Chemistry delivers £60.5 billion to the UK economy and makes local economies more resilient, says RSC report

The chemical sciences contributed £60.5 billion to the UK economy in 2023, a new report from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has found. The report reveals how chemistry supports innovation and growth across a range of sectors and industries, and calls for action at all levels of government from local to national to strengthen the chemistry skills pipeline.

Chemistry’s economic contribution, measured by gross value added, grew by 18% between 2019 to 2023, the report finds, and its overall annual contribution to the UK economy is approximately equivalent to the whole tourism sector. The chemical sciences are also highly productive – the average value added per worker within this field is £98,300, compared to the UK average across all sectors of £73,300. Further, the report shows that 49% of chemistry graduates work in UK government priority sectors, including clean energy, advanced manufacturing and defence.