1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; maritime dispute with lreland; Northern Ireland question with Ireland; Gibraltar question with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory; colony of Hong Kong will become a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, Ireland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)

Climate

temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over Gulf Stream; more than one-half of days are overcast

Coastline

12,429 km

Comparative area

about the size of Oregon

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Environment

pollution control measures improving air, water quality; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Land boundary

360 km with Ireland

Land use

29% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 48% meadows and pastures; 9% forest and woodland; 14% other; includes 1% irrigated

Special notes

lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France

Terrain

mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast

Territorial sea

3 nm

Total area

— 300 km_ \‘Shetlend Islands < Orkney islands Hebrides | g ‘ North North ce Sea Atlentic Ocean English Channel

244,820 km?; land area: 241,590 km?

Ethnic divisions

81.5% English, 9.6% Scottish, 2.4% Irish, 1.9% Welsh, 1.8% Ulster, 2.8% West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other

Infant mortality rate

10.1/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

(1986) 27.94 million; 24.5% manufacturing and construction, 49.8% services, 9.8% self-employed, 13.0% government, 1.1% agriculture; 11.4% unemployed (November 1986)

Language

English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

Life expectancy

7]

Literacy

99%

Nationality

noun—Briton(s), British (collective pl.); adjective—British

Organized labor

42% of labor force

Population

56,845,195 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 0.15%

Religion

27.0 million Anglican, 5.3 million Roman Catholic, 2.0 million Presbyterian, 760,000 Methodist, 450,000 Jewish (registered)

Administrative divisions

54 counties in England and Wales, 12 regions in Scotland and islands area, 26 districts in Northern Ireland

Branches

legislative authority resides in Parliament (House of Lords, House of Commons); executive authority lies with collectively responsible Cabinet led by Prime Minister; House of Lords is supreme judicial authority and highest court of appeal

Communists

15,961

Dependent areas

Anguilla, Bermuda, Britlsh Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands

Elections

at discretion of Prime Minister but must be held before expiration of a five-year electoral mandate; last election held 9 June 1983 Political parties and leaders: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher; Labor, Neil Kinnock; Social Democratic, David Owen; Communist, Gordon McLennan; Scottish National, Donald Stewart; Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley; Official Unionist, James Molyneaux; Democratic Unionist, lan Paisley; Social Democratic and Labor, John Hume; Provisional Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams; Alliance, John Cushnahan; Liberal, David Steel

Government leaders

ELIZABETH II, Queen (since 1952); Margaret THATCHER, Prime Minister (since 1979)

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, ELDO, ESCAP, ESRO, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Whaling Commission, 1WC—International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

National holiday

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

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Type

constitutional monarchy Capital; London

Voting strength

(1983 election) House of Commons—Conservative, 392 seats (42.4%), Labor, 210 seats (27.6%); Social Democratic-Liberal Alliance, 26 seats (19 Liberal, 7 SDP) (25.4%); Scottish National Party, 2 seats; Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist), 2 seats; Ulster (Official) Unionist (Northern Ireland), 10 seats; Ulster Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland), 3 seats; Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland), I seat; Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland), 1 seat; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), 1 seat

Agriculture

wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, livestock, dairy products; 62.1% self-sufficient (1983); dependent on imports for more than half of consumption of refined sugar, butter, oils and fats, bacon and ham

Aid

donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970-84) $15.4 billion

Budget

national and local government revenues (FY86 est.), $222.3 billion; expenditures, $232.2 billion; deficit $9.9 billion

Crude steel

15.8 million metric tons produced (1985); 280 kg per capita (1985); 23.6 million tons capacity (1984)

Electric power

95,213,000 kW capacity; 312.700 million kWh produced, 5,540 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$101.0 billion (f.0.b., 1985); manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

Fishing

catch 746,000 metric tons (1985); imports $774 million, exports $377 million (1985)

GNP

$443.2 billion (1985), $7,860 per capita; 59.8% consumption, 17.0% investment, 21.1% government; 0.3% stockbuilding, 1.8% net foreign balance, real growth 8.4% (1985)

Imports

$109.1 billion (c.i.f., 1985); manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods

Major industries

machinery and transport equipment, metals, food processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing

Major trade partners

exports—46.2% EC (11.4% FRG, 9.9% France, 9.4% Netherlands), 14.8% US, 2.3% Communist countries; imports—46.2% EC (14.9% FRG, 7.8% France, 7.7% Netherlands), 11.9% US, 2.4% Communist countries (1985)

Monetary conversion rate

0.674 pound sterling=US$1 (December 1986)

Natural resources

coal, oil, gas (North Sea), tin, limestone, iron, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica

Airfields

499 total, 332 usable; 243 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 36 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 133 with runways 1,220-2,4389 m

Civil air

618 major transport aircraft

Highways

United Kingdom, 362,982 km total; Great Britain, 339,483 km paved (including 2,573 km limited-access 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

Pipelines

933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,993 km refined products; 12,800 km natural gas

Ports

9 major, 15 secondary, 190 minor

Railroads

Great Britain—16,800 km total; British Railways (BR) operates 16,800 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (3,802 km electrified and 12,591 km double or multiple track); several additional small standard-gauge and narrow-gauge lines are privately owned and operated; Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 332 km 1.600-meter gauge, 190 km double track

Telecommunications

modern, efficient domestic and international system; 29.5 million telephones (52.5 per 100 popl.); excellent countrywide broadcast systems with 216 AM, 478 FM, 3,065 TV stations; 86 coaxial submarine cables; 4 satellite ground stations with a total of 14 antennas