The report, commissioned by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, through the think tank Work Foundation, said that sectors including advertising, television, and fashion generated an export value of $8.5bn (£4.3bn) in 2002.
It found that Britain's creative industries employ 1.8m people and spans 13 industry sectors: advertising, architecture, publishing, radio and TV, design, film, music, software and computer services, computer games, designer fashion, crafts, performing arts, and the arts and antique market.
However, the report warns that without better-targeted grants and ways of offering additional help to encourage smaller enterprises to expand, the growth of Britain's creative industries could slow.
Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, said: "This analysis shows just how vibrant -- and how economically important -- our creative industries are. It reinforces how vital government investment in creativity is, nurturing talent which in turn creates jobs and economic success. But it also emphasises the importance of other factors such as education, access to finance and business skills."
Jowell said the report would form a "key part" of its work towards publishing a green paper on the creative industries later this year.
Will Hutton, chief executive at the Work Foundation, said: "The question is can we continue to supply this growing demand? How we create the architecture that will incubate rather than stunt creative industry growth is a major policy question."
The report, called 'Staying ahead: the economic performance of the UK's creative industries', is published today.