The surplus in the UK’s global technology exports has risen by more than two-thirds over the past four years, according to a new report by Tech Nation.
The organisation, which serves as a growth network for UK tech, assessed the value of exports in the field and identified potential areas for further growth in its ‘Unlocking Global Tech’ report.
It found that the UK was the world’s fifth biggest exporter of digital and technological services in the world in 2019.
Only India, the US, China and Germany exported more value than the UK’s £23.3bn last year.
The sector is generating a substantial surplus, with the UK exporting far more in tech services than it imports.
In 2019, it generated a surplus of 55%, which is considerably higher than the average of 48% when looking at the average of the top 57 countries in the world.
The size of surplus had increased by 68% over the past four years, rising from £8.7bn in 2015 to £12.8bn last year.
The only sectors with a bigger surplus than tech are now insurance (£16.9bn) and financial services (which is way ahead on £43.4bn).
Increase fuelled by nearly 7,500 high-growth businesses
Much of the growth is due to the fact that the UK boasts a comparatively high number of high-growth tech-exporting companies.
According to Tech Nation, there were 7,497 such companies operating in the UK in 2019, and many of these had not yet reached their full potential when it came to exporting.
Brexit and the global pandemic both posed challenges, of course, but the report suggested that UK companies could benefit by looking to markets outside the EU.
Brazil and Singapore were highlighted as the two fastest-growing opportunities for tech exporters globally, rising 17 and five places respectively in Tech Nation’s rankings between 2019 and 2020.
Opportunities for tech-based trade were said to have ‘sky-rocketed’ with Asian cities in general.
The report singled out the likes of Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai as particular opportunities for future trade and expansion.
Trade commissioner Natalie Black said: ‘Asia Pacific is the growth opportunity for UK tech companies looking to expand overseas.’
Tech Nation chief executive Gerard Grech added that the UK had a proportionally high number of scaling tech businesses and that it was third in the world for tech unicorns – those valued at over $1bn – and number one in Europe.
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