51²è¹Ý

1. Introduction

Release date: 26 February 2025

Revised: 21 August 2025

Next release: Winter 2025/26

Geographic coverage: United Kingdom

Time coverage: 2010 to 2023

Responsible analyst: Rachel Moyce

This release provides estimates of the contribution of DCMS sectors to the UK economy from 2010 to 2022, and provisionally for 2023, measured by gross value added (GVA). Estimates for 2020 and 2021 are affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

We use current prices to report current sector estimates and chained volume measures for any comparisons over time.

DCMS also publishes a monthly GVA series, starting in January 2019, which is more timely (two to five months lag, as publication is quarterly) but less accurate than this series and can be used as a leading indicator.

This release has been updated on 21 August 2025 to include revised GVA estimates for the tourism sector, and for the DCMS sector total (including tourism) for 2016 to 2019. The changes reflect revisions made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to the , incorporating revisions to underlying source data (including GVA estimates) and some methodological changes to improve the consistency of the methodology over the years. 

Although the TSA revisions have improved the comparability of data in some cases, there are still limitations when comparing tourism GVA estimates over time. In particular there is a break in the TSA time series in 2022, meaning that estimates from 2022 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years. This is due to changes in methodology to VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) which is a critical data source for estimating domestic tourism expenditure and, therefore, tourism direct GVA in the ONS TSA, the underlying data source for these estimates. The GBTS survey methodology changed in 2020, however full years of data were not collected in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, and the TSA for these years uses alternative data sources and new modelling techniques. VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is currently labelled as official statistics in development. Further information is available on . As a result, we advise caution when comparing data for tourism and DCMS sectors overall (including tourism) for 2022 and 2023 with earlier years. It is not possible to separate out the  impact of changes in methodology to the underlying VisitEngland data and therefore we do not know how much the trends we are seeing are driven by these methodological changes.

2. GVA in All DCMS sectors 

In 2023, provisional estimates show that DCMS sectors contributed an estimated £220.3 billion to the UK economy. This was 9.3% of total UK GVA, very similar to 9.4% in 2022.

The following information is worth noting:

• The figures above are measured in current prices.
• Subsequent comparisons over time, and the chart in figure 1, use chained volume measures which means percentage changes are adjusted for inflation, except where stated.
• Estimates for 2023 are provisional and subject to change when the National Accounts are published later in 2025 and when the final 2023 Tourism Satellite Account is published in winter 2024/25.
• Comparable data for the tourism sector is only available from 2016. Data for other DCMS sectors is available from 2010.
• There are limitations with comparing tourism GVA estimates over time. See Further Information for more details. 

Trends since 2022

Provisional annual GVA estimates suggest that DCMS sector GVA grew slightly by 0.1% between 2022 and 2023, while the UK economy as a whole grew by 0.3%. This slight growth was driven by the tourism sector which increased by an estimated 8.5% between 2022 and 2023. If the tourism sector is excluded, DCMS sector GVA fell by an estimated 2.1% from 2022 to 2023.

Figure 1a. Index chart (2016=100), in chained volume measures, DCMS sectors and UK, 2016 to 2023

Figure 1b. Index chart (2016=100), in chained volume measures, DCMS sectors (excluding tourism) and UK, 2010 to 2023

Trends since 2019

In 2023, DCMS sectors overall contributed an estimated 9.3% to UK GVA, a decrease from 10.5% in 2019. This reflects that DCMS sector GVA fell by an estimated 7.9% from 2019 to 2023, compared to an increase of 2.6% for the UK economy as a whole.

This trend is particularly driven by a fall in the tourism sector of an estimated 28.3%. However, we do not know how much of this drop is due to the sector being particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, or is due to the changes in methodology to the underlying VisitEngland data. The pandemic’s impact was seen elsewhere too, and all DCMS sectors experienced falls from 2019 to 2020, and four of the six sectors experienced falls overall from 2019 to 2023. 

If the tourism sector is excluded, DCMS sector GVA grew by an estimated 0.8% from 2019 to 2023. This was driven by growth of 1.4% in the creative industries and 6.5% in civil society. In 2023 DCMS excluding tourism contributed 7.1% to UK GVA, a slight decrease from 7.2% in 2019.

Longer-term trends 

Data for the tourism sector is available from 2016 (rather than 2010, as is the case for other DCMS sectors, due to methodological changes). 

Between 2016 and 2023, DCMS sector GVA fell by an estimated 1.0%, while the UK economy grew by 8.7%. This fall was driven by the tourism sector, which was particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and decreased by an estimated 20.0% between 2016 and 2023 (prior to the pandemic, tourism grew faster between 2016 and 2019 than the UK economy overall). However, we do not know how much of this drop is due to the sector being particularly affected by the pandemic, or is due to the changes in methodology to the underlying VisitEngland data. 

If the tourism sector is excluded, DCMS sector GVA grew by an estimated 6.7% from 2016 to 2023. This was driven by growth of 5.9% in the creative industries, the largest DCMS sector, and to a lesser extent by the civil society (15.9%) and sport (8.0%) sectors.

Between 2016 and 2019, before the pandemic, DCMS sectors outgrew the UK economy (7.5% compared to 5.9%). The data suggests that this was mostly driven by the tourism sector (11.5% growth and the second largest sector in this period).

Between 2010 and 2023, DCMS sectors (excluding tourism due to data availability) grew at a faster rate than the UK economy as a whole (32.3% compared to 22.3%). This was driven mostly by the creative industries which increased by 35.4% over this time. Most of included DCMS sector growth occurred between 2010 and 2015, when included DCMS sector growth outpaced the UK economy, but between 2015 and 2019 both grew at similar rates. 

3. GVA in individual DCMS sectors

The DCMS sectors covered in this report are:

• Civil Society
• Creative Industries
• Cultural Sector
• Gambling
• Sport
• Tourism

The data tables also include estimates for the audio visual sector and computer games subsector.

3.1 Sector overlap

Some industries are found within multiple sectors and are likely to drive trends in the same way for both sectors. 

For example, in 2023:

• 56.3% of the DCMS sector GVA is within the creative industries
• 15.9% of DCMS Sector GVA is within the cultural sector
• However, 13.6% of DCMS Sector GVA is within both the creative industries and the cultural sector. This illustrates that the cultural sector is almost fully contained within the creative industries (but not vice versa) and these overlaps include activities such as performing arts and radio and television broadcasting. 

When calculating the DCMS Sector total, the GVA from industries within the overlap is counted once. Users should be aware that the estimate for ‘All DCMS sectors’ is therefore lower than the sum of the individual sectors.

Figure 2. GVA and overlaps in DCMS sectors, 2023

For more information, Chapter 2 of the technical report visually outlines the overlap between SIC codes in DCMS sectors, but not the value of GVA within these overlaps.

3.2 Sector findings

In 2023, of all DCMS sectors including tourism, the creative industries sector is estimated to have contributed the most in GVA to the UK economy (£124.0bn), followed by the tourism sector (£58.2bn).

For comparison, in 2019, the creative industries were the largest sector (£105.8bn), followed by tourism (£71.7bn) (current prices for 2019).

Trends in GVA vary by sector. Between 2022 and 2023, GVA for tourism, civil society and sport grew but the creative industries, culture and gambling sectors all saw falls in GVA. 

Civil Society

Figure 3. Index chart (2010=100), in chained volume measures (CVM) showing growth of civil society, from 2010 to 2023.

These estimates are based on the non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) data. This is likely to be an underestimate for the Civil Society sector as it does not encompass the full spectrum of the sector. Further information on the Civil Society definition can be found in the technical report. 

Note that volunteering, a key element of Civil Society, has not been included in the figures due to being part of the informal economy. As estimated in the ONS published , volunteering contributed £14.6 bn in 2021, the last available year (this includes only formal volunteering activities). 

Creative Industries

Figure 4. Index chart (2010=100), in chained volume measures (CVM) showing growth of creative industries, from 2010 to 2023.

Creative industries GVA decreased from 2022 to 2023 by an estimated 3.3%, in comparison to the UK economy as a whole, which grew slightly, by 0.3%. In the longer term, from 2010 to 2023 creative industries GVA grew faster than the UK economy (35.4% vs 22.3%).

DCMS has grouped the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes defining the creative industries into nine distinct subsectors, grouped by policy themes. Looking at these subsectors: 

• The fall in creative industries GVA between 2022 and 2023 was driven by the ‘IT, software and computer services’ subsector which fell by an estimated 6.0%, with the next largest negative contributions from  the ‘Film, TV, radio and photography’ and ‘Publishing’ subsectors which decreased by 4.3% and 4.5% respectively.
• The largest relative increases in creative industries GVA from 2022 to 2023 were the ‘Museum, galleries and libraries’ subsector, and the ‘Design and designer fashion’ subsector, which grew by an estimated 6.8% and 12.3% respectively.
• ‘IT, software and computer services’ is the largest subsector component of the Creative Industries by GVA, contributing an estimated £49.1bn in 2023. It is more than twice the size of the next largest subsector ‘Advertising and marketing’ (£21.5bn).

Cultural Sector

Figure 5. Index chart (2010=100), in chained volume measures (CVM) showing change in GVA of the cultural sector, from 2010 to 2023.

The cultural sector GVA fell by an estimated 1.8% from 2022 to 2023, compared to the UK economy as a whole which grew by 0.3%. In the longer term from 2010 to 2023, culture GVA grew more slowly than the UK economy (11.0% vs 22.3%). This is mostly due to changes in GVA since 2019 (pre-pandemic), as cultural sector GVA decreased by an estimated 4.0% between 2019 and 2023, compared to the UK economy as a whole which grew by 2.6%.

DCMS has grouped the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes defining the cultural sector into nine distinct subsectors, grouped by policy themes. Looking at these subsectors: 

• Most subsectors apart from ‘Crafts’, ‘Film, TV and Music’ and ‘Radio’ grew from 2022 to 2023. The fall in overall cultural sector GVA was driven almost entirely by the ‘Film, TV and Music’ subsector which fell by an estimated 4.3%.
• The subsectors that saw the largest relative growth in cultural sector GVA were the ‘Photography’ subsector which grew by an estimated 12.3% and the ‘Museums and Galleries’, ‘Library and Archives’ and ‘Operation of historical sites and similar visitor attractions’ subsectors which all grew by an estimated 6.8%. 
• The ‘Film, TV and Music’ subsector remains the largest cultural subsector in size economically, contributing an estimated £20.7bn to the UK economy in 2023. It is more than twice the size of the next largest subsector ‘Arts’ (£9.3bn).

Gambling

Figure 6. Index chart (2010=100), in chained volume measures (CVM) showing growth of the gambling sector, from 2010 to 2023.

Gambling sector GVA fell from 2022 to 2023 by an estimated 4.5%, while the UK economy grew by 0.3%. In the longer term, from 2010 to 2023, gambling GVA fell by an estimated 7.9% compared to the increasing GVA of the UK economy (22.3%).

It should be noted that the Gambling sector is small, comprising just one two-digit SIC code (SIC 92). Consequently, estimates are prone to sampling variability from year to year (the sector GVA estimates peaked in 2014).

Sport

Figure 7. Index chart (2010=100), in chained volume measures (CVM) showing growth of the sport sector, from 2010 to 2023.

The sport sector is estimated to have grown faster than the UK economy from 2022 to 2023 (2.2% vs 0.3%), but over the longer term, from 2010 to 2023, grew at a slightly slower rate (21.3% vs 22.3%).

Tourism

Figure 8. Index chart (2016=100), in chained volume measures (CVM) showing growth of the tourism sector, from 2016 to 2023.

Provisional estimates suggest that the tourism sector GVA increased by 8.5% between 2022 and 2023.

There are limitations when comparing tourism GVA estimates over time and in particular there is a break in the time series in 2022, meaning that estimates from 2022 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years. This is due to changes in methodology introduced in 2022 to VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) which is a critical data source for estimating domestic tourism expenditure and, therefore, tourism direct GVA in the ONS Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), the underlying data source for these estimates. The GBTS survey methodology changed in 2020, however full years of data were not collected in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, and the TSA for these years uses alternative data sources and new modelling techniques. VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is currently labelled as official statistics in development. Further information is available on .

Estimates suggest that tourism GVA in 2023 is 28.3% lower than in 2019  and 20.0% lower than in 2016. However, we do not know how much of this drop is due to the sector being particularly affected by the pandemic, or due to the changes in methodology to the underlying VisitEngland data.

Figures for the tourism sector are only available from 2016.

Tourism also differs from other sectors in that it uses a satellite account approach that attempts to calculate the percentage of economic activity, across all UK sectors, that is directly attributable to tourism. 

4. Further information

GVA

GVA is a measure of the increase in the value of the economy due to the production of goods and services. Its relationship to GDP is as follows:

GVA is measured either at:

• current basic prices (‘nominal GVA’), which give the best ‘instantaneous’ measure of the value to the economy, but are not adjusted for the effect of inflation.
• chained volume measures (‘real terms GVA’), where the effect of inflation is removed.

The accompanying data tables consist of current prices and chained volume measures for DCMS sectors and subsectors from 2010 to 2023 (provisional), and a GVA index expressed in chained volume measures.

We use current prices to report current sector estimates and chained volume measures for any comparisons over time.

Tourism

Although the TSA revisions have improved the comparability of data in some cases, there are still limitations when comparing tourism GVA estimates over time. In particular there is a break in the TSA time series in 2022, meaning that estimates from 2022 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years. This is due to changes in methodology to VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) which is a critical data source for estimating domestic tourism expenditure and, therefore, tourism direct GVA in the ONS TSA, the underlying data source for these estimates. The GBTS survey methodology changed in 2020, however full years of data were not collected in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, and the TSA for these years uses alternative data sources and new modelling techniques. VisitEngland’s Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is currently labelled as official statistics in development. Further information is available on . As a result, we advise caution when comparing data for tourism and DCMS sectors overall (including tourism) for 2022 and 2023 with earlier years. It is not possible to separate out the  impact of changes in methodology to the underlying VisitEngland data and therefore we do not know how much the trends we are seeing are driven by these methodological changes. 

For this publication, we have decided to publish a time series for tourism because these are the best available estimates of tourism GVA at present.

Office for Statistics Regulation

These Economic Estimates: GVA (gross value added) for DCMS Sectors, 2023 official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) in June 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics, and should be labelled accredited official statistics. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

Methodological information on the sector definitions, data sources, derivation of GVA and limitations of the approach can now be found in the accompanying technical report, along with. a summary of alternative economic measures of these sectors that are published elsewhere.

The next update to these statistics will be released in winter 2024/25 once the National Accounts have been published. The GVA figures in this report will all be revised in the next annual updates.

DCMS has developed a suite of economic estimates to understand the economic impact its sectors have on the UK economy. In combination with other economic indicators, GVA estimates help build a comprehensive picture of the UK economy, and of the DCMS Sectors’ importance within it.

The responsible statistician for this release is Rachel Moyce. For enquiries on this release, please email evidence@dcms.gov.uk.

For general enquiries contact:

For media enquiries contact: 020 7211 2210.

DCMS statisticians can also be followed on X via .