Scotland’s exports increased in 2019

Scotland’s international exports increased by 3.4% in 2019. Exports to the rest of the UK also increased, up 5%.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released Export Statistics Scotland 2019, which provides estimates of the cash value of Scotland’s exports of goods and services (excluding oil and gas), by industry and destination for 2019. These show that in 2019, Scotland’s international exports increased by £1.1 billion to £35.1 billion.

The growth in international exports was driven by an increase in the exports of services (up 9.5%). This included strong growth in exports of information and communication services and professional, scientific and technical activities. However there was a slight decrease in manufacturing exports (down 0.5%) in 2019.

Scotland’s exports to EU countries increased by £420 million (2.6%) to £16.4 billion in 2019. Exports to non-EU countries also increased, up £730 million (4.1%) to £18.7 billion in 2019.

Scotland’s exports to the rest of the UK also increased in 2019, up £2.5 billion (5%) to £52 billion. This was driven by increased exports from the utilities sector (up 33.6%), due to strong growth in Scotland’s electricity exports to the rest of the UK.

The USA continued to be Scotland’s top export destination, with exports to the USA valued at £6 billion and accounted for 17% of total international exports in 2019. The rest of the top five export destination countries in 2019 were in the EU as France (£2.9 billion) was the next largest followed by the Netherlands (£2.7 billion), Germany (£2.4 billion) and Ireland (£1.4 billion).

Background

Export Statistics Scotland: 2019 presents the most recent data for exports of goods and services from Scotland for 2002 to 2019. Data has been revised from previous versions, to take into account new information and sources. These published estimates relate to both international and rest of the UK exports and exclude exports of oil and gas extracted from the UK continental shelf.

Further information on Scotland’s export statistics. 

The figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics.