A number of charts illustrate the facts about the UK chemical industry. Macromedia Flash is necessary to view the charts.
Chemicals are vital to society... The chemical industry manufactures a diverse range of materials and products which are vital to society. It is also one of the UK's largest manufacturing industries, with sales of £32 billion.		UK chemical industry sector shares Chemical sales compared with other countries
The chemical industry creates wealth... It has one of the highest growth rates in comparison with other manufacturing industries. This has been helped by the fact that it is the UK manufacturing's number one exporter, with an annual trade surplus of £4 billion.		UK industrial growth rate comparisons UK trade balance in chemicals and all other manufactures
The industry provides jobs for a skilled and productive workforce... The UK chemical industry provides direct employment for 250,000 and supports several hundred thousand jobs throughout the economy.		UK chemical industry employment by region UK chemical industry employment, output
It invests in the future... The UK chemical industry spends £3 billion a year on new capital investment, and R&D expenditure is equivalent to almost 9% of sales.		UK manufacturing R&D expenditure
It cares for people and the environment... Health, safety and environment performance is improving. Our Responsible Care programme commits us to continuous improvement.		Indicators of Performance data

NOTES ON DATA AND SOURCES Where possible data conform to the 1992 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) definition of the chemical industry (subsection DG). Regional trade is based on Section 5 of the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). The main source of the UK data is the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Data for the chemical industry sales in 1998, tax paid and training are CIA estimates. International sales and production data are from the national chemical federations, national statistical office or OECD. China's sales are estimated.