Economy of Wiltshire

The economy of Wiltshire in South West England was worth £16.392 billion to the UK economy in 2013.

Overview

The Wiltshire economy benefits from the "M4 corridor effect", which attracts business, and the attractiveness of its countryside, towns and villages. The northern part of the county is richer than the southern part, particularly since Swindon is home to national and international corporations such as Honda, Intel, Motorola, Patheon, Catalent (formerly known as Cardinal Health), Becton-Dickinson, WHSmith, Early Learning Centre and Nationwide, with Dyson located in nearby Malmesbury. Wiltshire's employment structure is distinctive in having a significantly higher number of people in various forms of manufacturing (especially electrical equipment and apparatus, food products, and beverages, furniture, rubber, pharmaceuticals, and plastic goods) than the national average.

In addition, there is higher-than-average employment in public administration and defence, due to the military establishments around the county, particularly around Amesbury and Corsham. There are sizeable British Army barracks at Tidworth, Bulford and Warminster, and the Royal School of Artillery is at Larkhill. Further north, RAF Lyneham was home to the RAF's Hercules C130 fleet until 2011; the MoD Lyneham site is now a centre for Army technical training. Wiltshire is also distinctive for the high proportion of its working-age population who are economically active (86.6% in 1999–2000) and its low unemployment rates. The gross domestic product (GDP) level in Wiltshire did not reach the UK average in 1998, and was only marginally above the rate for South West England.[1]

History

A largely rural county, agriculture has historically dominated the economy.

Agriculture

Poultry was sold at Poultry Cross market in Salisbury.

Manufacturing

The Honda factory in Swindon will close in July 2021.[2]

Tourism
The summer solstice at Stonehenge.

The World Heritage Site of Stonehenge is located in the Salisbury Plain in southern Wiltshire. The site is considered a British cultural icon[3] and attracts many New Age travellers.

References
  1. "Wiltshire Strategic Analysis (2002)" (PDF). Wiltshire CPRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2006.
  2. "Swindon Honda closure date 'set in stone'". BBC News. 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  3. Scott, Julie; Selwyn, Tom (2010). Thinking Through Tourism. Berg. p. 191.

See also
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