NI Annual Business Inquiry 2018

Date published: 29 November 2019

This release contains 2018 provisional and 2017 revised reporting unit results from the Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry (NIABI).

• Turnover, defined as the value of total sales and work done by businesses in Northern Ireland, was estimated to be worth £68,437 million in 2018 (excluding VAT): an increase of 3.5% compared to 2017.
• Purchases of goods, materials, energy, water and services was estimated to be £45,886 million in 2018: an increase of 4.5% compared to 2017.
• Approximate Gross Value Added (aGVA) was estimated to be £23,797 million in 2018. aGVA, which is a measure of the value of economic activity generated by businesses, increased by 8.0% over the year.
• The key contributor to the 2018 aGVA growth was the NI non-financial services sector with an increase of 9.5% (£789 million) between 2017 and 2018.
• The retail and wholesale trade (distribution sector) recorded aGVA growth of £613 million (12.0%) and the construction sector grew by £309 million (12.8%).
• Following a decline in the previous reporting period, aGVA in the production sector increased by £66 million (1.1%).
• Full publication.