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The gap between UK imports and exports of goods was the widest on record in 2025, while services registered a record surplus, underscoring the economy’s long-standing shift from manufacturing.
Britain reported a £248.3bn trade deficit for goods in 2025, £30.5bn more than the previous year and the largest since the collection of comparable data began in 1997, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday.
By contrast, the UK exported £191.8bn more in services than it imported. That marked an increase of £16.4bn from the previous year and the largest on record.
Fhaheen Khan, economist at manufacturing trade body Make UK, said the UK’s trade deficit in goods was the result of a “long-term decline in industrial production”.
The strong performance of sterling over the past year and lower energy and production costs in other countries helped boost imports of cheaper products into the UK, he added.
The goods figures exclude precious metals and all figures are adjusted for inflation.
Sophie Hale, trade economist at the Resolution Foundation think-tank, said the services figures revealed the UK’s “long-standing strengths” in the sector.
She added that global trade in services has been growing faster than for goods for a few years, a trend that has benefited the UK, which is the world’s second-largest exporter of services after the US.
Overall, in 2025, the volume of goods and services imports increased by £32bn, or 3.4 per cent, to £959.2bn.
Exports increased by £17.9bn, or 2 per cent, to £902.8bn in the year. This means that the overall trade deficit widened by £14.1bn to £56bn last year.
Total trade figures for goods, including precious metals, also showed a record trade deficit in 2025.