Regional gross domestic product: April to June 2020

The report covers the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the value of goods and services produced in the UK. It estimates the size of and growth in the economy.

These are experimental statistics and should be treated with caution. The data can be volatile, and quarterly movements should be considered alongside the long-term trend. 

Change over the shorter term

• GDP in Wales decreased by 15.1% in quarter 2 (April to June) 2020 compared with the previous quarter (January to March 2020).
• This is by far the largest quarterly decrease since the series began in 2012. Wales experienced a decrease of 2.4% between quarter 4 2019 and quarter 1 2020 which was previously the largest decrease.
• For the UK as a whole, GDP decreased by 18.8%.
• Wales had the second smallest decrease in output of the twelve UK countries and regions in quarter 2 2020.
• The construction sector saw the largest fall of 29.6%. The services and production sectors both also saw falls of 14.6% and 12.9% respectively.

Change over the longer term

• Wales saw GDP decrease by 18.3% compared to the same quarter a year ago, the UK as a whole saw GDP decrease by 20.7%.
• This is the largest annual decrease in Wales since the series began in 2012.
• The construction sector saw the largest decrease over the longer term (33.6%).
• Services decreased by 18.1% and production by 15.7%.

Note

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have identified some inconsistencies in the quarterly path for the quarterly regional GDP series for Agriculture in Wales; and therefore suggest users treat this particular series with caution. The ONS  will review, and re-publish this data in addition to the impact on the total industry series for Wales in the next quarterly release. However, the ONS expect the impact on the total level for Wales to be minimal.