Skip to content
Premium Symbol Premium

Open source supports 27% of UK tech economy

open source uk
Ubuntu was developed by UK open source firm Canonical. Image credit: rafapress via Shutterstock

Open source made up just over a quarter (27%) of the UK tech economy last year, according to a new report.

Research from OpenUK, a not-for-profit representing the British open source market, found that the sector contributed an estimated £13.59bn to the UK economy in 2022. The tech sector as a whole contributed £50.71bn to the UK economy, according to government figures.

Open source refers to tech projects that rely on open collaboration and transparency from communities of developers.

The UK has produced a number of notable firms in the sector, including Canonical, which developed the Linux-based operating system Ubuntu.

“The level of value being contributed to the UK economy from open source software businesses clarifies the open source sector’s often overlooked importance to the UK economy,” said Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK....