1981 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1981 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
243,978 km8; 30% arable, 50% meadow and pasture, 12% waste or urban, 7% forested, \% inland water
Coastline
12,429 km
Land boundaries
360 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
3 nm (fishing 200 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
81.5% English, 9.6% Scottish, 2.4% Irish, 1.9% Welsh, 1.8% Ulster, 0.8% other; West Indian, Indian, Pakistani over 2%
Labor force
(1978) 26 million, 12.4% unemployed (October 1980)
Language
English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy
98% to 99%
Nationality
noun — Briton(s), British (collective pi.); adjective— British
Organized labor
40% of labor force
Population
56,095,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.1%
Religion
27.0 million Church of England, 5.3 million Roman Catholic, 2.0 million Presbyterian, 760,000 Methodist, 450,000 Jews (registered)
Government
Branches
legislative authority resides in Parliament; executive authority lies with collectively responsible Cabinet led by Prime Minister; House of Lords is supreme judicial authority and highest court of appeal
Capital
London
Communists
29,000
Elections
at discretion of Prime Minister, but must be held before expiration of a five-year electoral mandate; last election 3 May 1979 Political parties and leaders: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher; Labor, Michael Foot; Liberal, David Steel; Social Democratic, joint leadership at present; Communist, Gordan McLennan; Scottish National, Gordon Wilson; Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley
Government leader
Chief of State, Queen ELIZABETH II; Head of Government, Prime Minister Margaret THATCHER
Legal system
common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
ADB, CENTO, Colombo Plan, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EEC, ELDO, ESRO, EURATOM, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IOOC, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Whaling Commission, IWC — International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
National holiday
celebration of birthday of the Queen, 16 June
Official name
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Other political or pressure groups
Trades Union Congress, Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers' Union, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Political subdivisions
635 parliamentary constituencies
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
constitutional monarchy
Voting strength
(1979 election) Conservative 339 seats (43.9%), Labor 268 seats (36.9%), Liberal 11 seats (13.8%), Scottish'National 2 seats (1.6%), Plaid Cymru 2 seats (0.4%), other 13 seats (2.8%); (1981 byelections) Conservative 336 seats, Labor 250 seats, Liberal 12 seats, Social Democratic 28 seats, Scottish National 2 seats, Plaid Cymru 2 seats, others 13 seats
Economy
Agriculture
mixed farming predominates; main products— wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, livestock, dairy products; 53.7% self-sufficient; dependent on imports for more than half of consumption of refined sugar, butter, oils and fats, and bacon and ham; caloric intake, 2,260 calories per day per capita, 1978
Aid
donor — bilateral economic aid authorized (ODA and OOF), $8,956 million (1970-78) Budget (national and local government): FY82 (proj.) revenues, 105.5 billion pounds; expenditures, 115.5 billion pounds; deficit including nationalized industries, 9.5 billion pounds
Crude steel
11.3 million metric tons produced (1980), 390 kg per capita; 30.9 million metric tons capacity (1977)
Electric power
82,000,000 kW capacity (1980); 284.862 billion kWh produced (1980), 5,090 kWh per capita
Exports
$110.1 billion (f.o.b., 1980); machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, metals, nonmetallic mineral manufactures, foodstuffs, petroleum .
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March
Fishing
catch 710,500 metric tons (1980 est); 1980 exports $359 million, imports $812 million
GNP
$518.7 billion (1980), $9,280 per capita; 60.3% consumption, 17.4% investment, 21.6% government; —1.5% stockbuilding, 2.2% net foreign balance, real growth —1.4% (1980) UNITED KINGDOM (Continued)
Imports
$116.1 billion (c.i.f., 1980); foodstuffs, petroleum, machinery, crude materials, chemicals, nonferrous metals
Major industries
machinery and transport equipment, metals, food processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing
Major trade partners
42.5% EC, 11.4% Commonwealth, 11.0% West Germany, 9.8% US, 7.8% France
Monetary conversion rate
1 pound sterling= US$2. 3263 (average January-December 1980)
Communications
Airfields
630 total, 390 usable; 253 with permanentsurface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 38 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 145 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
570 major transport aircraft, including 5 leased in and 16 leased out
Highways
United Kingdom, 361,491 km total; Great Britain, 337,992 km paved (including 2,485 km limitedaccess divided highway); Northern Ireland, 23,499 km (22,907 paved, 592 km gravel)
Inland waterways
3,219 km publicly owned; 605 km major commercial routes
Military budget
proposed for fiscal year ending 31 March 1982, $24.1 billion; about 15% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 13,767,000; 11,680,000 fit for military service; no conscription; 476,000 reach military age (18) annually
Pipelines
933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,907 km refined products; 1,770 km natural gas
Ports
23 major, 350 minor
Railroads
Great Britain— 17,754 km total; British Railways (BR) operates 17,735 km standard gauge (1.435 m) (3,718 km electrified, 12,708 km double or multiple track), and 19 km 0.597-meter gauge; several additional small standard gauge and narrow gauge lines are privately owned; Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 357 km 1.600meter gauge, 190 km double track
Telecommunications
modern, efficient domestic and international system; 26.8 million telephones (48.0 per 100 popl.); excellent countrywide broadcast; 97 AM, 330 FM, and 1,680 TV stations; 31 coaxial submarine cables; 2 earth satellite stations with a total of 5 antennas DEFENSE FORCES