title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 1991 for the 1992 model year, the 4Runner received minor cosmetic updates, including one-piece front bumpers and modular headlamps instead of the increasingly outdated rectangular sealed beams. This facelift distanced the 4Runner somewhat from the Hilux pickups which did not receive the same cosmetic changes. At this time a wide-body version was introduced featuring extended wheel arch flares along with wider wheels and tires.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The first and second generation 4Runners were both targeted as unsafe SUVs. 1980s and early-1990s crash regulations in the United States were not very strict for light trucks, and all early model 4Runners were fitted with doors that offered little protection in the event of a side collision. In most areas, there was little more than two pieces of sheet-metal and the window to keep incoming vehicles from impacting passengers. The crash test rating for the second generation 4Runner was one star for the driver's side in a frontal collision while the passenger side received a 4-star rating. Later, more strict crash regulations mandated doors that offered as much protection as passenger doors. In the United States, the 1994 and 1995 model years added side-impact beams in the doors.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: Developed under chief Masaaki Ishiko from 1990 to 1995 under the project code 185T, in late 1995 (for the 1996 model year) a significant redesign of the 4Runner was introduced, with an all-new body shell on an all-new chassis. Though it shared many parts, including engine and transmission, with the new Tacoma, the body and chassis were unique for the first time. Despite moving upmarket with the rest of the mid-size SUV market, the new 4Runner differentiated itself by retaining the rugged off-road character its competitors were sacrificing for highway comfort.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The third generation 4Runner featured new engines shared with the first generation Toyota Tacoma pickup trucks:


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 1996, the 4Runner was dropped from sale in the UK, to be replaced by the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which was badged as the Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: Significant changes from the second generation models include a larger body on a longer wheelbase, increased interior space, increased cargo space, dual airbags, ABS, lift-up tailgate, coil-spring suspension all around, rack and pinion steering, and aerodynamic contour designed glass headlights. Additionally, Hilux Surf versions immediately moved to 16-inch wheels and gained a center differential, enabling the use of four-wheel drive on hard surfaces without complication for the first time. The prior system was retained to give on-the-fly shifting between rear- and four-wheel drive as before. The new 4Runner was also available with a factory installed selectable electric locker in the rear differential, a first for the 4Runner but available since 1993 in the Toyota Land Cruiser.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The 1997 model year received a few minor updates, including the addition of a color keyed cargo cover.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The 1998 model year remained largely unchanged, save for a few changes in the electronics. More ergonomic switch control panels and a newly designed 4 spoke steering wheel, which also necessitated a redesign of the airbag system.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: For the 1999 model year, there were both major cosmetic and interior enhancements. A new "fat lip" bumper was designed to allow for an extended crush zone on the front of the frame, as well as new multi-parabola style headlights, projector style fog lamps, and updated side marker lights and front turn signals. Vehicles with "Limited" and "Highlander" (later called "Sport Edition") trim received color-keyed running boards, front and rear bumpers, mud flaps and flares. The ergonomics of the interior was completely changed, moving all the controls to the center of the dash for the rear window, and defrost, it also received a new instrument panel with a digital odometer. The Limited trucks also received a brand-new electronic temp control, and upgraded stereo. The multimatic transmission became available as an option for 4WD 4Runners for 1999, giving the option of AWD operation.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The 2001 model year received new transparent tail lights and new front grille design. The wheels were also changed to a five-spoke design rim. Limited models received newly designed five spoke wheels as well, however different from SR5 and base model. Also included was a new, sleeker side view mirror design. SR5 and base model 4Runners also have redesigned climate control units utilizing 3 knobs and 2 buttons, contrary to the 1999 model's 2 sliders and 2 knobs. 2001 models were equipped with Vehicle Stability Control standard, and 4WD models came standard with the multimatic transmission. The optional e-locker for the rear differential was dropped in 2001.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The 2002 model year can be distinguished from the rear by their chromed lift gate exterior trim that encompasses the license plate.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The fourth-generation 4Runner incorporated serious changes to the chassis and body of the vehicle, but was targeted at approximately the same demographics as the third generation. Based on the Land Cruiser Prado 120 series, the new 4Runner retained the same basic exterior styling themes, and was still marketed as a mid-size semi-luxury SUV with off-road capabilities. Available trims were the SR5, Sport Edition, and Limited models. An all-new LEV certified 4.0 L "1GR-FE" V6 which produces and of torque is standard, but for the first time, a V8 became available, the ULEV certified 4.7 L "2UZ-FE" engine which in the US produced and . In 2004, for the 2005 model year, the addition of VVT-i increased output to and . Fuel economy is estimated at 17 mpg city, 20 mpg highway for the V6 and 15/19 mpg for the V8. Towing capacity is on V6 models and on RWD V8 models (7000 pounds w/4WD). The 4Runner first entered dealer showrooms in October 2002 for the 2003 model year. Three trims levels were offered, SR5, Sport Edition, and Limited. When it was first introduced the SR5 and Sport Edition models used gray plastic cladding and bumpers. Sport models also featured a non-functional hood scoop.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The front suspension used a double wishbone while the rear is a solid rear axle type. The 4runner continued to use a body on frame construction design and a solid rear axle for strength and durability compromising interior room and on-road handling. Toyota's other mid-size SUV, the Highlander is a crossover which is not designed for off-roading. The optional 4WD systems were full-time on V8 models while "Multi-Mode" or part-time on V6 models, both systems used a lockable Torsen center differential. A new suspension system, X-Relative Absorber System (X-REAS), became standard on the Sport Edition and optional for SR5 and Limited models, a rear auto-leveling height adjustable air suspension is sometimes included with this option on Limited models. The X-REAS system links the dampers diagonally by means of hydraulic hoses and fluid using a mechanical center valve which reduces body roll during hard cornering. All 4runners were equipped with skid plates for the engine, transfer case, and fuel tank to prevent damage during off-roading. The Hill-Start Assist Control (HAC) system prevents the 4runner from rolling backwards on inclines and a Downhill Assist Control (DAC, 4WD only) modulates the brakes and throttle automatically without driver inputs for smooth hill descents at very low speeds, both electronic aids are standard on 4WD models.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: Major standard features included a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, remote keyless entry, single zone automatic climate control, power driver's lumbar support, power rear tailgate window, and on V8 models a tow hitch receiver bolted directly to the rear frame crossmember. Options included HomeLink, an electrochromic auto-dimming rearview mirror, power moonroof, third row seating, a DVD-based navigation system (loses in-dash CD changer), a 10-speaker JBL Synthesis stereo, and rear seat audio. An optional backup camera system on Limited models used two cameras mounted on the interiors D-pillars to give a wider view when backing up. Some trim levels get two mirrors mounted on the interior D-pillars just inside the rear hatch.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2009 with the end of this generation, Toyota Japan ceased production of the Hilux Surf, leaving only the 4Runner available in the subsequent model series.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: All 4Runners came with Toyota's Star Safety System which includes anti-lock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution, brake assist, traction control and Vehicle Stability Control. Side torso airbags for the front rows as well as side curtain airbags for the front and rear rows were optional on 2003–2007 models and became standard on 2008 models.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the 4Runner as "Good" overall in the frontal offset crash test, "Good" overall in the side impact test on vehicles with side airbags, and the 4Runner received a "Poor" rating for rear impact protection. An IIHS report published in April 2007 shows the 4Runner has one of the lowest death rates for all vehicles on the road at only 13 deaths per million registered vehicle years for the 2003 and 2004 model years.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: Later models offered a DVD Rear Seat Entertainment System (RSES) which used a nine-inch LCD screen and two wireless headphones.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The fifth-generation 4Runner was unveiled at the State Fair of Texas on September 24, 2009, and went on sale months later. It is built on the same platform as the J150 series Land Cruiser Prado/Lexus GX and the FJ Cruiser. Despite being built in Japan, it was only produced in left-hand drive and it was not sold there or any other RHD markets.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: Initially, the 4Runner was available in three trim levels, two of which were available previously. The base SR5 trim as well as the top-of-the-line Limited trim are available as a 2WD or a 4WD. The Trail Edition is only available as a 4WD. The SR5 and Trail Edition 4WDs received a part-time 4WD drive system, while the Limited has full-time 4WD. All models came with Active Traction Control (A-TRAC). The new Trail Edition offers Toyota's Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) and Crawl Control which had previously only been available to premium Toyota vehicles, as well as a rear locking differential like the previous Trail Package.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: The 4.0-liter V6 gasoline engine adds Dual VVT-i which improves horsepower, torque and fuel economy, and comes standard in all models. A 2.7-liter I4 was available on 2WD models, but was discontinued after the 2010 model year. The 4.7-liter V8 from the previous generation was not carried over to the fifth generation 4Runner.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2013 (for the 2014 model year), the 4Runner received a facelift, consisting of revised front and rear fascia with projector headlamps and clear-lensed, LED tail-lamps, as well as other minor exterior cosmetic changes. The interior was also updated, with soft-touch door trim, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, revised dashboard and center stack, and the inclusion of Toyota's Optitron instrument cluster as standard across all trim levels. Brake lines were upgraded for improved pedal feel, and electronic Trailer Sway Control programming included. No driveline changes were made. All 2014 model year 4Runner models are powered by a 4.0-liter V-6 engine with intelligent Variable Valve Timing (VVT-i) that can develop and of torque. It is mated to a five-speed automatic ECT transmission.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2014 (for the 2015 model year) the TRD Pro trim level was introduced in the United States, with Toyota badging on the front as well as an off-road package as part of the TRD Pro Series. The TRD Pro 4Runner included TRD Bilstein shocks with remote reservoirs, TRD-tuned front springs and TRD front skid plate. For each model year of the TRD Pro, beyond the two colors available on all trims, the TRD Pro is available in an exclusive color. This was 'Inferno Orange' for the 2015 model year, 'Quicksand' for 2016, 'Cement' for 2017, 'Cavalry Blue' for 2018, 'Voodoo Blue' for 2019, 'Army Green' for 2020, 'Lunar Rock' for 2021, Lime Rush' for 2022, and 'Solar Octane' for 2023. All United States models received the Entune touchscreen infotainment system with a 6.1-inch display and a rear backup camera as standard equipment, with optional GPS navigation, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, HD Radio, and Safety Connect. Only the Limited model featured a standard JBL premium amplified audio system.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2016 (for the 2017 model year), the 4Runner Trail and Trail Premium were renamed to TRD Off-Road and TRD Off-Road Premium in the United States. These trim levels share the same mechanical functionality of the former Trail edition, but add aesthetic differences and TRD badging to differentiate themselves from the base model. They do not share the same suspension as the TRD Pro model.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2018 (for the 2019 model year), Toyota began offering a 'Nightshade' package based on the Limited trim which blacks out badging, lower front and rear fascia, wheels, and portions of the interior.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2019 (for the 2020 model year), Toyota announced that all 4Runner trims will receive Toyota Safety Sense-P (TSS-P) standard as well as two additional rear seat USB ports. The TRD Pro will have an updated grille design to accommodate the front radar sensor for TSS-P. All United States models received an updated Entune 3.0 infotainment system with a larger, higher-resolution touchscreen display, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration and Amazon Alexa integration, 4G LTE internet access powered by Verizon Wireless, Safety Connect, and standard SiriusXM Satellite Radio and optional HD Radio. The TRD Pro model receives a JBL premium amplified audio system as standard equipment. The system was previously only available on Limited models, where it remains standard equipment. Most models also feature standard GPS navigation.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2021 (for the 2022 model year), Toyota included their smart key system with push button as standard for all trims. The new TRD Sport trim was also added into the lineup. The TRD Sport received the same bumper, 20" wheels and the X-REAS suspension from the Limited. It also includes TRD parts such as the TRD shifter, TRD hood with scoop, TRD badges, and Softex seats with TRD lettering. Unlike the Limited, it is available only with 2WD or part-time 4WD.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: Toyota added LED foglights, lowbeams and highbeam headlights as standard for all trims for the first time. Blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert were added as standard for most trims. The TRD Pro now gets standard multi-terrain monitor. Using strategically placed cameras, the system lets the driver check surroundings on the trail, with the ability to spot potential obstacles not easily seen from the cabin. The Limited trim adds a standard Panoramic View Monitor, which is similar to the multi-terrain monitor on the TRD Pro. The Limited grade and TRD models also add a premium Multi-Information Display. All trims receives rear occupancy alert as standard.


title: Toyota 4Runner

text: In 2022 (for the 2023 model year), the 40th Anniversary Special Edition is a limited model for the North American market producing 4,040 units, with three exterior colors, and standard four-wheel-drive. Solar Octane paint is exclusive to the 2023 model year TRD Pro.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The economy of the United Kingdom is a highly developed social market and market-orientated economy. It is the sixth-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), ninth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), and twenty second-highest by GDP per capita, constituting 3.3% of nominal world GDP. By PPP (purchasing power parity) terms, UK constitutes 2.34% of world GDP.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The United Kingdom is one of the most globalised economies, and comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2020, the UK was the fifth largest exporter in the world and the fifth-largest importer. It also had the third-largest inward foreign direct investment, and the fifth-largest outward foreign direct investment. In 2020, the UK's trade with the 27 member states of the European Union accounted for 49% of the country's exports and 52% of its imports.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The service sector dominates, contributing 81% of GDP; the financial services industry is particularly important, and London is the second-largest financial centre in the world. Edinburgh was ranked 17th in the world, and 6th in Europe for its financial services industry in 2021. The UK technology sector is valued at US$1 trillion, third behind the United States and China. Britain's aerospace industry is the second-largest national aerospace industry. Its pharmaceutical industry, the tenth-largest in the world, plays an important role in the economy. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 26 are headquartered in the UK. The economy is boosted by North Sea oil and gas production; its reserves were estimated at 2.8 billion barrels in 2016, although it has been a net importer of oil since 2005. There are significant regional variations in prosperity, with South East England and North East Scotland being the richest areas per capita. The size of London's economy makes it the largest city by GDP per capita in Europe.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In the 18th century, Britain was the first nation to industrialise. During the 19th century, through its expansive colonial empire and technological superiority, Britain had a preeminent role in the global economy, accounting for 9.1% of the world's GDP in 1870. The Second Industrial Revolution was also taking place rapidly in the United States and the German Empire; this presented an increasing economic challenge for the UK, leading into the 20th century. The cost of fighting both the First and Second World Wars further weakened the UK's relative position. Despite a relative decline in its global dominance, in the 21st century the UK retains the ability to project significant power and influence around the world.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Government involvement is primarily exercised by His Majesty's Treasury, headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Since 1979, management of the economy has followed a broadly laissez-faire approach. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank, and since 1997 its Monetary Policy Committee has been responsible for setting interest rates, quantitative easing, and forward guidance.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, which is the world's fourth-largest reserve currency after the United States dollar, the Euro and the Japanese yen. It is also one of the 10 most-valued currencies in the world.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK is a founding member of the Commonwealth, the G7, the G20, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, NATO, the United Nations Security Council, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the United Nations.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: After the Second World War, a new Labour government fully nationalised the Bank of England, civil aviation, telephone networks, railways, gas, electricity, and the coal, iron and steel industries, affecting 2.3 million workers. Post-war, the United Kingdom enjoyed a long period without a major recession; there was a rapid growth in prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s, with unemployment staying low and not exceeding 3.5% until the early 1970s. The annual rate of growth between 1960 and 1973 averaged 2.9%, although this figure was far behind other European countries such as France, West Germany and Italy.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Deindustrialisation meant the closure of operations in mining, heavy industry, and manufacturing, resulting in the loss of highly paid working-class jobs. The UK's share of manufacturing output had risen from 9.5% in 1830 during the Industrial Revolution to 22.9% in the 1870s. It fell to 13.6% by 1913, 10.7% by 1938, and 4.9% by 1973. Overseas competition, lack of innovation, trade unionism, the welfare state, loss of the British Empire, and cultural attitudes have all been put forward as explanations. It reached crisis point in the 1970s against the backdrop of a worldwide energy crisis, high inflation, and a dramatic influx of low-cost manufactured goods from Asia.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: During the 1973 oil crisis (which saw oil prices quadruple), the 1973–74 stock market crash, and the secondary banking crisis of 1973–75, the British economy fell into the 1973–75 recession and the government of Edward Heath was ousted by the Labour Party under Harold Wilson, which had previously governed from 1964 to 1970. Wilson formed a minority government in March 1974 after the general election on 28 February ended in a hung parliament. Wilson secured a three-seat overall majority in a second election in October that year. The UK recorded weaker growth than many other European nations in the 1970s; even after the recession, the economy was blighted by rising unemployment and double-digit inflation, which exceeded 20% more than once and was rarely below 10% after 1973.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 1976, the UK was forced to apply for a loan of £2.3 billion from the International Monetary Fund. Denis Healey, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, was required to implement public spending cuts and other economic reforms in order to secure the loan, and for a while the British economy improved, with growth of 4.3% in early 1979. Following the discovery of large North Sea oil reserves, the UK became a net exporter of oil by the end of the 1970s, which contributed to a massive appreciation of the pound, making exports in general more expensive and imports cheaper. Oil prices doubled between 1979 and 1980, further reducing manufacturing profitability. After the Winter of Discontent, when the UK was hit by numerous public sector strikes, the government of James Callaghan lost a vote of no confidence in March 1979. This triggered the general election on 3 May 1979 which resulted in Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party forming a new government.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: A new period of neo-liberal economics began with this election. During the 1980s, many state-owned industries and utilities were privatised, taxes cut, trade union reforms passed and markets deregulated. GDP fell by 5.9% initially, but growth subsequently returned and rose to an annual rate of 5% at its peak in 1988, one of the highest rates of any country in Europe.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Thatcher's modernisation of the economy was far from trouble-free; her battle with inflation, which in 1980 had risen to 21.9%, resulted in a substantial increase in unemployment from 5.3% in 1979 to over 10.4% by the start of 1982, peaking at nearly 11.9% in 1984 – a level not seen in Britain since the Great Depression. The rise in unemployment coincided with the early 1980s global recession, after which UK GDP did not reach its pre-recession rate until 1983. In spite of this, Thatcher was re-elected in June 1983 with a landslide majority. Inflation had fallen to 3.7%, while interest rates were relatively high at 9.56%. The increase in unemployment was largely due to the government's economic policy which resulted in the closure of outdated factories and coal pits. Manufacturing in England and Wales declined from around 38% of jobs in 1961 to around 22% in 1981. This trend continued for most of the 1980s, with newer industries and the service sector enjoying significant growth. Many jobs were also lost as manufacturing became more efficient and fewer people were required to work in the sector. Unemployment had fallen below 3 million by the time of Thatcher's third successive election victory in June 1987; and by the end of 1989 it was down to 1.6 million.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Britain's economy slid into another global recession in late 1990; it shrank by a total of 6% from peak to trough, and unemployment increased from around 6.9% in spring 1990 to nearly 10.7% by the end of 1993. However, inflation dropped from 10.9% in 1990 to 1.3% three years later. The subsequent economic recovery was extremely strong, and unlike after the early 1980s recession, the recovery saw a rapid and substantial fall in unemployment, which was down to 7.2% by 1997, although the popularity of the Conservative government had failed to improve with the economic upturn. The government won a fourth successive election in 1992 under John Major, who had succeeded Thatcher in November 1990, but soon afterwards came Black Wednesday, which damaged the Conservative government's reputation for economic competence, and from that stage onwards, the Labour Party was ascendant in the opinion polls, particularly in the immediate aftermath of Tony Blair's election as party leader in July 1994 after the sudden death of his predecessor John Smith.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Despite two recessions, wages grew consistently by around 2% per year in real terms from 1980 until 1997, and continued to grow until 2008.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In May 1997, Labour, led by Tony Blair, won the general election after 18 years of Conservative government. The Labour Government inherited a strong economy with low inflation, falling unemployment, and a current account surplus. Blair ran on a platform of New Labour which was characterised largely by the continuation of neo-liberal economic policies, but also supporting a strong welfare state. In Britain it was largely viewed as a combination of socialist and capitalist policies, being dubbed 'Third Way'. Four days after the election, Gordon Brown, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave the Bank of England the freedom to control monetary policy, which until then had been directed by the government.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: During Blair's 10 years in office there were 40 successive quarters of economic growth, lasting until the second quarter of 2008. GDP growth, which had briefly reached 4% per year in the early 1990s, gently declining thereafter, was relatively anaemic compared to prior decades, such as the 6.5% per year peak in the early 1970s, although growth was smoother and more consistent. Annual growth rates averaged 2.68% between 1992 and 2007, with the finance sector accounting for a greater part than previously. The period saw one of the highest GDP growth rates of any developed economy and the strongest of any European nation. At the same time, household debt rose from £420 billion in 1994 to £1 trillion in 2004 and £1.46 trillion in 2008 – more than the entire GDP of the UK.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: This extended period of growth ended in Q2 of 2008 when the United Kingdom entered a recession brought about by the global financial crisis. The UK was particularly vulnerable to the crisis because its financial sector was the most highly leveraged of any major economy. Beginning with the collapse of Northern Rock, which was taken into public ownership in February 2008, other banks had to be partly nationalised. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, at its peak the fifth-largest bank in the world by market capitalisation, was effectively nationalised in October 2008. By mid-2009, HM Treasury had a 70.33% controlling shareholding in RBS, and a 43% shareholding, through the UK Financial Investments Limited, in Lloyds Banking Group. The Great Recession, as it came to be known, saw unemployment rise from just over 1.6 million in January 2008 to nearly 2.5 million by October 2009.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In August 2008 the IMF warned that the country's outlook had worsened due to a twin shock: financial turmoil and rising commodity prices. Both developments harmed the UK more than most developed countries, as it obtained revenue from exporting financial services while running deficits in goods and commodities, including food. In 2007, the UK had the world's third largest current account deficit, due mainly to a large deficit in manufactured goods. In May 2008, the IMF advised the UK government to broaden the scope of fiscal policy to promote external balance. The UK's output per hour worked was on a par with the average for the "old" EU-15 countries.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In March 2009, the Bank of England (BoE) cut interest rates to a then-historic low of 0.5% and began quantitative easing (QE) to boost lending and shore up the economy. The UK exited the Great Recession in Q4 of 2009 having experienced six consecutive quarters of negative growth, shrinking by 6.03% from peak to trough, making it the longest recession since records began and the deepest since World War II. Support for Labour slumped during the recession, and the general election of 2010 resulted in a coalition government being formed by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2011, household, financial, and business debts stood at 420% of GDP in the UK. As the world's most indebted country, spending and investment were held back after the recession, creating economic malaise. However, it was recognised that government borrowing, which rose from 52% to 76% of GDP, had helped to avoid a 1930s-style depression. Within three years of the general election, government cuts aimed at reducing the budget deficit had led to public sector job losses well into six figures, but the private sector enjoyed strong jobs growth.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The 10 years following the Great Recession were characterised by extremes. In 2015, employment was at its highest since records began, and GDP growth had become the fastest in the Group of Seven (G7) and Europe, but workforce productivity was the worst since the 1820s, with any growth attributed to a fall in working hours. Output per hour worked was 18% below the average for the rest of the G7. Real wage growth was the worst since the 1860s, and the Governor of the Bank of England described it as a lost decade. Wages fell by 10% in real terms in the eight years to 2016, whilst they grew across the OECD by an average of 6.7%. For 2015 as a whole, the current account deficit rose to a record high of 5.2% of GDP (£96.2bn), the highest in the developed world. In Q4 2015, it exceeded 7%, a level not witnessed during peacetime since records began in 1772. The UK relied on foreign investors to plug the shortfall in its balance of payments. Homes had become less affordable, a problem exacerbated by QE, without which house prices would have fallen by 22%, according to the BoE's own analysis.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: A rise in unsecured household debt added to questions over the sustainability of the economic recovery in 2016. The BoE insisted there was no cause for alarm, despite having said two years earlier that the recovery was "neither balanced nor sustainable". Following the UK's 2016 decision to leave the European Union, the BoE cut interest rates to a new historic low of 0.25% for just over a year. It also increased the amount of QE since the start of the Great Recession to £435bn. By Q4 2018 net borrowing in the UK was the highest in the OECD at 5% of GDP. Households had been in deficit for an unprecedented nine quarters in a row. Since the Great Recession, the country was no longer making a profit on its foreign investments.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a temporary ban was imposed on non-essential business and travel in the UK. The BoE cut the interest rate to 0.1%. Economic growth had been weak before the crisis, with zero growth in Q4 2019. By May, 23% of the British workforce was furloughed (temporarily laid off). Government schemes were launched to help affected workers. In the first half of 2020, GDP shrank by 22.6%, the deepest recession in UK history and worse than any other G7 or European country. During 2020 the BoE purchased £450 billion of government bonds, taking the amount of quantitative easing since the start of the Great Recession to £895 billion. Overall, GDP shrank by 9.9% in 2020, making it the worst contraction since the Great Frost paralysed the economy in 1709.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2021 consumer price inflation (CPI) began rising sharply due to higher energy and transport costs. With annual inflation approaching 11%, the BoE gradually increased the base rate to 2.25% during the first nine months of 2022. The UK was not alone: global inflation rates were the highest in 40 years owing to the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In February 2022 the BoE began quantitative tightening (a reversal of QE) by not renewing mature government bonds and in November started offloading bonds to private investors, signalling the end to an era of easy borrowing. In October 2022 year-on-year CPI was at 11.1%, the worst for 41 years, food price inflation was 16.2%, gas prices 130% and electricity 66%. GDP was still lower than before the pandemic.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development stated among the G20 group of leading nations only Russia would contract more than Britain in 2023. Weak performance is forecast to continue in 2024. OECD economist, Álvaro Pereira stated the UK’s bad performance was due to rising interest rates, government measures to reduce borrowing and debt, and market disturbence during the Premiership of Liz Truss.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The Office for National Statistics stated between 8 and 20 November 2022 94% of adults reported their cost of living was higher than it was a year before and 76% reported their cost of living was higher than it was a month before. In October 2022 inflation was at 11.1%, the worst for 41 years and rose from 10.1% in September. Food price inflation was 16.2% during the Office for National Statisticsyear to October and rose from 14.5% in September. Fuel and energy and prices also rose steeply. The Office for National Statistics stated gas prices rose almost 130% and electricity prices rose almost 66% compared to the year before. Many people face hardship. The Office for National Statistics stated poorer households were affected worst, as they spent roughly half their income on food and energy. The UK is doing worse economically than other major countries, and the UK economy is smaller than before the Covid pandemic.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Government involvement in the economy is primarily exercised by HM Treasury, headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In recent years, the UK economy has been managed in accordance with principles of market liberalisation and low taxation and regulation. Since 1997, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, headed by the Governor of the Bank of England, has been responsible for setting interest rates at the level necessary to achieve the overall inflation target for the economy that is set by the Chancellor each year. The Scottish Government, subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, has the power to vary the basic rate of income tax payable in Scotland by plus or minus 3 pence in the pound, though this power has not yet been exercised.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In the 20-year period from 1986/87 to 2006/07 government spending in the UK averaged around 40% of GDP. In July 2007, the UK had government debt at 35.5% of GDP. As a result of the 2007–2010 financial crisis and the late-2000s global recession, government spending increased to a historically high level of 48% of GDP in 2009–10, partly as a result of the cost of a series of bank bailouts. In terms of net government debt as a percentage of GDP, at the end of June 2014 public sector net debt excluding financial sector interventions was £1304.6 billion, equivalent to 77.3% of GDP. For the financial year of 2013–2014 public sector net borrowing was £93.7 billion. This was £13.0 billion higher than in the financial year of 2012–2013.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Taxation in the United Kingdom may involve payments to at least two different levels of government: local government and central government (HM Revenue & Customs). Local government is financed by grants from central government funds, business rates, council tax, and, increasingly, fees and charges such as those from on-street parking. Central government revenues are mainly from income tax, national insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Agriculture in the UK is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards. The country produces around 65% of its food needs. The self-sufficiency level was just under 50% in the 1950s, peaking at 80% in the 1980s, before declining to its present level at the turn of the 21st century. Agriculture added gross value of £12.18 billion to the economy in 2018, and around 392,000 people were employed in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing. It contributes around 0.6% of the UK's national GDP. Around two-thirds of production by value is devoted to livestock, and one-third to arable crops. The agri-food sector as a whole (agriculture and food manufacturing, wholsale, catering, and retail) was worth £120 billion and accounts for 4 million jobs in the UK.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The construction industry of the United Kingdom employed around 2.3 million people and contributed gross value of £123.2 billion to the economy in 2019.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: One of the largest construction projects in the UK in recent years was Crossrail, costing an estimated £19 billion. Due to start opening by Christmas 2021, it will be a new railway line running east to west through London and into the surrounding area, with a branch to Heathrow Airport. The main feature of the project is construction of 42 km (26 mi) of new tunnels connecting stations in central London. Ongoing construction projects include the High Speed 2 line between London and the West Midlands. Crossrail 2 is a proposed rail route in the South East of England.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: This sector added gross value of £51.4 billion to the economy in 2018. The United Kingdom is expected to launch the building of new nuclear reactors to replace existing generators and to boost the UK's energy reserves.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In the 1970s, manufacturing accounted for 25 percent of the economy. Total employment in manufacturing fell from 7.1 million in 1979 to 4.5 million in 1992 and only 2.7 million in 2016, when it accounted for 10% of the economy.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2011 the UK manufacturing sector generated approximately £140.5 billion in gross value added and employed around 2.6 million people. Of the approximately £16 billion invested in R&D by UK businesses in 2008, approximately £12 billion was by manufacturing businesses. In 2008, the UK was the sixth-largest manufacturer in the world measured by value of output.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2008 around 180,000 people in the UK were directly employed in the UK automotive manufacturing sector. In that year the sector had a turnover of £52.5 billion, generated £26.6 billion of exports and produced around 1.45 million passenger vehicles and 203,000 commercial vehicles. The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing, and in 2008 around 3.16 million engines were produced in the country.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The aerospace industry of the UK is the second- or third-largest aerospace industry in the world, depending upon the method of measurement. The industry employs around 113,000 people directly and around 276,000 indirectly and has an annual turnover of around £20 billion. British companies with a major presence in the industry include BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce (the world's second-largest aircraft engine maker). European aerospace companies active in the UK include Airbus, whose commercial aircraft, space, helicopter and defence divisions employ over 13,500 people across more than 25 UK sites.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The pharmaceutical industry employs around 67,000 people in the UK and in 2007 contributed £8.4 billion to the UK's GDP and invested a total of £3.9 billion in research and development. In 2007 exports of pharmaceutical products from the UK totalled £14.6 billion, creating a trade surplus in pharmaceutical products of £4.3 billion. The UK is home to GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, respectively the world's third- and seventh-largest pharmaceutical companies.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The Blue Book 2013 reports that this sector added gross value of £31.4 billion to the UK economy in 2011. In 2007 the UK had a total energy output of 9.5 quadrillion Btus (10 exajoules), of which the composition was oil (38%), natural gas (36%), coal (13%), nuclear (11%) and other renewables (2%). In 2009, the UK produced 1.5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil and consumed 1.7 million bbl/d. Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of oil since 2005. As of 2010 the UK has around 3.1 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, the largest of any EU member state.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2009 the UK was the 13th largest producer of natural gas in the world and the largest producer in the EU. Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004. In 2009 the UK produced 19.7 million tons of coal and consumed 60.2 million tons. In 2005 it had proven recoverable coal reserves of 171 million tons. It has been estimated that identified onshore areas have the potential to produce between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes of coal through underground coal gasification (UCG). Based on current UK coal consumption, these volumes represent reserves that could last the UK between 200 and 400 years.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK is home to a number of large energy companies, including two of the six oil and gas "supermajors" – BP and Royal Dutch Shell.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK is also rich in a number of natural resources including coal, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead and silica.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The service sector is the dominant sector of the UK economy, and it accounted for 79% of GDP in 2019.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The creative industries accounted for 7% of gross value added (GVA) in 2005 and grew at an average of 6% per annum between 1997 and 2005. Key areas include London and the North West of England, which are the two largest creative industry clusters in Europe. According to the British Fashion Council, the fashion industry's contribution to the UK economy in 2014 is £26 billion, up from £21 billion in 2009. The UK is home to the world's largest advertising company, WPP.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: According to The Blue Book 2013 the education sector added a gross value of £84.6 billion in 2011 whilst human health and social work activities added £104.0 billion in 2011.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In the UK the majority of the healthcare sector consists of the state funded and operated National Health Service (NHS), which accounts for over 80% of all healthcare spending in the UK and has a workforce of around 1.7 million, making it the largest employer in Europe, and putting it amongst the largest employers in the world. The NHS operates independently in each of the four constituent countries of the UK. The NHS in England is by far the largest of the four parts and had a turnover of £92.5 billion in 2008.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2007/08 higher education institutions in the UK had a total income of £23 billion and employed a total of 169,995 staff. In 2007/08 there were 2,306,000 higher education students in the UK (1,922,180 in England, 210,180 in Scotland, 125,540 in Wales and 48,200 in Northern Ireland).


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK financial services industry added gross value of £116.4 billion to the UK economy in 2011. The UK's exports of financial and business services make a significant positive contribution towards the country's balance of payments.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of the three "command centres" of the global economy (alongside New York City and Tokyo). There are over 500 banks with offices in London, and it is the leading international centre for banking, insurance, Eurobonds, foreign exchange trading and energy futures. London's financial services industry is primarily based in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The City houses the London Stock Exchange, the London Metal Exchange, Lloyd's of London, and the Bank of England. Canary Wharf began development in the 1980s and is now home to major financial institutions such as Barclays Bank, Citigroup and HSBC, as well as the UK Financial Services Authority. London is also a major centre for other business and professional services, and four of the six largest law firms in the world are headquartered there.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Several other major UK cities have large financial sectors and related services. Edinburgh has one of the largest financial centres in Europe and is home to the headquarters of Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and Standard Life. Leeds is the UK's largest centre for business and financial services outside London, and the largest centre for legal services in the UK after London.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: According to a series of research papers and reports published in the mid-2010s, Britain's financial firms provide sophisticated methods to launder billions of pounds annually, including money from the proceeds of corruption around the world as well as the world's drug trade, thus making the city a global hub for illicit finance. According to a Deutsche Bank study published in March 2015, Britain was attracting circa one billion pounds of capital inflows a month not recorded by official statistics, up to 40 percent probably originating from Russia, which implies misreporting by financial institutions, sophisticated tax avoidance, and the UK's "safe-haven" reputation.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The Blue Book 2013 reports that this industry added gross value of £36.6 billion to the UK economy in 2011. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire, is currently the world's largest hotelier, owning and operating hotel brands such as InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. The international arm of Hilton Hotels, the world's fifth largest hotelier, used to be owned by Ladbrokes Plc, and was headquartered in Watford, Hertfordshire from 1987 to 2005. It was sold to Hilton Hotels Group of the US in December 2005.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: A study in 2014 found that sex work and associated services added over £5 billion to the economy each year.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The Blue Book 2013 reports that this sector added gross value of £70.4 billion to the UK economy in 2011.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Notable real estate companies in the United Kingdom include British Land, Land Securities, and The Peel Group. The UK property market boomed for the seven years up to 2008, and in some areas property trebled in value over that period. The increase in property prices had a number of causes: low interest rates, credit growth, economic growth, rapid growth in buy-to-let property investment, foreign property investment in London and planning restrictions on the supply of new housing. In England and Wales between 1997 and 2016, average house prices increased by 259%, while earnings increased by 68%. An average home cost 3.6 times annual earnings in 1997 compared to 7.6 in 2016. Rent has nearly doubled as a share of GDP since 1985, and is now larger than the manufacturing sector. In 2014, rent and imputed rent – an estimate of how much home-owners would pay if they rented their home – accounted for 12.3% of GDP.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: With over 40 million visits in 2019, inbound tourism contributed £28.5 billion to the British economy, although just over half of that money was spent in London, which was the third most visited city in the world (21.7 million), behind second-placed Bangkok and first-placed Hong Kong.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The travel restrictions and lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic negatively affected the entire hospitality/tourism section in 2020 with a 76% reduction in "inbound tourism" to the UK that year according to VisitBritain. The January 2021 forecast for the year indicated an estimate that visits from other nations would be up "21% on 2020 but only 29% of the 2019 level". Some increase was expected during 2021, slowly at first; the tourism authority concluded that the number of visits was not expected to come "even close to normal levels".


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The same VisitBritain report also discussed the effects of the pandemic on domestic travel within the UK in 2020, citing a significant reduction in spending, for an estimated decline of 62% over the previous year. As of January 2021, the forecast for the year suggested that spending would increase by 79% over the previous year and that "the value of spending will be back to 84% of 2019 levels" by the end of 2021.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Some of the "COVID-19 restrictions" on domestic travel were to be loosened on 12 April 2021 and the UK planned to begin relaxing some restrictions on travel from other nations in mid May. The latter plan became less certain as of 8 April 2021 when sources in the European Union stated on that a "third wave of the pandemic [was sweeping] the continent"; the B117 variant was of particular concern. Two days earlier, PM Boris Johnson had made it clear that "We don't want to see the virus being reimported into this country from abroad".


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The transport and storage industry added a gross value of £59.2 billion to the UK economy in 2011 and the telecommunication industry added a gross value of £25.1 billion in the same year.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK has a total road network of with of major roads, including of motorway. The railway infrastructure, in Great Britain, is owned by Network Rail which has of railway lines, of which is open for traffic. There are a further of track in Northern Ireland, owned and operated by Northern Ireland Railways. Since the privatisation of British Rail, passenger trains in Britain are run by train operating companies. , there are 32 TOCs. The government is to spend £56 billion on a new high-speed railway line, HS2, with the first phase from London to Birmingham costing £27 billion. Crossrail, due to open in London during Autumn 2019, is Europe's largest infrastructure project with a £15 billion projected cost.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: National Highways is the government-owned company responsible for trunk roads and motorways in England apart from the privately owned and operated M6 Toll. The Department for Transport states that traffic congestion is one of the most serious transport problems and that it could cost England an extra £22 billion in wasted time by 2025 if left unchecked. According to the government-sponsored Eddington report of 2006, congestion is in danger of harming the economy, unless tackled by road pricing and expansion of the transport network.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In the year from February 2017 to January 2018, UK airports handled a total of 284.8 million passengers. In that period the three largest airports were London Heathrow Airport (78.0 million passengers), Gatwick Airport (45.6 million passengers) and Manchester Airport (27.8 million passengers). Heathrow, located west of the capital, has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the world. It is the hub for the UK flag carrier British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. London's six commercial airports form the world's largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic with 171 million passengers in 2017.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: This sector includes the motor trade, auto repairs, personal and household goods industries. The Blue Book 2013 reports that this sector added gross value of £151.8 billion to the UK economy in 2011.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: As of 2016, high-street retail spending accounted for about 33% of consumer spending and 20% of GDP. Because 75% of goods bought in the United Kingdom are made overseas, the sector only accounts for 5.7% of gross value added to the British economy. Online sales account for 22% of retail spending in the UK, third highest in the world after China and South Korea, and double that of the United States.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK grocery market is dominated by four companies: Tesco (27% market share), Sainsbury's (15.4%), Asda (14.9%) and Morrisons (10%), these supermarkets are known as the "Big Four". However discount supermarkets such as ALDI have grown in popularity.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: London is a major retail centre and in 2010 had the highest non-food retail sales of any city in the world, with a total spend of around £64.2 billion. Outside of London, Manchester and Birmingham are also major retail destinations, the UK is also home to many large out of town shopping centres like Meadowhall, away from the main high streets in town and city centres. Whilst the big international names dominate most towns and cities have streets or areas with many often quirky independent businesses. The UK-based Tesco is the fourth-largest retailer in Europe measured by turnover (after Swartz, Aldi, and Carrefour in 2019).


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: London is the world capital for foreign exchange trading, with a global market share of 43.1% in 2019 of the daily $6.6 trillion global turnover. The highest daily volume, counted in trillions of dollars US, is reached when New York enters the trade.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, represented by the symbol "£'. The Bank of England is the central bank, responsible for issuing currency. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover the issue. The pound sterling is also used as a reserve currency by other governments and institutions, and is the third-largest after the US dollar and the euro.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK chose not to join the euro at the currency's launch. The government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair had pledged to hold a referendum to decide on membership should "five economic tests" be met. Until relatively recently there was debate over whether or not the UK should abolish its currency and adopt the euro. In 2007 the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, pledged to hold a public referendum based on certain tests he set as Chancellor of the Exchequer. When assessing the tests, Brown concluded that while the decision was close, the United Kingdom should not yet join the euro. He ruled out membership for the foreseeable future, saying that the decision not to join had been right for the UK and for Europe. In particular, he cited fluctuations in house prices as a barrier to immediate entry. Public opinion polls have shown that a majority of Britons have been opposed to joining the single currency for some considerable time, and this position has hardened further in the last few years. In 2005, more than half (55%) of the UK were against adopting the currency, while 30% were in favour. The possibility of joining the euro has become a non-issue since the referendum decision to withdraw from the European Union in 2016 and subsequent withdrawal in 2020.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Average for each year, in USD (US dollar) and EUR (euro) per GBP; and inversely: GBP per USD and EUR. (Synthetic Euro XEU before 1999). These averages conceal wide intra-year spreads. The coefficient of variation gives an indication of this. It also shows the extent to which the pound tracks the euro or the dollar. Note the effect of Black Wednesday in late 1992 by comparing the averages for 1992 and for 1993.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The strength of the UK economy varies from country to country and from region to region. Excluding the effects of North Sea oil and gas (which is classified in official statistics as extra-regio), England has the highest gross value added (GVA) and Wales the lowest of the UK's constituent countries.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Within England, GVA per capita is highest in London. The following table shows the GVA per capita of the nine statistical regions of England.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The trade deficit (goods and services) narrowed £0.2 billion to £7.9 billion in the three months to November 2018 as both goods and services exports each increased £0.1 billion more than their respective imports.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Excluding erratic commodities (mainly aircraft) the total trade deficit widened £1.2 billion to £9.5 billion in the three months to November 2018.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Large increases in export prices of oil and aircraft drove the narrowing of the total trade deficit; removing the effect of inflation, the total trade deficit widened £0.3 billion to £6.5 billion in the three months to November 2018.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The trade in goods deficit widened £0.8 billion with EU countries and narrowed £0.9 billion with non-EU countries in the three months to November 2018, due mainly to increases in imports from EU countries and exports to non-EU countries.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The total trade deficit widened £4.1 billion in the 12 months to November 2018 due mainly to a £4.4 billion narrowing in the trade in services surplus.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: After the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the negotiation of a trade deal between the UK and the European Union including her 27 member states might have the same status than third countries for statistics related to imports and exports with the UK:


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In 2013 the UK was the leading country in Europe for inward foreign direct investment (FDI) with $26.51bn. This gave it a 19.31% market share in Europe. In contrast, the UK was second in Europe for outward FDI, with $42.59bn, giving a 17.24% share of the European market.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In October 2017, the ONS revised the UK's balance of payments, changing the net international investment position from a surplus of £469bn to a deficit of £22bn. Deeper analysis of outward investment revealed that much of what was thought to be foreign debt securities owned by British companies were actually loans to British citizens. Inward investment also dropped, from a surplus of £120bn in the first half of 2016 to a deficit of £25bn in the same period of 2017. The UK had been relying on a surplus of inward investment to make up for its long-term current account deficit.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK is the biggest investor in America and the second biggest in China according to the former UK/ China ambassador.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Since 1985 103,430 deals with UK participation have been announced. There have been three major waves of increased M&A activity (2000, 2007 and 2017; see graph "M&A in the UK"). 1999 however, was the year with the highest cumulated value of deals (490. bil GBP, which is about 50% more than the current peak of 2017). The Finance industry and Energy & Power made up most of the value from 2000 until 2018 (both about 15%).


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: Here is a list of the top 10 deals including UK companies. The Vodafone - Mannesmann deal is still the biggest deal in global history.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The proportion of the country's exports going to the EU has fallen from 54 percent to 47 percent over the past decade. The total value of exports however, has increased in the same period from £130 billion (€160 billion) to £240 billion (€275 billion).


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: In June 2016 the UK voted to leave the EU in a national referendum on its membership of the EU. After the activation of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the UK had been set to leave on Friday 29 March 2019. However the leave date was extended to Friday 12 April 2019 and then extended again to Thursday 31 October 2019, and then extended again until Friday 31 January 2020 with the ability to exit earlier. The future relationship between the UK and EU was under negotiation until the end of October 2019. UK economic growth slowed during 2019, with uncertainty over Brexit and a world economic slowdown blamed.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The UK left the EU in January 2020. On 16 July 2020, the government of UK affirmed that businesses across the United Kingdom, after the transition period ends, will continue to enjoy internal trade and jobs would remain protected against uncertain environment . From 1 January 2021, the powers which were previously exercised at an EU level in at least 70 policy areas were to directly transfer to the devolved administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast for the first time.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The United Kingdom is a developed country with social welfare infrastructure, thus discussions surrounding poverty tend to use a relatively high minimum income compared to developing countries. According to the OECD, the UK is in the lower half of developed country rankings for poverty rates, doing better than Italy, Spain, and the US but less well than Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Nordic countries. Eurostat figures show that the numbers of Britons at risk of poverty has fallen to 15.9% in 2014, down from 17.1% in 2010 and 19% in 2005 (after social transfers were taken into account).


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The poverty line in the UK is commonly defined as being 60% of the median household income. In 2007–2008, this was calculated to be £115 per week for single adults with no dependent children; £199 per week for couples with no dependent children; £195 per week for single adults with two dependent children under 14; and £279 per week for couples with two dependent children under 14. In 2007–2008, 13.5 million people, or 22% of the population, lived below this line. This is a higher level of relative poverty than all but four EU members. In the same year, 4.0 million children, 31% of the total, lived in households below the poverty line, after housing costs were taken into account. This is a decrease of 400,000 children since 1998–1999.


title: Economy of the United Kingdom

text: The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2021 (with IMF staff estimates in 2022–2027). Inflation below 5% is in green.


title: Kim Da-mi

text: Kim Da-mi (; born April 9, 1995) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for playing the titular role in action-mystery film "" (2018). She is also known for her roles in the television series "Itaewon Class" (2020) and "Our Beloved Summer" (2021-2022).


title: Kim Da-mi

text: Kim made her acting debut through the independent film "2017 Project With The Same Name", an omnibus feature film produced annually, playing the role of a woman who was recently involved in a breakup in the episode "Hello, My Hard Work".


title: Kim Da-mi

text: In 2018, Kim played the role of a high school student in mystery thriller film "Marionette". The same year, she played the lead role of Koo Ja-yoon in the action-mystery film "", directed by Park Hoon-jung, where she was chosen from among 1,500 candidates who auditioned for the role. She received universal acclaim for her strong performance in a challenging role that included intense fighting scenes, and winning a large number of newcomer awards. Thanks to the success and popularity of "", a sequel is scheduled to be produced.


title: Kim Da-mi

text: In 2020, Kim made her television debut in the JTBC television series "Itaewon Class", based on the webtoon of the same title. For her performance in the drama, she won the Best New Actress (TV) Award at 56th Baeksang Arts Awards.


title: Kim Da-mi

text: In March 2021, Kim was confirmed to join the SBS drama "Our Beloved Summer" with Choi Woo-shik, which premiered in December 2021. The drama reunited Kim with Choi after "" (2018).


title: Kim Da-mi

text: In May 2022, Kim decided not to renew her contract with ANDMARQ. Later in August 2022, Kim signed with United Artists Agency.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Jenna Nicole Mourey (born September 15, 1986), better known as Jenna Marbles, is an American former YouTuber. Over the span of ten years, her YouTube channel has accumulated approximately 1.7 billion video views and over 20 million subscribers.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Mourey was born and raised in Rochester, New York. She then moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology at Suffolk University and Master of Education in sport psychology and counseling at Boston University.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: In the summer of 2010, Mourey was sharing a three-bedroom apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She supported herself by bartending, working at a tanning salon, vlogging, and go-go dancing at nightclubs. That year, Mourey started her career with "Barstool Sports", where she wrote for their female-oriented site StoolLaLa. She left the publication in 2011.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Among the first of Mourey's videos to gain traction on the platform, "How to Trick People into Thinking You're Good Looking", released in 2010, was viewed over 5.3 million times in its first week. Her video "How to Avoid Talking to People You Don't Want to Talk To" was featured in "The New York Times" and "ABC News" in August 2011. In the video, she said, "I'm sick and tired of guys thinking that just because I showed up at a club or a dance or a bar that I want to have their genitalia touching my backside."


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Mourey adopted the pseudonym Jenna Marbles after her mother complained the search term "Mourey" resulted only in Jenna's videos on Google. Jenna's mother was unemployed when Jenna's first video went viral and was concerned that the content might put off potential employers. The name "Marbles" stems from her dog's name, Mr. Marbles.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Mourey portrayed Eve in the "Epic Rap Battles of History" episode "Adam vs. Eve", and she made appearances in "The Annoying Orange", "Ridiculousness", and "". Mourey was featured in the rapper Pitbull's "Fireball" music video alongside fellow YouTubers Bart Baker and Brittany Furlan.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Alongside the creators of the YouTube channel Smosh, Mourey became the first YouTube personality to have her likeness appear as a wax figure displayed at Madame Tussauds New York, which she unveiled in 2015.


title: Jenna Marbles

text: On June 25, 2020, Mourey uploaded an apology video following accusations of blackface and racism. In this video, she addresses offensive content in her videos posted between 2011 and 2012. This included an impersonation of Nicki Minaj featuring her wearing dark facial makeup, rapping anti-Asian slander while wearing traditional Asian clothing, and shaming women who had slept with multiple people, which she attributed to internalized misogyny. Mourey states it was never her intent to hurt or offend anyone, acknowledging that these actions were "shameful" and "awful", wishing "it wasn't part of [her] past". She followed up these remarks by announcing her indefinite hiatus from YouTube. On June 26, Mourey's boyfriend, Julien Solomita, announced on Twitter that the couple's joint podcast and Twitch streams would also be put on indefinite hiatus. "The Berkeley Beacon" noted that Mourey "was not the first to use the term 'accountability' in a YouTube apology, but she may have been the first one to actually mean it".


title: Jenna Marbles

text: Mourey released a brand of dog toys called Kermie Worm & Mr. Marbles. The toys are modeled after her dogs' likenesses. She also created items with some of her most popular phrases printed on them, including "What are this?" and "Team legs!" Mourey previously hosted a weekly pop countdown on SiriusXM Hits 1 named "YouTube 15". In 2016, Mourey became an executive producer for "Maximum Ride", a film based on James Patterson's series of novels of the same name.


title: Persona (series)

text: Persona, previously marketed as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona outside of Japan, is a video game franchise primarily developed and published by Atlus, and owned by Sega. Focusing around a series of role-playing video games, "Persona" is a spin-off from Atlus' "Megami Tensei" franchise. The first entry in the series, "", was released in 1996 for the PlayStation. The series has seen several more games since, with the most recent main entry being 2019's "Persona 5 Royal".


title: Persona (series)

text: "Persona" began as a spin-off based on the positively-received high school setting of "Shin Megami Tensei If..." (1994). "Persona" core features include a group of students as the main cast, a silent protagonist similar to the mainline "Megami Tensei" franchise, and combat using Personas. Since the release of "Persona 3" in 2006, the main series has used a social simulation function called Social Links, which are directly linked to how Personas evolve. Character designs are by series co-creator Kazuma Kaneko ("Persona" and the "Persona 2" duology) and Shigenori Soejima ("Persona 3" onwards). Its overall theme is exploration of the human psyche and how the characters find their true selves. The series' recurring concepts and design elements draw on Jungian psychology, psychological personas and tarot cards, along with religion, mythology, and literature themes and influences.


title: Persona (series)

text: "Revelations: Persona" was the first role-playing "Megami Tensei" game to be released outside of Japan. Beginning with "", the English localizations began to remain faithful to the Japanese versions at the insistence of Atlus. The series is highly popular internationally, becoming the best-known "Megami Tensei" spin-off and establishing Atlus and the "Megami Tensei" franchise in North America. Following the release of "Persona 3" and "4", the series also established a strong following in Europe. The series has since gone on to sell over 16 million copies worldwide, outselling its parent franchise. There have been numerous adaptations, including anime series, films, novelizations, mangas, stage plays, radio dramas, and musical concerts.


title: Persona (series)

text: "Persona 3" received a Japan-exclusive spin-off titled it follows a similar cycle of daytime activities and night time combat as the original game, with one player being chosen as the party leader each night. After its closure in 2008, a new free-to-play browser game titled was released that year; the gameplay focused on players fusing Personas and confronting a threat known as the Qliphoth. Staying exclusive to Japan, it closed down in June 2010. A fighting game sequel to "Persona 4", "Persona 4 Arena", was released in arcades in Japan in 2012. Console versions were released in 2012 in Japan and North America, and 2013 in Europe. A sequel, "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax", was similarly released in Japanese arcades in 2013, then released in 2014 in all regions for consoles. A standalone spin-off for the Nintendo 3DS, "", was released worldwide in 2014; it features the full casts of "Persona 3" and "4", and is classed by Atlus as an official entry in the "Persona" canon. A sequel, "", saw the addition of the "Persona 5" characters and was released in Japan in 2018 and worldwide in 2019. A rhythm game set after the events of "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax", "", was released worldwide in 2015. Two follow-ups to "Dancing All Night", "" and "", were released together in 2018. A "Dynasty Warriors"-style action role-playing sequel to "Persona 5", "Persona 5 Strikers", was released in Japan in 2020 and worldwide the following year.


title: Persona (series)

text: Several "Persona" mobile games have been made in partnership with other Japanese mobile companies such as BBMF. Their first partnership was in 2006 with the development and release of a 3D dungeon crawler set within the environments of the first "Persona" game. The companies later collaborated on two mobile games based on the "Persona 2" games: in 2007, and in 2009. Both games carried over the basic gameplay functions of the original games tailored for mobile phones. Many mobile spin-offs are related to "Persona 3": there is an RPG side-story titled an action game prequel set ten years prior to "Persona 3" titled and an alternate version of "Persona 3" featuring different characters titled Multiple "Persona 3"-themed puzzle games have also been developed. An online mobile RPG set around the high school featured in "Persona 3", titled was released in 2009. "Persona 4" likewise received a mobile card game spin-off, titled


title: Persona (series)

text: The gameplay of the "Persona" series revolves around combat against various enemy types: Demons, Shadows and Personas. Main combat takes place during dungeon crawling segments within various locations. The way battles initiate varies between random encounters ("Persona", "Persona 2") or running into models representing enemy groups ("Persona 3" onwards). Battles are governed by a turn-based system, where the player party and enemies each attack the opposing side. Actions in battle include standard physical attacks using short-range melee or long-range projectile weapons, magical attacks, using items, guarding, and under certain conditions escaping from battles. During battle, either side can strike an enemy's weakness, which deals more damage than other attacks. Starting with "Persona 3", landing a critical hit grants the character an extra turn. If all enemies are knocked down by critical hits, the party can perform an "All Out Attack", with all party members attacking at once and dealing high damage. Each party member is manually controlled by the player in all but one "Persona" title: in "Persona 3", all the party apart from the main character are controlled by an AI-based command system. The general gameplay has remained consistent across all "Persona" games.


title: Persona (series)

text: Each "Persona" game also includes unique elements. In "Persona", battles take place on a grid-based battlefield, with characters' and enemies' movements dictated by their placement on the battlefield. This system was abandoned for the "Persona 2" games: the party has free movement across the battlefield, and is assigned a set of moves which can be changed in the menu during and in between battles. In "Persona" and "Persona 3", there is a lunar phase tied to gameplay, time progression, and the plot. In "Persona 4", this was changed to a weather-based system, where changes in the weather keyed to the story affected enemy behavior. "Persona 5" introduces elements such as platforming and stealth gameplay to dungeon exploration. The All-Out Attack can be initiated in a "Hold-Up" session, triggered when all enemies are knocked down.


title: Persona (series)

text: A defining aspect of the series is the use of the "Persona", which are physical manifestations of a person's psyche and subconscious used for combat. The main Personas for the cast used up to "Persona 3" were inspired by Graeco-Roman mythology. "Persona 4" were based on Japanese deities; while "Persona 5" used characters inspired by fictional and historical outlaws and thieves. The summoning ritual for Personas in battle varies throughout the series: in early games, the party gains the ability to summon through a short ritual after playing a parlor game; in "Persona 3", they fire a gun-like device called an Evoker at their head to overcome their cowardice; in "Persona 4", they summon their Personas by destroying Tarot cards; in "Persona 5", they are summoned through the removal of the characters' masks.


title: Persona (series)

text: Personas are used for types of physical attack and magical attacks, along with actions such as healing and curing or inflicting status effects. For all "Persona" games, all playable characters start out with an initial Persona, which can evolve into other Personas through story-based events and use during battle. In multiple "Persona" games, two or more Personas can be summoned at once to perform a powerful Fusion Spell. In "Persona 3", "4" and "5", only the main character can wield and change between multiple Personas; the other characters use a single Persona. During the course of the game, the player acquires more Personas through a system of Skill Cards, represented by Major Arcana Tarot cards. Each skill card represents a different Persona family, which in turn hold their own abilities inherent to that family. Multiple Personas can be fused together to create a new Persona with improved and inherited abilities: these range from fusing two Personas in the "Persona 2" duology to up to twelve in "Persona 4". Starting with "Persona 3", the main protagonist of each game has an ability known as "Wild Card", an ability to summon multiple Personas represented by the Fool Arcana.


title: Persona (series)

text: "Social Links" is a system introduced in "Persona 3" that is a form of character interaction tied to the growth of Personas. During their time outside battle, the main character can interact with and grow a particular Social Link, which acts as an independent character growth system tied to a Persona family or Arcanum. As the main character's relationship with the character representing a Social Link grows, its rank is raised and more powerful Personas related to the Social Link's assigned Arcanum can be summoned and fused. Attributes related to the main character's social life can also be used to improve their Persona abilities, such as their academic abilities and social aptitude. An enhanced version of the Social Link system, known as "Confidants", appeared in "Persona 5".


title: Persona (series)

text: In "Persona", the "Persona 2" duology, and "Persona 5", there is also a "Negotiation" mechanic carried over from the "Megami Tensei" series, in which player characters can talk with enemies and provoke certain actions depending on their dialogue choices. Some responses yield Skill Cards for use in creating new Personas. Negotiation was removed from "Persona 3" and "Persona 4", although Atlus staff considered the Social Link system and aspects of Persona fusion to be a "disguised" version of it. In "Persona 5", they can be initiated during a "Hold Up" session; Shadows can be persuaded to join the party as a new Persona if the Negotiation is successful, the player does not already have them, and is at an appropriate experience level.


title: Persona (series)

text: The "Persona" series takes place in modern-day Japan and focuses on a group of high school students, with the exception to this being "Eternal Punishment", which focused on a group of adults. The setting has been described as urban fantasy, with extraordinary events happening in otherwise normal locations. The typical setting used is a city, with a noted exception being the rural town setting of "Persona 4". Although they are typically stand-alone games that only share thematic elements, the "Persona" games share a continuity, with elements from previous games turning up in later ones. "Persona" and the "Persona 2" games shared narrative elements which were concluded with "Eternal Punishment", so "Persona 3" started out with a fresh setting and characters. The first in the series is "Persona", set in the year 1996. This is followed by the events of "Innocent Sin" and "Eternal Punishment" in 1999. At the end of "Innocent Sin", the main characters rewrite events to avert the destruction of Earth, creating the "Eternal Punishment" reality, with the original reality becoming an isolated Other Side. "Persona 3" and subsequent games stem from "Eternal Punishment". "Persona 3" is set from 2009 to 2010, and "Persona 4" is set from 2011 to 2012. The "Persona 4 Arena" games and "Dancing All Night" take place in the months following "Persona 4". In contrast, "Persona 5" is set in a non-specific year referred to as "20XX", while "Strikers" is set several months after the events of "Persona 5". The "Persona Q" series takes place in a separate enclosed world in which the characters of "Persona 3", "4", and "5" are drawn into from their respective time periods. Dialogue in Q2 also suggests that Persona 5 takes place only a few years after 4.


title: Persona (series)

text: A central concept for the series is the collective unconscious, a place generated by the hearts of humanity and from which Personas are born. According to the official "Persona Club P3" book, the collective unconscious was generated by the primitive life on Earth as a means of containing the spiritual essence of Nyx, a space-born being whose presence would cause the death of all life on Earth. Her body was damaged by the impact and became the moon, while her psyche was left on the surface and locked away at the heart of the collective unconscious. The fragments of Nyx's psyche, known as "Shadows", are both a threat and a crucial part of humanity's existence. To further help defend against hostile Shadows, people generated the deities that exist within the collective unconscious, many of which manifest as Personas. Nyx appears in "Persona 3" as the antagonist. The major dungeon locations in each game are generated by the latent wishes and desires of humans and are generally used by another force for their own ends. A recurring location appearing in most of the games is the "Velvet Room", a place between reality and unconsciousness created by Philemon that changes form depending on the psyche of its current guest. Its inhabitants, led by an enigmatic old man called Igor, aid the main characters by helping them hone their Persona abilities. While normally inaccessible and invisible to all except those who forged a contract with the room, others can be summoned alongside the guest, intentionally or otherwise.


title: Persona (series)

text: The main character of each "Persona" game is a silent protagonist representing the player, with a manner described by the series' director as "silent and cool". When the writer for new story content in "Eternal Punishment" PSP version wished for the main character to have spoken dialogue, this was vetoed as it went against the series tradition. Two recurring characters generated by the collective unconscious are Philemon and Nyarlathotep, the respective representatives of the positive and negative traits of humanity. In "Innocent Sin", the two reveal that they are engaged in a proxy contest as to whether humanity can embrace its contradictory feelings and find a higher purpose before destroying itself. Philemon makes appearances in later "Persona" games as a blue butterfly. Many of the major antagonists in the series are personifications of death generated by the human subconscious. The central theme of the "Persona" series is exploration of the human psyche and the main characters discovering their true selves. The stories generally focus on the main cast's interpersonal relationships and psychologies. There is also an underlying focus on "the human soul".


title: Persona (series)

text: Many of the concepts and characters within the series (Personas, Shadows, Philemon) use Jungian psychology and archetypes. A recurring motif are the "masks" people wear during everyday life, which ties back to their Personas. This motif was more overtly expressed in "Persona 5" through the main casts' use of masks in their thief guises. The dual lives of the main casts are directly inspired by these themes. Each game also includes specific themes and motifs. "Persona 2" focuses on the effect of rumors on the fabric of reality (referred to by the developers as "the power of Kotodama"); "Persona 3" employs themes involving depression and the darkness within people; "Persona 4" focuses on how gossip and the media influences people's views of others; and "Persona 5" shows how the main characters pursue personal freedom in a restrictive modern society. A recurring element in the earlier entries is "The Butterfly Dream", a famous story by the Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou. It ties in with the series' themes, and also with Philemon's frequent appearances as a butterfly. Philemon's original appearance was based on Zhuang Zhou. The character Nyarlathotep is based on the character of the same name from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, and the Mythos as a whole is frequently referenced in "Persona 2". The Velvet Room was based on the Black Lodge from "Twin Peaks", while Igor and his assistants are all named after characters from Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" and its adaptations.


title: Persona (series)

text: The "Persona" series was first conceived after the release of "Shin Megami Tensei If..." for the Super Famicom. As the high school setting of "If..." had been positively received, Atlus decided to create a dedicated subseries focusing on the inner struggles of young adults. The focus on high school life was also decided upon due to the experiences of the series' creators, Kouji Okada and Kazuma Kaneko: according to them, as nearly everyone experiences being a student at some point in their lives, it was something everyone could relate to, representing a time of both learning and personal freedom. In their view, this approach helped players accept the series' themes and the variety of ideas included in each title. Kaneko in particular tried to recreate his experiences and the impact it had on him during his time with the series. The main concept behind the first game was a "Megami Tensei" title that was more approachable for new and casual players than the main series. The abundance of casual games on the PlayStation reinforced this decision. The game's title, represented the game's status as a direct spin-off from the series. It was later dropped to further define "Persona" as a standalone series. After the success of "Persona", "Innocent Sin" began development, retaining many of the original staff. During the writing of "Innocent Sin", it was decided that the world of "Persona 2" needed a different perspective than that of the current protagonist. This decision laid the groundwork for "Eternal Punishment". Following this, the "Persona" series entered a hiatus while focus turned to other projects, including "".


title: Persona (series)

text: The conceptual "Persona 3" was submitted to Atlus in 2003 by Katsura Hashino, who had worked as a designer for multiple "Megami Tensei" games and had been the director for "Nocturne". Gaining Atlus' approval of the concept, development started in the same year, after the completion of "Nocturne" and the "Digital Devil Saga" duology. "Persona 3" was part of Atlus' push to expand their player base outside of Japan. Ideas were being passed around about "Persona 4", but the game did not begin official development until after the release of "Persona 3". Preparations for "Persona 5" development began in 2010. The team decided to shift towards more challenging story themes, saying that the shift would be more drastic than that experienced with "Persona 3". "Persona 4 Arena" and its sequel were the first non-RPG collaborative project in the series: its success inspired the creation of both "Persona Q" and "Dancing All Night".


title: Persona (series)

text: The first three "Persona" games were developed by Atlus' internal R&D1 studio, the studio responsible for the mainline "Megami Tensei" games. Beginning with "Persona 3", a dedicated team originally referred to as the 2nd Creative Production Department began handling development for the series. The team was later renamed P-Studio in 2012. Hashino remained in charge of the studio until the Japanese release of "Persona 5" in 2016, when he moved to found a new department, Studio Zero, to work on non-"Persona" projects. Aside from Atlus, other developers have helped develop entries in the "Persona" series. During the pre-production stage of "Persona 4 Arena", Hashino approached Arc System Works after being impressed by their work on the "BlazBlue" series. For "Dancing All Night", development was initially handled by Dingo, but due to quality concerns Atlus took over primary development with Dingo being retained as a supporting developer.


title: Persona (series)

text: The two character artists for the "Persona" series are Kazuma Kaneko, a central artist in the main "Megami Tensei" series who designed characters for the first three "Persona" games, and Shigenori Soejima, who worked in a secondary capacity alongside Kaneko and took Kaneko's place as the character designer from "Persona 3" onwards. While designing the characters for "Persona", Kaneko was inspired by multiple notable celebrities and fictional characters of the time, along with members of Atlus staff. In "Persona" and "Innocent Sin", the main characters all wore the same school uniforms, so Kaneko differentiated them using accessories. For "Eternal Punishment", the main cast were adults, so Kaneko needed to rethink his design procedure. Eventually, he adopted the concept of ordinary adults, and gave them designs that would stand out in-game.


title: Persona (series)

text: Soejima's first major work for the series was working on side characters for "Persona 2" alongside Kaneko. Kaneko put Soejima in charge of the series' art direction after "Persona 2" as Kaneko did not want to imprint his drawing style on the "Persona" series, and also wanted Soejima to gain experience. Soejima felt a degree of pressure when he was given his new role, as the series had accumulated a substantial following during Kaneko's tenure. In a later interview, Soejima said that although he respected and admired Kaneko, he never consciously imitated the latter's work, and eventually settled into the role of pleasing the fans of the "Persona" series, approaching character designs with the idea of creating something new rather than referring back to Kaneko's work. For his character designs, Soejima uses real people he has met or seen, looking at what their appearance says about their personality. If his designs come too close to the people he has seen, he does a rough sketch while keeping the personality of the person in mind. For his work on "Persona Q", his first time working with a deformed Chibi style due to its links with the "Etrian Odyssey" series, Soejima took into account what fans felt about the characters. A crucial part of his design technique was looking at what made a character stand out, then adjusting those features so they remained recognizable even with the redesign.


title: Persona (series)

text: Starting with "Persona 3", each "Persona" game has been defined by a different aesthetic and key color. It is one of the first artistic decisions made by the team: "Persona 3" has a dark atmosphere and serious characters, so the primary color was chosen as blue to reflect these and the urban setting. In contrast, "Persona 4" has a lighter tone and characters but also sports a murder-mystery plot, so the color yellow was chosen to represent both the lighter tones and to evoke a "warning" signal. According to Soejima, blue was the "color of adolescence", and yellow was the "color of happiness". For "Persona 5", the color chosen was red, to convey a harsh feeling in contrast to the previous "Persona" games and tie in with the game's story themes. Its art style was described as a natural evolution from where "Persona 4" left off.


title: Persona (series)

text: The music of the "Persona" series has been handled by multiple composers. The one most associated with the series is Shoji Meguro, who began working on "Persona" shortly after he joined Atlus in 1995. His very first composition for the game was "Aria of the Soul", the theme for the velvet room that became a recurring track throughout the series. During his initial work on the series, Meguro felt restricted by the limited storage space of the PlayStation's disc system, and so when he began composing for "Persona 3", which allowed for sound streaming due to increased hardware capacity, he was able to fully express his musical style. His main worry for his music in "Persona 3" and "4" was the singers' pronunciation of the English lyrics. He was unable to work on the "Persona 2" games as he was tied up with other projects, including "Maken X". Meguro also served as the lead composer in "Persona 5", using elements of acid jazz and the game's themes for inspiration to achieve the right mood. The music for "Innocent Sin" and "Eternal Punishment" was handled by Toshiko Tasaki, Kenichi Tsuchiya, and Masaki Kurokawa. Tsuchiya had originally done minor work on "Persona", and found composing for the games a strenuous experience. Spin-offs, such as the "Persona Q" and "Dancing" subseries, are usually handled by other Atlus composers such as Atsushi Kitajoh, Toshiki Konishi, and Ryota Kozuka.


title: Persona (series)

text: The series consists of thirteen games, not counting re-releases and mobile games. "Persona" was the first role-playing entry in the "Megami Tensei" franchise to be released outside of Japan, as previous entries had been considered ineligible due to possibly controversial content. As examples of this content were in a milder form for "Persona", the restrictions did not apply. According to Atlus, "Persona" and its sequel were to test player reactions to the "Megami Tensei" series outside of Japan. The greater majority of "Persona" games were either first released on or exclusive to PlayStation platforms. This trend was broken with the release of "Persona Q" for the 3DS in 2014. All the "Persona" games have been published by Atlus in Japan and North America. An exception in Japan was the Windows port of "Persona", which was published by ASCII Corporation. After 2016, due to Atlus USA's merger with Sega of America, Sega took over North American publishing duties, although the Atlus brand remained intact. Since then, Atlus has been releasing ports of the main "Persona" games for non-PlayStation platforms, beginning with the release of "Persona 4 Golden" on Windows in 2020, which marked the first time a numbered entry in the series released for PC worldwide. Sega would also assist Atlus in porting "Persona 5 Royal" and "Persona 3 Portable" to Windows, in addition to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S throughout 2022 and 2023.


title: Persona (series)

text: Due to the company not having a European branch, Atlus has generally given publishing duties to other third-party publishers with branches in Europe. This frequently results in a gap between North American and European release dates ranging from a few months to a year or more. For "Persona 3", Atlus gave publishing duties to Koei. For "Persona 4", European publishing was handled by Square Enix. "Persona 4 Arena" was originally published in Europe by Zen United after a long delay, but the digital rights were eventually returned to Atlus, resulting in the game being removed from PSN. Atlus ended up re-publishing the digital PlayStation version in Europe. They had previously digitally published the PSP port of "Persona" in Europe and Australia. "Arena Ultimax" was published in Europe by Sega, who had recently purchased Atlus' parent company. It was speculated that this could lead to a new trend that would shorten the release gap between North America and Europe. A regular publishing partner was Ghostlight, whose relations with Atlus went back to the European release of "Nocturne". A more recent partner was NIS America, which published "Persona 4 Golden", "Persona Q", and "Dancing All Night". Atlus' partnership with NIS America ended in 2016, with NIS America citing difficulties with the company since its acquisition by Sega as reasons for the split. As part of their statement, NIS America said that Atlus had become "very picky" about European partners, selecting those which could offer the highest minimal sales guarantee on their products. Sega of America and Atlus USA eventually entered into a partnership with European publishing company Deep Silver to publish multiple games in the region, including "Persona 5".