Murphy: Data shows Scotland well placed for recovery

9 December 2009

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) today published annual statistics on GVA (Gross Value Added) - the most commonly used measure of economic welfare - for 2008 (for Scotland) and 2007 (for regions within Scotland).

Jim Murphy said:

"For good reasons, this data relates to 2008 and 2007 and the immediate economic climate has changed significantly. But the report confirms that Scotland is well placed to weather the current global difficulties.

"It shows that the picture of Scotland being held back somehow does not stack up. It is encouraging to see that Scottish growth in this period was above the UK average, and only London, the south-east of England and the East of England performed better. Our prosperity is dependant on us being able to trade freely with the rest of the UK."

The ONS data shows that:

• Scotland's GVA (Gross Value Added) for 2008 was estimated at £103.8 billion - up 4.7% on the revised 2007 figure of £99.1 billion (current prices). This was the highest growth by any region, followed by London (4.1%).  This compares to overall UK GVA growth of 3.5% (excluding continental shelf activity).
• Scotland's share of UK GDP (excluding continental shelf activity) rose slightly to 8.2% in 2008.   London (21.0%) and the South East (14.4%) had the highest shares of total UK GVA.
• GVA per head in Scotland was £20,086 in 2008 (residence based).  This represents 97.9% of the UK average, up from 96% in 2007.   Only London (155.0%), East (113.6%) and the South East (105.7%) are higher.  GVA per head is the most commonly used measure of economic welfare.
• Scottish GVA was £99.1 billion in 2007.  Of this £40.9 billion was generated in the South Western Scotland, £40.1 billion in Eastern Scotland, £11.6 billion in North Eastern and £6.6 billion in the Highlands and Islands.
• GVA per head in North Eastern Scotland was 29% above the UK average in 2007, 2% higher in Eastern Scotland, 10% lower in South Western Scotland and 26% lower in the Highlands and Islands.
• Of the local areas in Scotland, Glasgow City produced the highest contribution to Scottish GVA (£15.7 billion) followed by Edinburgh City (£15.3 billion) and Aberdeen City (£11.6 billion).

Read the full ONS Report

Notes

1. ONS Regional GVA estimates are based on a different methodology from the Scottish GDP index, and so are not entirely comparable. There is also a time lag of a year.
2. GVA measures the contribution to the economy of each individual producer, industry or sector in the United Kingdom.
3. GVA is used in the estimation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP is a key indicator of the state of the whole economy. In the UK, three theoretical approaches are used to estimate GDP: 'production', 'income' and 'expenditure'. When using the production or income approaches, the contribution to the economy of each industry or sector is measured using GVA.