Britain recorded its biggest fall in output in more than 300 years in 2020 when it was faced with the brunt of the COVID- 19 pandemic, as well as a larger decline than any other major economy, updated official figures showed on Monday.
The Office for National Statistics said that the gross domestic product fell by 11.0% in 2020. According to historical data, this was a bigger drop than any of the ONS' previous estimates and the largest fall since 1709, according to the Bank of England.
British statisticians update their GDP estimates as more data becomes available.
The ONS estimates had already suggested that Britain suffered its biggest fall in output since the Great Frost of 1709 in 2020, which was the biggest decline in output since the Great Frost of 1709. The scale of the fall to 9.3% was revised down recently by the ONS, the largest since World War One.
Even before the latest revisions Britain's economic slump was the largest in the Group of Seven, the latest downward revision makes it greater than Spain's 10.8% fall in output.
The ONS cautioned against direct comparisons with other countries, as most - with the exception of the United States - had not yet undertaken the same type of in-depth revisions as Britain had.
The downward revision in GDP reflected lower contributions from healthcare and retailers than previously thought.
The health service faced higher costs than we initially estimated, so its overall contribution to the economy was less, ONS statistician Craig McLaren said.
The ONS had already factored in a fall in routine care provided by Britain's National Health Service as it focused on treating COVID 19 patients and limiting the spread of the disease in hospitals.
Britain recovered its pre-pandemic size in November 2021 after recovering sharply last year's economy. The Bank of England expects the economy to slip back into a recession later this year because of fast-rising inflation.