New data from European Union (EU) statistical body Eurostat has revealed that the UK accounts for almost a quarter of all services exported by EU nations.
According to a new report, the UK exported approximately £161 billion worth of services overseas in 2016 – making up 22.3 per cent of all EU service exports to non-EU nations.
As many as 11 member states ranked the UK as their ‘number one trading partner’ in the survey.
Such nations included Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Britain also ranked as the third biggest importer of services in Eurostat’s report.
In terms of goods – as opposed to services – the study revealed that trade within the EU made up less than half (49.3 per cent) of Britain’s total trade last year, suggesting that UK businesses are increasingly trading on a wider, much more global scale.
In fact, the report suggests that trade within the single market has fallen in popularity and importance among most member states over the past year, as more and more firms continue to expand their horizons in terms of international trade.
Eurostat’s report states that this indicates that the EU in general has become “more integrated within the global economy” during the past year.