Creative industries worth 91.8 billion pounds to the UK

New government statistics reveal that the creative industries are now worth 91.8 billion pounds in Gross Value Added to the UK economy, demonstrating that the creative sector is continuing to outstrip others in terms of growth.

The creative industries grew at more than double the speed of the wider economy in the period 2015-2016, at a rate of 7.6 percent compared to 3.5 percent of growth for the economy as a whole. Making it worth more than the automotive, life sciences, aerospace and oil and gas industries combined.

The creative industries now make up 5.3 percent of the UK economy, with particularly high growth shown by the crafts industry (14.6 percent), design and fashion (11 percent), creative tech including games (11.4 percent), publishing (7.7 percent) and film and TV (6.6 percent).

This means the creative industries are worth more than seven times the UK’s gross annual contribution to the EU and would pay for the estimated Brexit divorce bill of 50 billion euros twice over, the Creative Industries Federation stated.

John Kampfner, Creative Industries Federation chief executive, said: “These are impressive figures and testament to the innovation and resilience of this sector and its contribution to the wider UK economy.

“But it should be noted that these figures are for the period before the EU referendum. These fantastic growth rates demonstrate all the more the importance of protecting our sector from threats such as Brexit and growing skills gaps. The Federation will continue to make the case for the measures we need to support continued growth. We trust that the 2016-17 figures will show no adverse consequences arising from Brexit.”