On Thursday 29 October 2020, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published the statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS Sectors to the UK economy, measured by imports and exports of services and goods.
The key findings were:
- Trade in DCMS Sector (excl. Tourism)1goods in 2019, in current prices, was:
- £36.2 billion of goods exports, 9.9% of total UK goods exports
- £53.6 billion of goods imports, 9.8% of total UK goods imports
- In 2019, £20.1bn (55.4% of the DCMS sector total goods exports) were in the Creative Industries, followed by £17.4bn (48.1%) for the Digital Sector (DCMS sectors are not mutually exclusive)
- In 2019, £43.2bn (80.6% of the DCMS sector total goods imports) were in the Digital Sector, followed by £11.4bn (21.3%) for the Creative Industries (DCMS sectors are not mutually exclusive)
- Trade with the European Union member states and with non-EU countries:
- Of the £36.2bn of DCMS Sector goods exported in 2019, £13.9bn (38.4%) were exported to EU countries and £22.3bn (61.6%) were exported to non-EU countries.
- Of the £53.6bn of DCMS Sector goods imported in 2019, £22.9bn (42.7%) were imported to EU countries and £30.7bn (57.3%) were imported to non-EU countries.
- Trade with individual countries:
- £8.4bn of DCMS Sector goods were exported to the USA (23.1% of total DCMS Sector goods trade exported, by value), £3.8bn of goods were exported to Switzerland (10.5% of DCMS Sector total), and £2.9bn of goods to France (8.0%) in 2019
- £13.7 billion of DCMS Sector goods were imported from (mainland) China in 2019, (25.6% of all DCMS Sector goods imports), £7.4bn (13.8%) from the Netherlands, £5.1bn from the USA (9.5%) in 2019
Dr Richard Wilson OBE, CEO of TIGA, said:
“These DCMS statistics highlight clearly that the creative sectors of the economy are making an important contribution to UK exports. The video games industry is also export focused, with the vast majority of UK studios exporting content. The Government can support our industry’s ability to export by maintaining and enhancing Video Games Tax Relief and by introducing a Video Games Investment Fund. These schemes encourage investment in the sector and improve studios’ access to finance and therefore their ability to grow and to export.”