Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product (GDP) provides a measure the size of and growth in the economy. GDP can be calculated by estimating the value of goods and services produced minus the value of the inputs used to create them (production), the profits from business, household income and the government tax intake from the production of goods and services (income), or the spending of businesses, households and government (expenditure). GDP includes taxes on products or services, minus any subsidies. The annual balanced GDP figures combine information from multiple sources to provide the best estimate of GDP.

GDP figures are at current market prices, meaning that they are not adjusted for inflation. The real terms change in GDP figures reflect the annual change in GDP, adjusted to remove the effects of inflation. Some caution should be used when interpreting GDP per head figures and figures for smaller geographies (further information is provided in the 'Limitations' section below).

GDP figures are equivalent to balanced gross value added (GVA), plus value added tax (VAT) and other taxes on products, minus any subsidies on products.

The latest annual balanced GDP figures are for 2023 and are provisional.

Key figures

• Total GDP was £40.43bn in Lancashire-12.
• Total GDP was £48.94bn in Lancashire-14.
• Compared to 2022, there was a real terms increase in total GDP of 0.7% in Lancashire-12 (England = 0.5%). In Lancashire-14, there was a real terms increase in total GDP (0.3%).
• Lancashire-14 was ranked 25th in terms of total GDP out of the 46 international territory level 2 areas in the UK.
• GDP per head was £31,827 in Lancashire-12 and £31,167 in Lancashire-14 (England = £40,382).
• Compared to 2022, there was a real terms decrease of 0.6% in Lancashire-12 (England = -0.5%). In Lancashire-14, there was a real terms decrease of 0.9% in GDP per head.

GDP by local authority (LAD)

At the local authority level, Preston had the largest total GDP (£6.18bn), followed by South Ribble (£5.21bn), Blackburn with Darwen (£4.72bn), Lancaster (£4.45bn) and West Lancashire (£4.07bn). Rossendale (£1.55bn) and Hyndburn (£2.07bn) had the lowest total GDP.

Eight local authorities saw a real terms increase in total GDP compared to the previous year. The largest increases were seen in Lancaster (3.5%), West Lancashire (3.4%), Chorley (2.4%) and Pendle (2.2%). Six local authorities saw a real terms decrease in total GDP, with the largest differences seen in Burnley (-5.8%) and Ribble Valley (-3.0%).

GDP by international territory level (ITL)

At international territory level 3 (ITL3) within Lancashire-14, Mid Lancashire had the largest total GDP (£17.49bn), followed by East Lancashire (£8.66bn) and Chorley and West Lancashire (£7.33bn). Blackpool (£3.80bn) had the lowest total GDP.

Compared to the previous year, three of the ITL3 areas in Lancashire-14 saw a real terms increase in total GDP. The largest increase was seen in Chorley and West Lancashire (3.0%). Blackpool (-2.6%), East Lancashire (-0.6%) and Blackburn with Darwen (-0.1%) saw a real terms decrease in total GDP.

Of the 182 ITL3 areas in the UK (including Northern Ireland), in terms of total GDP, Mid Lancashire ranked 47th and East Lancashire ranks 115th. Blackpool ranks 170th. In real terms change in GDP, Chorley and West Lancashire ranked 19th, while Blackpool ranked 169th.

At international territory level 2 (ITL2) within the North West, the largest total GDP was seen in Greater Manchester (£110.15bn), followed by Merseyside (£49.20bn). Lancashire-14 (£48.94bn) had the third highest total GDP in the North West.

Of the five ITL2 areas within the North West, Lancashire-14 saw the smallest real terms change in total GDP (0.3%). The largest real terms increases were seen in Cheshire (1.6%) and Greater Manchester (1.3%).

Out of the 46 ITL2 areas in the UK (including Northern Ireland), Lancashire-14 ranked 25th in terms of total GDP. Lancashire-14 ranked 26th in real terms change in GDP.

Source: Annual balanced estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for local authority districts and international territorial levels from the Office for National Statistics.

Things you need to know about the data

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes annual balanced estimates of GDP for subnational areas of the United Kingdom, including estimates for the Lancashire-14 International Territorial Level (ITL) 2 sub-region, the six smaller Lancashire ITL3 areas and the 14 Lancashire local authority areas. Further information on Lancashire's geographies can be found on the geography article.

The GDP figures are workplace-based, meaning that they are allocated to the region in which the economic activity takes place (see limitations regarding GDP per head figures).

The UK total GDP figure includes extra-regio (activity that cannot be assigned to a specific country or region). All GDP per head figures exclude extra-regio activity as it cannot be assigned to regions.

The balanced GDP estimates are based on the balanced measure of regional gross value added (GVA), which combines estimates of both the income and production approaches of GVA measurement to create a single best estimate of GVA. The GDP figures are therefore equivalent to balanced GVA, plus value added tax (VAT) and other taxes on products, minus any subsidies on products.

The real terms change in GDP figures, or chained volume measures (CVM) of GDP, are calculated using chain-linking methods to remove the impact of inflation.

Limitations

The GDP per head figures can be a useful way of comparing areas of different sizes. However, because GDP figures are workplace-based, comparisons can be affected by commuting flows. Therefore, GDP per head figures should be interpreted with caution. The GVA labour productivity figures provide a direct measure of economic performance.

At the local authority level and smaller ITL3 areas, some GDP figures can be volatile owing to the small nature of the areas. Where erratic movements are evident in the time series you should use caution interpreting the data.

Page updated 15 September 2025