Britain’s economic state before ww1?

The economy of the British Empire prior to 1914 was at its best and placed as the top economy in the world.

The factors that explain the huge wealth of Britain in the years before World I are:

The production power attained as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the advantage Britain had as the first industrialized country in the world.The possession of colonies in four continents which secured Britain the access to vast natural resources (raw materials) and a fixed market for its manufactured products.The possession of the largest merchant navy in the world, instrumental in international/global trade.A government policy maintaining Britain out and away from wars. Since the fall of Napoleon's empire in 1814, the British government made its best effort to steer Britain away from wars (except for the Crimean War in 1854) in order to avoid incurring in heavy expenses and debt, both detrimental to the economy overall.

The war effort made from 1914 to 1918 to win World War I led Britain to its greatest economic depression (1920 - 1921), a significant rise of both direct and indirect taxes, and the issuing of war bonds still unpaid in full to this day. Also, the economic decline of Britain would allow the United States to take over Britain's place as the most powerful economy in the world.