, it was still the continent that provided the highest rate of returns. These have historically been volatile because of their developing economies, and the proportion of investments in cyclical industries, like mining and quarrying. More developed economies in Europe, the Americas and Asia continue to provide more stable returns.

Figure 9 shows the rate of return for foreign investments in the UK, broken down by continent.

The financial account records transactions in the net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities of the UK. It consists of direct, portfolio and other investment, along with financial derivatives and employee stock options, and reserve assets. For more detailed definitions, refer to our interactive glossary.

The UK is a net borrower with the rest of the world because of its current account deficit. The UK must attract net financial inflows to finance its current (and capital) account deficit. This can be achieved by disposing of overseas assets to overseas investors or by accruing liabilities with the rest of the world. The UK has run an annual current account deficit since 1984.

The financial account recorded a net inflow of £64.1 billion (2.2% of GDP) in 2024. Figure 10 shows that in 2024, financial outflows increased by £100.0 billion from 2023 to a total of £354.7 billion. This was mainly because of increased investment in deposits and short-term loans abroad by UK residents. Financial inflows increased by £79.0 billion to £418.9 billion in 2024; this was affected by higher foreign currency deposits from abroad with UK monetary financial institutions.

Net inflows from other investment, which includes transactions in loans, deposits and currency, decreased from £275.2 billion in 2023, to £56.0 billion in 2024. In contrast, total net portfolio investment shifted from a net outflow of £180.7 billion in 2023 to a net inflow of £32.3 billion in 2024. The change in net direct investment flows was smaller, with outflows of £12.1 billion in 2023, increasing to £33.8 billion in 2024. 

UK assets (outflows) 

The largest change for UK assets from 2023 to 2024 was in other investment abroad; switching to an outflow of £292.2 billion in 2024, compared with an inflow of £23.4 billion in 2023. This was because UK residents increased their investments in short-term loans abroad from £47.6 billion to £243.4 billion. UK residents also invested in currency and deposits resulting in a change from an inflow of £69.3 billion in 2023, to an outflow of £48.9 billion in 2024.

UK residents reduced portfolio investments overseas to £85.7 billion in 2024, compared with £257.0 billion in 2023. Contributing to this change was a switch from outflows of £88.2 billion in total transactions in equity securities in 2023, to inflows of £42.1 billion in 2024. This is because UK monetary financial institutions (MFI's) and other financial intermediaries (OFI's) sold their equity overseas.

UK liabilities (inflows) 

The most notable change in UK liabilities was in other investment. This rose from £251.9 billion in 2023 to £348.2 billion in 2024, as foreign residents increased their investment in foreign currency deposits in UK banks from £71.6 billion in 2023 to £252.6 billion in 2024. This was partially offset by foreign residents reducing their investment in UK short-term loans, from £209.9 billion in 2023 to £117.4 billion in 2024.

Total portfolio investment inflows into the UK rose from £76.3 billion to £118.0 billion. This was largely because the UK government issued £102.0 billion worth of stock (UK gilts), including £78.7 billion in transactions by foreign residents (excluding central banks). UK gilts issued were up by £64.2 billion from the year before.

Information on the financial account can be found in our 07 Financial account, The Pink Book dataset.

The international investment position (IIP) measures the stock of assets and liabilities at the end of a period. For the annual IIP position, this period is 31 December. The IIP reflects the financial flows through the year, and other changes, such as price movements and currency changes. 

If all else remained the same, a current account deficit would be expected to lead to a fall in the net IIP. This would happen when an economy either incurred net financial liabilities or sold existing assets to finance its net borrowing from the rest of the world. However, there can also be revaluation effects and other changes in volume that do not reflect financial flows. Information on the IIP can be found in our 08 International investment position, The Pink Book dataset. 

The net IIP liability position was valued at £145.6 billion, or 5.0% of gross domestic product (GDP), at the end of 2024. This compares with £267.3 billion (9.7% of GDP) at the end of 2023. The change was largely because of direct investment, which reduced its net liability position from £277.8 billion in 2023, to £152.9 billion in 2024. A narrowing of the net portfolio investment liability position to £78.2 billion at the end of 2024 also contributed to the change.

Figure 12 and Figure 13 show how the positive revaluation changes contributed to the narrowing of the UK's net liability position by the end of 2024.

The remainder of this section refers to investments that include the three main types of investments: 

• Direct Investment 

• Portfolio Investment 

• Other Investment

This section excludes financial derivatives and employee stock options, and reserve assets because it is possible to estimate the impact of both currency and price changes only on the three main types of investments. 

In most years, the financial flows are one of the main factors causing the change in the UK's assets and liabilities. However, the variations in stock reflect the accumulation of new assets and liabilities, and the disposal or revaluation of existing ones, and changes in the sterling exchange rate. Changes in exchange rates affect the sterling value of UK assets abroad, as they are mainly denominated in foreign currencies. Equity price movements can also affect the value of assets and liabilities, but not the underlying volume.

UK assets 

The total value of UK assets, excluding derivatives and reserve assets, increased by £365.2 billion from the end of 2023 to the end of 2024. UK assets rose across portfolio and other investment from 2023 to 2024, offset by a slight fall in direct investment. Total flows increased by £364.4 billion.

Price changes further boosted asset values by £299.5 billion, caused largely by strong performance in international markets.

The United States (US) stock markets reached an all-time high in December 2024 amid optimism about US interest rate cuts and business-friendly policies. However, the overall appreciation of the British pound against some foreign currencies reduced the value of assets when converted to sterling by £134.7 billion. In addition, other changes, such as financial adjustments not attributed to price or exchange rate effects, contributed to a further £164.0 billion fall in assets. 

UK liabilities 

The value of UK liabilities, excluding derivatives and special drawing rights, increased by £239.0 billion between 2023 and 2024. UK liabilities also experienced an increase during 2024, with other investment and portfolio investment rising by £275.3 billion and £164.8 billion, respectively. This was partially offset by a £201.1 billion fall in direct investment into the UK. 

Overall, total flows increased by £418.9 billion, while price changes added a further £160.8 billion. This was supported by appreciation in the FTSE 100 as inflation eased. Currency revaluations and other changes offset part of these gains, decreasing the value of liabilities by £29.9 billion and £310.7 billion respectively. Other changes include debt cancellation and write-offs, and reclassifications.

We have calculated currency changes by calculating sterling exchange rate movements against a basket of currencies to obtain the exchange rate impact. Similarly, we model price movements using a combination of stocks and bond indices, including end-quarter share prices for: 

• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index

• MSCI Europe ex UK Index

• FTSE All Share Index

• Nikkei 225 Index

For more information, see our Understanding the UK's net international investment position article.

Explore the 2024 international investment position data using our interactive map.

UK international investment position (IIP) assets and liabilities 2024

Notes:

1. This experimental map includes the UK's largest counterpart countries.
2. Investment data for 2024 do not include annual benchmark data.
3. Historical data can be found in our 10 Geographical breakdown of the UK international investment position, The Pink Book dataset.

See our Pink Book interactive glossary of terms used in the balance of payments.

Data sources 

Balance of payments statistics are compiled from a variety of sources produced in the national accounts sector and financial accounts (SFA) framework. Some of the main sources used in the compilation are: 

• overseas trade statistics – HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) 

• International Trade in Services Survey (ITIS) - Office for National Statistics (ONS) 

• International Passenger Survey – ONS; this was suspended between March 2020 and January 2021 because of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, and is currently undergoing transformation 

• Foreign Direct Investment Survey – ONS and the Bank of England (BoE) 

• various financial inquiries – ONS and BoE 

• Ownership of UK Quoted Shares Survey – ONS 

Trade is measured through exports and imports of goods and services. Data are supplied by over 30 sources, including several administrative sources. HMRC is the largest for trade in goods. ITIS is the largest single data source for trade in services. 

In some years, methodological and data source improvements are incorporated into the Pink Book. The most recent were applied in 2023. They are presented in our Detailed assessment of changes to balance of payments annual estimates: 1997 to 2021 article.

Changes affecting UK trade statistics 

Data collection changes 

Since the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the arrangements for how the UK trades with the EU have changed. HMRC implemented some data collection changes following Brexit, which affected statistics on UK trade in goods with the EU. We have made adjustments to our estimates of goods imports from the EU in 2021 and 2022 to account for these changes. However, a structural break remains in the full time series for goods imports from and exports to the EU from January 2021. 

We therefore advise caution when interpreting and drawing conclusions from these statistics. Our Impact of trade in goods data collection changes on UK trade statistics: summary of adjustments and the structural break from 2021 article provides more detail. 

Impact of processing error on implementing precious metals methods improvement 

We have implemented improvements to recording trade in precious metals in this release, as part of our methods improvements for Blue Book and Pink Book 2025. We removed the double counting of some precious metals bars and included previously under-recorded non-monetary gold that is not in bar form. 

These method improvements have been implemented in this release for all countries back to January 1997. However, because of a processing error these improvements were not fully applied to a small number of countries for 2024 and 2025 in our Balance of payments, UK: April to June 2025 bulletin and this release. Total gross domestic product (GDP) was not impacted by this error. More information, including indicative impacts, is available in Section 8: Data sources and quality of the Balance of payments, UK: April to June 2025 bulletin.

Estimates for all affected periods of January 2024 to May 2025 have been corrected in our UK Trade: August 2025 bulletin and UK trade, quarterly goods and services: April to June 2025 bulletin. The corrected estimates will be incorporated in our GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin, publishing on 13 November 2025, with these revisions implemented outside the usual National Accounts Revisions Policy.

Balance of payments, estimates for Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024 to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2025 will be updated in our Balance of Payments, UK: July to September 2025 bulletin publishing on 22 December 2025, in accordance with National Accounts Revisions Policy. 

International trade in services estimates 

The International Passenger Survey (IPS), which is the source of travel services estimates (accounting for approximately 8.0% of total trade), is being transformed under our Travel and tourism project. Travel services estimates have been forecast since Quarter 3 2024.

Financial sector statistics 

Our Financial Services Survey (FSS) is undergoing transformation, to improve the quality of our financial sector statistics. Since the transformation period started in 2024, financial services statistics in this release have been based on forecasts. 

Foreign direct investment statistics 

The main source of information for UK foreign direct investment (FDI) statistics is the Annual FDI Survey. Separate surveys are used to collect data on inward and outward FDI. This is combined with data from the BoE on the banking sector. The statistics in this bulletin are compiled using the asset and liability measurement principle, which uses residency as the main distinction between outward and inward investments.

Quality and methodology 

More quality and methodology information (QMI) on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Balance of payments QMI. 

We will continue to produce our UK balance of payments statistics in line with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Statisticsand in accordance with internationally agreed statistical guidance and standards. This is based on the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) Balance of Payments Manual sixth edition (BPM6) (PDF, 3.0MB), until those standards are updated.