UK Economy Growth Revision

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economy grew more strongly than previously thought in 2022, according to revised official data that gave more weight to the oil and gas sector, which was buoyed by high prices and the health service as it caught up with COVID-19 backlogs.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated on Wednesday it now believes that Britain’s economy grew by 4.8% in 2022, up from a previous estimate of 4.3%.

Revisions to GDP in the two years prior – when the economy slumped by 10.3% in 2020 during the pandemic before bouncing back by 8.6% in 2021 – were minimal, the ONS said as it published its annual revisions to past data.

The ONS updated the way it weights sectors of the economy within the overall GDP data, with mining and quarrying given larger relative importance due to rising oil and gas prices. The health sector was also weighted higher due to increased activity following the pandemic.

Manufacturing faced bigger costs reducing its contribution to the economy, while the accommodation and food sector has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, resulting in both being reported as relatively smaller than in 2019, according to the ONS.

The revisions will also apply to data for 2023 and 2024, as announced on September 30, by the ONS.