Recent figures from the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF) on the output levels of the leading manufacturing economies have ranked Britain seventh in the world.
The research was published by the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), showing that Britain had maintained its position as seventh in the world — the position it has held since 2010. It has a 2.54% share of total world manufacturing output. Before 2005, Britain occupied the sixth spot but was taken over by South Korea.
The USA was top with 19.3% of total global manufacturing output. China was second with 18.41%, Japan third with 10.89%, Germany fourth with 6.93%, South Korea fifth with 4.01% and Italy sixth with 2.69%.
In descending order, the countries below Britain were France, India, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Russia, and Turkey.
The report does point out that while British manufacturing output has declined in recent years, this is part of a worldwide trend. Only China, South Korea, India and Turkey have increasing their shares of total output.
Nevertheless, UNIDO points out that a fourth industrial revolution is currently taking place, with greater emphasis on automation, mass customisation and distributed manufacturing such as 3D printing being driven by advances in technology. Investment in these areas will see the most significant benefits of the manufacturing output of countries trying to stay ahead of the curve.