1988 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; maritime dispute with Ireland; 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

Elections

none

Environment

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

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

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

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)

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

Language

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

Life expectancy

71

Literacy

99%

Member of

Arab League, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, QIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Nationality

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

Organized labor

42% of labor force

Political or pressure groups

none; a few small clandestine groups are active

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)

Special notes

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

Suffrage

none

Terrain

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

Territorial sea

3 nm

Total area

244,820 km2; land area: 241,590 km2

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

Capital

London

Communists

15,961

Dependent areas

Anguilla, Bermuda, British 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, Ian 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, IWC — 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

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), 1 seat; Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland), 1 seat; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), 1 seat

Agriculture

food imported; some dates, alfalfa, vegetables, fruit, tobacco raised

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

Budget

current expenditures, $3.5 billion; development, $0.14 billion; revenue, $3.1 billion (1985)

Crude steel

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

Electric power

5,158,000 kW capacity; 16,440 million kWh produced, 12,400 kWh per capita (1986)

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

Exports

$9.8 billion (f.o.b., 1986); $8.3 billion in crude oil, $1.45 billion consisting mostly of gas, reexports, dried fish, dates

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

Fiscal year

calendar year

Fishing

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

GDP

$24.0 billion, $18,900 per capita; real growth - 3.0% (1986 est.)

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 3.4% (1985)

Imports

$6.6 billion (f.o.b., 1986); food, consumer and capital goods

$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

Japan, EC, US

Monetary conversion rate

3.67 UAE dirhams=US$l (October 1986)

Natural resources

oil and natural gas; oil production 1.38 million b/d (1986)

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

Airfields

39 total, 31 usable; 17 with permanent-surface runways; 5 with runways over 3,659 m, 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 6 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Central Military Command, Federal Police Force

Civil air

5 major transport aircraft

Highways

2,000 km total; 1,800 km bituminous, 200 km gravel and graded earth

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1985, $1.385 billion; 42% of central government budget 300km English Channel

Military manpower

males 15-49, 793,000; 441,000 fit for military service

Pipelines

830 km crude oil; 870 km natural gas, including natural gas liquids

Ports

7 major, 25 minor

Railroads

none

Telecommunications

adequate system of radio-relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubayy; 319,000 telephones (24.1 per 100 popl.); 8 AM, 3 FM, 12 TV stations; 1 Atlantic and 2 Indian Ocean INTELSAT stations; 1 ARABSAT satellite station; submarine cable to Qatar and Bahrain; planned submarine cables to India and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; radio-relay to Saudi Arabia Defense Forces