Population
Online population
Currency
GBP
Population - 68.8M
At the start of 2023, 84.5% of the UK’s population lived in urban centres, while 15.5% lived in rural areas.
Internet penetration - 97.8%
There were 66.1M internet users in the UK at the start of 2023, when internet penetration stood at 97.8%.
Now there are more than 1.6K FinTechs in the UK— and the number is set to double by 2030.
The UK was home to 122 unicorns in 2022 – startups with a private valuation of $1B or more. There are also 248 companies identified as futurecorns, companies on course to reach unicorn status. Growth has continued outside of London with Cambridge, Oxford and Abingdon among the top 20 European futurecorn hubs.
The UK has one of the **highest FinTech adoption** rates in the world, at 42% compared to the global average of 33%.
Banks in the UK are forecast to navigate a worsening economic environment and achieve higher profits in 2023, according to S&P Global Ratings. The rating agency's base case scenario for 2023 is one of moderate growth in the sector's earnings as higher net interest income, or NII, exceeds rising operating costs and impairment charges.
The ‘Big 4’ banks in the UK are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, and Natwest Group.
<aside> 💡 In the UK, over 50% of top banks are now facilitating cryptocurrency transactions in some way. The UK's leading banks are now working with major exchanges and wallets.
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