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The World Ahead | Britain in 2025

How much will the British economy grow in 2025?

Conditions for economic growth are favourable, but results are uncertain

Illustration of a piggy bank showing cuts of pork as a metaphor for economic growth
Illustration: Ellie Foreman-Peck

By Archie Hall, Britain economics correspondent, The Economist

The British economy is running out of excuses. Growth has been sluggish for over a decade. Political chaos after the Brexit referendum of 2016 did not help. The covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns certainly stifled growth—as did the surge in energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the rise in interest rates after inflation surged.

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2025 under the headline “How much will the British economy grow in 2025?”

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