A Millennium of Macroeconomic Data for the UK

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Files:3
Size:12 MB
Formats:csv
License:OGL-UK-3.0

Bank of England dataset covering UK macroeconomic history from the C13th (with benchmark estimates from 1086, the year of the Domesday Book) through 2016. Version 3.1. Includes GDP, wages, prices, interest rates, money and credit, trade, fiscal data, and more — covering over 130 variables in annual, quarterly, and monthly headline series.

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Dataset Files

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/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/README.md
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/archive/millennium-of-macroeconomic-data.xlsx
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/data/annual.csv
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/data/monthly.csv
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/data/quarterly.csv
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/datapackage.json
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/millennium-of-macroeconomic-data.xlsx
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/process.py
Key Files

Start with these files — they give you everything you need to understand and access the dataset.

datapackage.jsonmetadata & schema
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/datapackage.json
README.mddocumentation
https://datahub.io/economic-history/millennium-macroeconomic-data-uk/_r/-/README.md
Typical Usage
  1. 1. Fetch datapackage.json to inspect schema and resources
  2. 2. Download data resources listed in datapackage.json
  3. 3. Read README.md for full context

Data Views

UK Real GDP, 1700–2016

UK Consumer Price Index, 1209–2016

Bank of England Bank Rate, 1694–2016

Data Files

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annual

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About

Annual headline series (A1) covering 65 macroeconomic variables from 1086 to 2016. Long-format with one row per year-variable pair. Sections: National Accounts, Labour/Capital/Productivity, Wages and Prices, Financial Markets, Money and Credit, Fiscal, Trade.
Last updated
17 March 2026
Total rows
...
Format
CSV
File size
2.86 MB

quarterly

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Quarterly headline series (Q1) covering 48 macroeconomic variables. Long-format with one row per period-variable pair. Period format: YYYY-Q1 through YYYY-Q4.
Last updated
17 March 2026
Total rows
...
Format
CSV
File size
2.81 MB

monthly

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About

Monthly headline series (M1) covering 26 macroeconomic variables. Long-format with one row per period-variable pair. Period format: YYYY-MM.
Last updated
17 March 2026
Total rows
...
Format
CSV
File size
6.3 MB

About this dataset

A Millennium of Macroeconomic Data for the UK

Bank of England dataset covering UK macroeconomic history from the 13th century (with benchmark estimates from 1086, the year of the Domesday Book) through 2016. Version 3.1.

Background

Compiled by Ryland Thomas and Nicholas Dimsdale at the Bank of England, this dataset brings together over 130 macroeconomic variables for the United Kingdom spanning nine centuries. It covers national accounts, labour, capital and productivity, wages and prices, financial markets, money and credit, fiscal accounts, and trade.

The dataset is notable for its historical depth: GDP estimates reach back to 1086, prices to 1209, and interest rates to 1694 — making it one of the longest continuous macroeconomic records for any country.

Data

Three CSV files in data/, all in long format (one row per period-variable pair):

data/annual.csv

65 variables at annual frequency, 1086–2016.

ColumnDescription
yearCalendar year
variable_idMachine-readable variable slug
variableFull variable description
sectionThematic section (e.g. National Accounts, Wages and Prices)
unitUnit of measurement
valueObserved value

data/quarterly.csv

48 variables at quarterly frequency. period format: YYYY-Q1 through YYYY-Q4.

data/monthly.csv

26 variables at monthly frequency. period format: YYYY-MM.

Sources

Reproduce

python3 process.py

Downloads the Bank of England xlsx and extracts the three headline sheets (A1 annual, Q1 quarterly, M1 monthly) into long-format CSVs. The original source file is archived at archive/millennium-of-macroeconomic-data.xlsx.

License

Open Government Licence v3.0