UK to power on as France falls behind: Britain and Germany will be the only European economies in the world's top eight by 2030
- Britain is currently in sixth place in the list of the largest economies in the world
- Experts expect it to slip to eight place by 2030 but France will fall out of the list
- The report will pile pressure on Theresa May to secure strong trade deals
Britain and Germany will be the only European economies in the world’s top eight by 2030, experts say today.
While the UK slipped below France in the past year, it will draw level again by 2021 and overtake it soon afterwards, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
It predicted that China will overtake the US to take the top spot, while Brazil and South Korea will also rise in the international league table.
The report will pile pressure on Theresa May to secure strong trade deals with more distant nations after the UK leaves the EU.
The latest trade figures show British exports soared to a record high of £26.8billion in October – up 8.7 per cent on the previous month and 17.9 per cent on a year earlier. Most of this increase came from outside the EU.
BRITISH BOSSES CONFIDENT ON GROWTH
BUSINESS leaders go into the new year bullish about their firms’ prospects after Brexit, a major survey has found.
More than 60 per cent of members of the Institute of Directors said they were optimistic or very optimistic about how their company will perform in 2017 – a month after the referendum, the figure was just 46 per cent.
Many of the Institute’s 34,000 members, predominantly small businesses, said they now expected higher revenue and more profitability, despite warnings from Remain campaigners that UK firms would suffer if we voted to leave.
Simon Walker, director general of the IoD, said: ‘Businesses are becoming used to uncertainty, and while some speculate on what our relationship with Europe might look like in the years to come, employers are getting on with the job of growing their businesses and delivering UK jobs.’
Britain is currently in sixth place in the list of the largest economies in the world and while it will slip to eighth by 2030, France and Italy will fall out of the elite group completely, the CEBR said.