DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates: Regional GVA 2024
Official Statistics providing estimates of the contribution of DCMS sectors to each UK region, measured by GVA (gross value added).
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Details
About
These Economic Estimates are Official Statistics used to provide an estimate of the contribution of DCMS sectors to each region in the UK, measured by GVA (gross value added). This is the first release of provisional regional estimates for 2024.
Details
Following the machinery of government changes in July 2026, Digital Sector Economic Estimates are transferring from the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). No changes have been made to the definitions used in this publication and these estimates do not include the digital sector. We will bring the 2 series of Economic Estimates together in due course. The latest estimates for the digital sector can be found on the Digital Sector Economic Estimates collection page.
The estimates included in this release are consistent with the GVA data in our Annual GVA 2024 release and with the ONS Blue Book 2025. These estimates include revisions to previously published data up to 2023 due to revisions made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to the underlying data which these estimates are based on. GVA estimates are subject to scheduled revisions as more and higher quality data becomes available, and more information about this is available in the ONS article on GDP revisions in Blue Book: 2025. Further information of the impact of these revisions on DCMS sector GVA is available in the technical report above. This release does not include more recent revisions to GVA published as part of the ONS Blue Book 2026 on 30 October 2026.
Headline findings
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Our annual GVA 2024 provisional statistics estimated that GVA by DCMS sectors was £247.6 billion in 20234, 9.4% of the UK economy. The part generated from creative industries, culture, gambling and sport was £172.4 billion, making up 6.6% of UK GVA. This publication shows how that GVA is distributed by region. Tourism and civil society are not included in this release due to data availability.
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London generated almost half of included DCMS sector GVA in 2024, at 47.0%. This pattern is driven by the creative industries, the largest included sector, and the overlapping cultural sector, which are heavily concentrated in London. In the gambling and sport sectors, regional differences are less pronounced.
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Included DCMS sector GVA is more concentrated in London than the UK economy as a whole, where 23.4% of GVA is generated in London.
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Included DCMS sector GVA grew in all regions from 2023 to 2024, following steady growth in most regions since 2020. The largest absolute increases between 2023 and 2024 were in London, the North West and the South East (at £3.1bn, £0.6bn and £0.6bn respectively). In relative terms, the largest rises in regional GVA in included DCMS sectors were in the Northern Ireland (11.9%), the North West (5.2%) and Yorkshire and The Humber (4.8%).
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Compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic), included DCMS sector GVA overall in 2024 was higher in all regions except the East of England.
Content
These statistics cover the contributions of the following sectors to the UK economy:
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creative industries
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cultural sector
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gambling
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sport
Users should note that there is overlap between DCMS sector definitions and that several cultural sector industries are simultaneously creative industries.
The release also includes estimates for the audio visual sector, computer games subsector and arts and antiques market.
Estimates of tourism and civil society GVA are not available at present, due to a lack of regional data.
The digital sector is also not included in this release.
Released
These statistics were first published on 5 November 2026.
Feedback
DCMS aims to continuously improve the quality of estimates and better meet user needs. Feedback should be sent to DCMS via email at evidence@dcms.gov.uk.
Office for Statistics Regulation
These 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 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 by emailing evidence@dcms.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
The responsible analyst for this release is Rachel Moyce. For further details about the estimates, or to be added to a distribution list for future updates, please email us at evidence@dcms.gov.uk.
Pre-release access
The pre-release access document lists ministers and officials receive privileged early access to this release. In line with best practice, the list has been kept to a minimum and those given access for briefing purposes had a maximum of 24 hours.