Internationalisation

Migration in UK Creative Occupations and Industries

Launched June 2025

This report outlines how important it is that the migration system works to meet the sector’s needs as one of the Government’s priority growth sectors. From architecture to video games and digital design, the sector is internationally connected, innovation-driven, and highly reliant on an exceptionally skilled workforce (with over 75% of workers having a degree), while also facing big skills shortages.

Foreign Direct Investment in the UK’s Creative Industries

Launched November 2024

With the UK Government’s forthcoming industrial strategy highlighting the creative industries as a key sector for both investment and growth, this new report on ‘Foreign Direct Investment’ couldn’t be timelier.

This State of the Nations report confirms the UK’s global position as a world-leading destination for FDI into the creative industries, yet points to a decline in creative sector FDI into the UK from a peak in 2019; suggesting the need for the Industrial Strategy to focus on initiatives for both attracting inward and generating outward FDI as a policy priority.

UK Trade in a Global Creative Economy

Launched March 2024

This report is the second in our State of the Nations series, and the first in a series assessing the international outlook of the UK’s creative industries, with a focus on exports.

The report shows the UK’s creative service exports continued to rise over the 2010 – 2021 period despite the headwinds from Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. The report confirms the UK’s creative industries are an export success story but warns against complacency, as the findings suggest there is increased global competition from markets such as China.