Data highlights growth potential of regional economic contribution from creative industries

Compared to pre-pandemic levels, between 2019 and 2023 creative industries Gross Value Added (GVA) grew by 1.4 per cent.

Creative industries Gross Value Added in the East Midlands and the North East grew the most relatively over this period, at 12.4 per cent and 12.0 per cent respectively.

However, adjusting the figures for inflation, underlines the challenges faced by the creative industries in the most recent period. Judged in real terms, GVA by the creative industries fell in all regions from 2022 to 2023. The largest relative falls were seen in the North East (-9.8 per cent), East (-6.6 per cent) and South East (-6.5).

The potential for further growth in the contribution of GVA by different regions outside London and the South East is evident from the figures. Data showing the regional distribution of the GVA generated by the creative industries and the share of regional economies made up by the creative industries is shown in the charts below.

Around half of GVA in the creative industries in 2023 was generated in London (51.7 per cent) followed by the South East (16.1 per cent). For context, 24.4 per cent of overall UK GVA was generated in London and 15 per cent in the South East. This means that the creative industries are more concentrated in London than the UK economy as a whole.

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Unleashing the full potential of city regions and clusters is a core objective of the UK government's recently published industrial strategy. As part of the sector plan for the creative industries, the government says it will concentrate its efforts in places with the greatest potential for growth, namely, in city regions and high-potential clusters.

Areas identified in the sector plan as having growth potential include the North East, Dundee, West Yorkshire, Belfast, Liverpool and the West of England.

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