architecture: Facts and figures
economic impact
- The architecture sector produced £3.641bn of Gross Value Added in 2018, an increase of 1.5 per cent over the previous figure.
- Between 2017 and 2018, architecture's GVA increased by 7.8 per cent.
revenues & EMPLOYMENT IN ARCHITECTURE (2019 RIBA survey)
- Estimated staff employed in UK architectural practices: 44,000
- Total revenues: £3.6bn
- A third of revenues in these practices comes from housing, with UK architects working across a range of project types, including the health, education and commercial sectors
- Projects worked on in the last 12 months: 173,000
- Revenue from outside the UK: £625m
architecture education Statistics
• In 2017/18, there were 16,663 students in the UK’s Schools of Architecture
• In 2017/18, 3,995 new entrants started RIBA Validated Part 1 architecture courses, an increase of 3 per cent on the previous years
• 51 per cent of Part 1 new entrants were female students, an increase of 5 per cent on five years ago
OTHER STATISTICS
• London 2012 – the largest redevelopment project in Europe – was delivered on budget and on time. (Source: Construction 2025 Government Strategy document). UK firms will be involved in the next two Olympic Games (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020).
• There are 375,000 listed buildings in the UK – one for every 170 members of the population. (Source: The Farrell Review into Architecture and the Built Environment).
• The UK has a £530m trade surplus in architecture and surveying. (Source: ONS Pink Book, 2012 quoted in Construction 2025 Government Strategy document).
• UK-headquartered Foster & Partners is the world’s most admired architecture firm. (Source: Building Design Online 2014 Most Admired List).
• The UK is a world centre of architectural education with nearly 50 schools and 10 in London alone. (Source: Architects’ Journal).
• The UK and Japan tie (with three each) for the most winners of the international Pritzker Prize for Architecture over the last 25 years. The UK’s Zaha Hadid was the first female winner in 2004. (Source: http://www.pritzkerprize.com/).
• There are more people employed in UK architecture jobs than dentists, or librarians/museum staff. (Sources: DCMS Estimates, General Dental Council).