Talk of a ‘bonfire of quangos’ prompted our chart this week to look at how the number of central government public bodies has grown significantly over the past decade.
With President Trump planning to visit Fort Knox to check up on the US government’s gold reserves, our chart this week looks at just how much gold is owned by governments around the world.
Our chart this week illustrates how soldier, sailor and aircrew numbers have fallen from 338,000 fifty years ago to a new low of 136,000 on 1 Jan 2025. Could this be the turning point now that defence spending is back on the agenda?
Our chart this week highlights the big rush in UK public sector capital expenditure in the final quarter of each financial year, prompting us to ask why March is the best time of the year to build new assets.
Our chart this week highlights how the number of pensioners in the UK is expected to increase by 14% over the next 10 years. This will have major implications for the public finances.
Our chart looks at official projections, published three days before President Trump was inaugurated for the second time, that predict federal debt is on track to return to and exceed levels last seen in the 1940s.
Our chart this week divides some very big numbers for the public finances by an estimated 69.2m people living in the UK to highlight how UK public spending is now in excess of £1,500 per person per month.
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Each week we publish a chart that illuminates a different aspect of the economy.
