Contribution of the Publishing Industry to the UK Economy
![](https://www.publishers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Infographic-of-Publishings-contribution-to-the-UK-Economy-1-1024x653.png)
The Contribution of the Publishing Industry to the UK Economy by Frontier Economics shows that the British publishing industry generates up to £7.8bn GVA for the wider UK economy and supports more than 70,000 jobs in direct, indirect and induced impact:
- The research, produced by Frontier Economics for The Publishers Association and to be launched this week, shows that 57% of total publishing turnover (£2.9bn) comes from export revenues. 70% of these exports are to countries outside the EU, principally North America (17%) and East and South Asia (14%).
- Currently more than half of wider UK exports go to Europe, suggesting that the publishing industry is outperforming other sectors when it comes to developing global trade.
- The UK remains the largest exporter of physical books in the world, with a 17% share of world exports, more than the United States (16%), Germany (10%) and China (8%). The industry’s exports generate a £1.1bn trade surplus annually, reducing the UK’s trade deficit by 2.2%.
- The publishing industry directly employs 29,000 people in the UK. The GVA figure per worker in publishing stands at £112,800, more than twice the national average of £49,100 and more than professionals working in newspaper publishing (£51,500) and IT software and services (£81,400).
- Since 2012, UK publishing gross value added (GVA) has increased by 19% – faster than the growth of the UK economy as a whole (15%). UK publishing companies play a critical role in supporting British bookshops, which employ 12,000 people and generate £1 billion in turnover.
- Academic publishing is becoming increasingly important to the sector’s overall performance, generating the majority of the industry’s turnover growth since 2010. More than £1.1 billion of export revenues are derived from academic book and journal sales, up 5% from 2015.
The report draws on a range of external sources, as well as on a series of stakeholder interviews with industry experts. Frontier Economics extends their thanks to all who participated in those interviews.