{"id":23161,"date":"2022-12-05T17:30:17","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T17:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=23161"},"modified":"2023-12-18T11:12:49","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T11:12:49","slug":"did-the-gdp-gap-between-ni-and-britains-wealthiest-regions-grow-by-almost-44-between-2000-and-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/articles\/did-the-gdp-gap-between-ni-and-britains-wealthiest-regions-grow-by-almost-44-between-2000-and-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Did the GDP gap between NI and Britain\u2019s wealthiest regions grow by almost 44% between 2000 and 2014?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In its policy paper Shaping a New and United Ireland<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>campaign group Ireland\u2019s Future claimed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[Between] 2000 and 2014 the gap between per capita GDP in N Ireland and the three wealthiest regions of GB increased by 44%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) can be examined in a handful of different ways to assess this claim. Each method leads to a different statistical figure, none of which are the same as the 44% figure identified by Ireland\u2019s Future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is because the data used by Ireland\u2019s Future is flawed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the claim is about regional growth in different parts of the UK, and how the gap in GDP per capita between Northern Ireland and wealthier areas has grown, Ireland\u2019s Future actually compared Northern Ireland\u2019s growth to two regions from the UK and one from the Republic of Ireland (RoI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This data is fundamentally unusable for the claim it was used to calculate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data tables with annual estimates of GDP for the UK as a whole and its regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Relevant data can be seen in the latest figures<\/a> (Table 11, \u201cchained volume measure\u201d). The figures have been adjusted for inflation<\/a> to reflect the current value of Sterling, which is important when comparing data between different time periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2000, the three UK regions with the highest GDP per capita were London, the South East, and the East of England. In 2014, those regions were London, the South East, and Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure 1 – GDP per capita in chained volume measure (all values in \u00a3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n