Table of Contents
Introduction to United Kingdom
United Kingdom (UK) or Great Britain is an independent country located on the coast of North-Western Europe. When we say the UK, then the area of the country is united by four different countries like Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, and Wales. The country has four different capital cities like; Belfast, London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. The region of the country is on the northwestern island of Ireland, the great British Island, and other similar islands.
Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy is the management and administrative system of the government. Queen Elizabeth the 2nd is the monarch and Boris Johnson is the prime minister of the country.
London, one of her capital, is a financial and cultural hub comprising a population of 10.3 million people. The official language of the country is English, and other spoken languages are Scottish Gaelic, and Irish. Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, and Leeds are some of her other major cities.
Now, we should study swot analysis of UK and cover other details of the country. Like strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and they are as follows;
The United Kingdom’s Strengths
Some of the strengths of the UK are as follows;
Strong Trading Position
According to an estimate, the nominal GDP of the country is 2.744 trillion US dollars which ranks the world’s sixth-largest GDP, and per capita of the country $41030. These figures show that the domestic industry of the country is growing and profiting.
Most importantly, the UK has a long history of maintaining a good country’s financial position. When you have a strong financial position, then it is no surprise that the UK has good relations with suppliers, distributors, importers, and exporters.
Service Industry
The strong service industry means that the country has a highly educated and skilled workforce. When local businesses and industries employ such people, then productivity becomes certain. They reduce the miscellaneous expenses, work-related hazards, and improve the standard of the quality of work.
Resources are important, but the quality of the workforce is also important. If you don’t have a well-equipped labor, then they would waste resources. The land of African and subcontinental Asian countries are rich in terms of resources, but we don’t see higher GDP or per capita. It’s the educated workforce that makes a difference.
Great Education System
The main reason behind the highly skilled workforce is the strong education system of the country. Although it is very costly; but it provides the quality and up to date education to her students.
When we say the good education system, then it’s not only the books. It’s the educational environment and culture, teaching style, activity-based learning, team building, sports, and making everything interesting. So the student doesn’t lose focus.
Foreign Investment
Factors like higher GDP, per capita, and highly skilled workforce contribute towards attracting foreigner investors into the country. If you compare it with other European countries, then the UK is at the top of the list among such factors. Foreign investors see it as an opportunity, and good factors provide them certainty of profit. That’s why the UK has one of the highest foreign direct investment rates than any other European country.
Stable Political System
Before closing the Brexit deal with Europe and the resignation of Theresa May, former prime minister of the UK. The political environment of the country was uncertain for the past two or three years. But it has become stable after the Brexit deal and Boris Johnson becoming the prime minister of the country.
Strong and stable political environment is very important for the economy of a country. If it’s not, then it results in rallies, protests, midterm elections, and vote of no confidence. Hence, there won’t be any foreign investment.
The United Kingdom’s Weaknesses
Weaknesses are the internal flaws that the country must know or improve them. Some of them are as follows;
Poor Industrial Transportation
Although the UK has been developing the infrastructure of roads over time, but the industrial transportation has been untouched since the Victorian times. Roads are good for public transportation. But when it comes to industrial infrastructure like rails, then it needs a huge investment to make the upgrade.
As the population of a country increases, then you need more resources to satisfy their needs. It means that you will require more resources to move around, and the roads aren’t sufficient. Therefore, you need trains and rails to transport mass goods across the country, without disturbing the public transport.
Less Innovation
When we compare the productivity, creativity, and innovation of the UK with other western countries like the US. Then her contribution in the tech innovation field is very low. All the latest tech entrepreneurs and startups we see, they are from the US. But very few of them are from the UK. Since the country has a great education system and a great service industry, but they are not showing any major results.
Wealth Distribution Gap
Wealth distribution means that the people should have equal sources of income to spend and live their lives. There shouldn’t be a wider gap between rich and poor. UK has a much wider gap between the rich and poor among others developed. The wealth distribution gap causes all sorts of problems like; crime, social injustices, etc.
The United Kingdom’s Opportunities
Opportunities are the external potential factor that the country could take advantage of, some of the opportunities are as follows;
Trade Partners
With the rise and development of technology in the 21st century, new markets are emerging in Asia, the Middle East, and across Europe. Newmarket means new opportunities; the UK should expand her business operation into the new markets, and find new partners to increase the market share.
Tech Culture
As we all know that the US is the hub of all the latest technology. Having strong ties with the US, if the UK could adopt and follow the same tech culture in her own country. Then it would start a new technological development in Europe.
Educated Migrants
UK is a home to a diversity of population, and those immigrants are from different parts of the world. Although they aren’t highly skilled workers; but they are raising their children in the education system of the UK. The 2nd generation of migrants would be the combination of two cultures and backgrounds, and they’ll add their unique insight into the country economy.
The United Kingdom’s Threats
Some of the external threats that the country could possible face are as follows;
Competitive Neighbors
Scandinavia, France, Germany, and other European countries are growing at a very fast rate in terms of technology and wealth. It puts a lot of pressure on the UK’s economy to move forward with them at the same pace.
Higher Costs/ Expensive
The market of the UK is becoming very expensive for the local small businesses. If it stays the same, then they would have no other choice but to move into other cheaper economies. If it happens, the UK would lose a great market share.
Brexit
After leaving the European Union because of the Brexit deal. UK’s market has become very vulnerable to all the external influences. If the country implements her strategies the way she has planned, then it is good. Otherwise, it would badly impact her economy.
Conclusion
After carefully studying the swot analysis of Uk, we have concluded that the UK’s economy is in a very good position and capable of facing challenges. But Brexit deal, competitive neighbors, and expensive local market are such factors that could jeopardize the growth of the country.
