Strategic export controls: licensing data

Data on export licensing decisions made by His Majesty’s Government (HMG),(HMG), submitted to and processed by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU),(ECJU), part of the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).(DBT). Licences are used to control the export of strategic goods.

Quarterly reports: latest period

Check the licensing statistics for the 1 April to 30 June 2023 period.

CountryCountry-level level data reports are available for each quarter and year from January 2008 onwards.

Quarterly reports from January 2015 to June 2021 include statistical commentary and outputs in Excel and CSV formats. From July 20212021, these formats have been replaced with ODS (Open Document Spreadsheet) formats.

Users can also download data relating to specific licence types, destinations and goods by generating a ‘new report’ from the strategic export controls: reports and statistics website.

Previous quarterly licensing data reports

Check the licensing data from previous quarters up to 31 March 2008.

Annual licensing data reports from 2008 to 2022

Check the export licensing data annual reports from 2008 to 2022.

Guidance on strategic export controls data

Visit the strategic export controls: guidance collection for further information on:

• licensing statistics revisions policy
• statement of administrative sources
• quality and methodology report

Related data and statistics

Custom export control licensing data reports

Users can download custom export control licensing data reports through the strategic export controls: reports and statistics webpage once registered. The tool offers a variety of filters that can be applied to allow users to download data of specific interest, such as licences which name a certain destination or licences for the shipment of goods with a certain control entry or case summary.

Strategic export controls annual report

The strategic export controls annual report also presents export control licensing data. Furthermore, the report presents similar data on issued, refused or rejected licenses, as well as revoked elicences, plus processing times. It also presents information on refusal criteria counts and information on appeals (against refusals and rejections).

UK defence and security exports statistics

UK Defence and Security Exports (UKDSE) publish UK defence and security exports statistics. Like the strategic export controls licensing statistics, these do not represent actual exports. Sales may or may not be actually made and new orders may or may not be fulfilled.

In addition to providing detail about the types of goods licensed for export, the strategic export control licensing statistics also give information on end user destinations, the value of licensed goods, and they present a picture of usage. For example, whether the goods are licensed for permanent export, are to be returned (temporary), are being incorporated and forwarded on, or if the goods are merely passing through the UK in transit to another destination (transhipments). However, the UKDSE statistics do not provide this same level of detail.

Management information release on Israel export licensing

Given the exceptional circumstances, and the significant Parliamentary and public interest, the Department for Business and Trade has chosen to publish an ad hoc management information release to provide more current information about Israel export licensing. This ad hoc release is scheduled for publication on 7 June 2024.

The release will include:

• the number of extant licences where Israel was included as a destination as of 31 May 2024
• the number of licences currently under consideration where Israel was included as a destination as of 31 May 2024
• the number of licensing decisions where Israel was included as a destination from 7 October 2023 to 31 May 2024

This ad hoc management information release should not be considered to be part of the strategic export controls licensing Official Statistics as they have not been produced in the same manner. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) publish guidance on understanding the difference between Official Statistics and published Management Information. However, once published, the ad hoc management information release will also provide specific details on the main differences between these types of releases.