The contribution of chemistry: Understanding how chemistry capability translates into economic value across the UK

Chemistry underpins local, devolved and UK economies. It contributes to innovation, high skilled jobs, and productivity, and enables many of the products, technologies and services that people use every day. Yet this contribution is not always fully recognised or embedded in policy and economic decision-making.

Chemistry is already a vital part of the UK economy, with further potential to unlock. Realising this will require approaches that reflect the priorities and levers of UK Government, devolved governments and regions, enabling them to build on existing strengths to drive innovation, boost productivity, and support growth in key sectors including life sciences, defence, and advanced manufacturing.

拢60.5 billion

Total Gross Value Added (GVA) by chemistry to the UK economy in 2023.

18%

The increase in chemistry's contribution to the UK economy between 2019 and 2023.

327,500

The number of people employed in the chemistry workforce in 2023.

46%

The percentage of chemistry-using professionals working in UK government priority sectors.

Chemistry鈥檚 contribution to UK growth, workforce and innovation

Read The contribution of chemistry, our full report produced by Metro Dynamics, and our accompanying summary report, to find out more about chemistry鈥檚 contribution to UK growth, workforce and innovation, and the potential waiting to be unlocked through strategic support for chemistry locally and nationally. Explore key findings below.

Chemistry makes a difference to growth and productivity across the UK

Chemistry is a foundational but under-recognised driver of economic growth.

Chemistry contributed 拢60.5 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK in 2023, reflecting both direct activity and wider supply chain impacts.

What is GVA?

GVA measures how much value an area, industry or sector adds to the economy through the goods and services it produces.

What GVA does not capture

While GVA shows where economic value is produced, it does not fully capture chemistry鈥檚 vital research contribution, because the value generated through upstream research and early stage innovation is often realised later through manufacturing, commercialisation or supply chain activity elsewhere.

Between 2019 and 2023, its economic contribution grew by 18%, despite a period of significant economic headwinds. This shows that chemistry is already helping to drive growth and can do even more with the right policy and investment.

Productivity in chemistry-related roles is high. GVA per worker is 34% higher than the UK average, demonstrating the sector鈥檚 strong economic value across the UK.

Infographic showing the total Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution of chemistry to the UK economy in 2023. Read on for more information and a breakdown by UK region.

Infographic showing the total Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution of chemistry to the UK economy in 2023. Chemistry contributed 拢60.5 billion in GVA. By nation: England contributed 拢52.6 billion, supporting 229,700 employees with GVA per worker of 拢97,300; Scotland contributed 拢4.5 billion, supporting 22,845 employees with GVA per worker of 拢111,900; Northern Ireland contributed 拢1.5 billion, supporting 7,238 employees with GVA per worker of 拢84,800; and Wales contributed 拢1.9 billion, supporting 12,540 employees with GVA per worker of 拢99,500. Data is displayed on a stylised map of the UK. Notes on figures: Total GVA contribution: As no national multipliers for England are published, a high-level approach has been taken forward to estimate how the indirect and induced UK figures are split across each of the devolved nations. These figures are indicative and should be treated as illustrative only. Number of employees and GVA per worker figures: Due to methodological differences, these calculations exclude secondary and higher education staff.

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Chemistry is essential in delivering the UK鈥檚 priority growth sectors

Around 327,500 people are employed in chemistry-related roles across the UK, including those working directly in chemistry occupations and those applying chemistry skills in areas such as industry, research and education.

These skills are especially important in the sectors the UK Government sees as central to future growth, known as the IS-8.

46% of chemistry-using professionals work in the Government鈥檚 priority growth sectors, compared with 26% of the workforce as a whole. These roles are particularly concentrated in areas such as life sciences and defence, where chemistry skills are in high demand.

Infographic comparing employment in UK government priority sectors. Read on for more information about what is being shown.

Infographic comparing employment in UK government priority sectors. 46% of the chemistry-using workforce and 49% of chemistry graduates work in UK government priority sectors, compared to 26% of the wider UK workforce. The sectors shown are Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services. The graphic uses coloured workforce icons and arrows to highlight the comparison.

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Chemistry underpins a strong but vulnerable skills pipeline

Chemistry higher education provides a strong pipeline of skills into the wider economy.

49% of chemistry graduates go on to work in the Government鈥檚 priority growth sectors, helping to supply the skills needed across areas such as life sciences, defence and advanced manufacturing.

Universities play a vital role in sustaining the skills pipeline, but they are facing several financial challenges. While these pressures are not unique to chemistry, some universities have paused or closed chemistry courses, and in some cases, chemistry departments have closed, placing the skills pipeline under increasing pressure.

Maintaining this pipeline from education to employment will be important if the UK is to make the most of chemistry鈥檚 contribution to growth, innovation and productivity. This depends on sustaining strong chemistry education and training pathways, so that future skills supply can keep pace with economic need. Read more about our work on tackling the challenges facing chemistry in higher education here.

Chemistry supports growth and opportunity across the UK鈥檚 nations and regions

Chemistry capability is highly place-based, with different regions playing distinct roles within the UK鈥檚 wider chemistry ecosystem.

Chemistry employment and chemistry鈥檚 contribution to the economy vary across different parts of the UK鈥檚 nations and regions, reflecting local industrial and university strengths, research activity and workforce patterns.

Some areas are characterised by high value production and industrial activity, while others have strengths in research, education, or specialist services, and in many places, these strengths overlap.

Understanding these differences matters for decisions about investment, skills and economic development.

The UK must capture more value from its chemistry strengths

The UK is strong in chemistry research and discovery but faces challenges in scaling up innovations and retaining value locally and nationally.

Strengthening links between research, innovation, skills and industry could enable more discoveries to translate into:

new products and technologies
new and scaling companies
high value jobs across the UK

Improving these pathways would help the UK capture more of the value generated by its chemistry strengths, reinforcing both national competitiveness and local economic resilience.

The Contribution of Chemistry Summary Report front cover

Read The contribution of chemistry

Download the full report

Download the summary report

Our recommendations

We call on local, devolved and UK governments, funders, universities, employers, local leaders and the chemistry community to use and act on the evidence that chemistry is a strategic capability for growth, resilience, skills and innovation across the UK.

Specifically:

Local, devolved and UK governments should recognise and embed chemistry as a core enabling capability in strategies and narratives on economy, science and technology, industry, innovation and skills.
Local, devolved and UK governments should improve visibility and coordination across interconnected sectors that rely on chemistry. They should recognise that disruption to chemistry inputs, skills or research can have cascading impacts across value chains, productivity and economic resilience.
UK Government, funders and regulators should ensure that higher education and research funding reform recognises the strategic and economic value of chemistry. This includes the need for infrastructure, people, equipment and consumables to deliver high quality chemistry teaching and research, for example through the Strategic Priorities Grant reform and research funding reform.
University leaders should recognise the significant contribution chemistry makes to their institution, local economy, international reputation, as well as national economic opportunities. They must continue to support chemists and accredited chemistry programmes, growing local and national scientific capability and resilience.
Devolved and UK governments, funders and universities must strengthen and better coordinate the pathways for chemistry innovation, from research through piloting, scale-up and commercial application. This includes improving how innovators access and progress through specialist infrastructure, such as laboratories and pilot plant facilities, ensuring that provision is aligned to and keeps pace with evolving need maximising local and national value capture from UK-developed innovations.
Chemistry-using businesses and industry leaders should clearly communicate their skills, infrastructure and market needs, helping align chemistry capability with industrial challenges, market opportunities and growth priorities.
Employers should help shape the future chemistry workforce by engaging with education and training providers, articulating skills and infrastructure needs, contributing to local and national workforce planning, and supporting students鈥� access to industry-relevant experience and resources.
The chemistry community should use this evidence to highlight chemistry as a strategic local and national asset, supporting engagement with policymakers, funders, university leaders, businesses and local stakeholders.

Our commitment

The 番茄社区 of Chemistry will:

provide a clear, accessible evidence base on chemistry鈥檚 economic contribution at local, devolved and UK levels
provide practical resources and clear messaging to help members and the wider chemistry community to advocate effectively using this evidence
hold stakeholders to account for how chemistry is recognised and supported across policy, funding and strategy, highlighting both opportunities and risks for economic growth, skills pipelines and innovation capability
continue to engage constructively with universities on the critical role chemistry plays and provide support to our members in universities and other sectors