London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Covid-19: Has the UK economy been hardest hit?

Covid-19: Has the UK economy been hardest hit?

The UK's GDP, which is the value of everything produced in the economy, was 9.9% down in 2020 compared with 2019.

There is no question that it has been a bad year for the UK economy, with severe restrictions imposed for a lot of the year as a result of coronavirus. It is also an economy reliant on consumer spending on things like hotels, restaurants and leisure activities, which have been badly hit by lockdowns.

But has the UK economy had a worse year than those in other advanced countries?

In an interview on Friday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak told BBC News: "We calculate GDP in a different way to pretty much everybody else."

He added that if you corrected for that difference: "What you find is that our performance is very much in line and comparable to other countries and, in fact, it may be on a margin better than places like Canada, Germany, Italy and Spain."

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds told BBC News: "The UK has had the worst economic crisis of any major economy."


Spain, which is not in the G7 group of major advanced economies, registered a fall of 11%, so the UK economy certainly performed better than that.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which works out UK GDP, published a blog explaining the differences in methodology.

The tricky part is how you work out the output of public services such as healthcare or education.

If you want to know the output of a normal business, you just look at how much it has made from selling its goods or services.

That doesn't work as well with the public sector, so the ONS bases its figure on measures such as how many people have seen a GP, how many operations have taken place and the number of pupils receiving education.

Things like the closure of schools and the cancellation of non-urgent operations meant that the output of public services took a big hit in the pandemic.

Other countries tend to base their figures either on how much money has been spent on public services or how many hours have been worked by staff delivering them. As the amount of money spent has not fallen, that method would show less of a drop in their output.

That is also how the ONS works out GDP in nominal or cash terms. "Where the public services element is based on the money spent, the fall in UK GDP is broadly comparable to other G7 countries, and smaller than falls seen in Canada, Italy and Germany," it said.

"However, the 'real' estimates better reflect changes in the services being delivered."

The real estimate is the one that takes into account changes in prices, which the nominal one doesn't.

The ONS also looked at a measure of GDP excluding public services, which it said made little difference to the UK (which was factoring in a decline in public services already), but made Germany's figure worse by two percentage points. However, it added that: "In this approach the fall in UK GDP is still one of the largest in the G7."

Others have argued that while the distinction the chancellor mentioned may reduce the perceived fall in public sector output, it doesn't measure the drop in consumer spending or investment, both of which suffered from steep declines. "It is clear that the decline in GDP was significantly bigger in the UK than in Germany last year," said Andrew Kennington, from Capital Economics.

The UK economy fared badly last year. Adjusting for differences in methodology improves that performance, but it still leaves the UK towards the bottom of the league for economic performance.

Prof Diane Coyle, from University of Cambridge, told Reality Check: "This does show the limitations of GDP as a measure of economic wellbeing in any meaningful sense.

"It isn't a great framework for measuring any output outside the market, be that public services or environmental impacts."


Chancellor Rishi Sunak says the GDP slump is "comparable to other countries"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
×