Economy of Wales
British one Pound coin (reverse), depicting
the red dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch)
The Economy of Wales. In 2007, according
to ONS provisional data, headline gross value
added (GVA) in Wales was £44,333m, making
the Welsh economy the tenth largest of the
UK’s twelve regions (counting Wales, Scot-
land and Northern Ireland alongside the nine
English Government Office Regions).[1] The
modern Welsh economy is dominated by the
service sector. In 2000, services contributed
66% to GVA, the manufacturing sector con-
tributed 32%, while agriculture, forestry and
fishing contributed 1.5%.[2]
As with the rest of the United Kingdom,
the currency used in Wales is the pound ster-
ling, represented by the symbol £. The Bank
of England is the central bank, responsible
for issuing currency, although banks in Scot-
land and Northern Ireland also have the right
to issue their own banknotes. The Royal
Mint, which issue the coinage circulated over
the whole of the UK, have been based at a
single site in Llantrisant, south Wales since
1980, having been progressively transferring
operations from their Tower Hill, London site
since 1968.[3] Since decimalisation, in 1971,
at least one of the coins in UK circulation has
depicted a Welsh design, e.g. the 1995 and
2000 one Pound coin (shown left). However,
Wales is not represented on any of the coins
currently being minted.[4]
Economic output per head has been lower
in Wales than in other parts of the UK (and
most other parts of Western Europe) for a
very long time - in 2002 it stood at 90% of the
EU25 average and around 80% of the UK av-
erage. However, care is needed in interpret-
ing these data, since regional GDP/GVA per
head data in the UK does not take account of
regional differences in the cost of living,
which in Wales is estimated to be 93-94% of
the UK average. Thus the gap in real living
standards between Wales and more prosper-
ous parts of the UK is not pronounced.[5]
Economic sectors
Tertiary
In recent years, the service sector in Wales
has seen above average