2000 Edition

Background

Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. The UK currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside of the EMU for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999.

Area

land

241,590 sq km

note

includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

total

244,820 sq km

water

3,230 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Oregon

Climate

temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast

Coastline

12,429 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Ben Nevis 1,343 m

lowest point

Fenland -4 m

Environment - current issues

sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants contribute to air pollution; some rivers polluted by agricultural wastes; and coastal waters polluted because of large-scale disposal of sewage at sea

Environment - international agreements

party to

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geographic coordinates

54 00 N, 2 00 W

Geography - note

lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters

Irrigated land

1,080 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Ireland 360 km

total

360 km

Land use

arable land

25%

forests and woodland

10%

other

19% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

46%

Location

Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

continental shelf

as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries

exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land

Terrain

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 19% (male 5,816,313; female 5,519,479) 15-64 years: 65% (male 19,622,152; female 19,228,938) 65 years and over: 16% (male 3,864,612; female 5,459,970) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

11.76 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

10.38 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

5.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

80.49 years (2000 est.)

male

74.97 years

total population

77.66 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling

female

NA%

male

NA%

total population

99% (1978 est.)

Nationality

adjective

British

noun

Briton(s), British (collective plural)

Net migration rate

1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

59,511,464 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

0.25% (2000 est.)

Religions

Anglican 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000, Hindu 350,000, Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population

0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.74 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Administrative divisions

47 counties, 7 metropolitan counties, 26 districts, 9 regions, and 3 islands areas; England - 39 counties, 7 metropolitan counties*; Avon, Bedford, Berkshire, Buckingham, Cambridge, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucester, Greater London*, Greater Manchester*, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcester, Hertford, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Merseyside*, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham, Oxford, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire*, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear*, Warwick, West Midlands*, West Sussex, West Yorkshire*, Wiltshire; Northern Ireland - 26 districts; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane; Scotland - 9 regions, 3 islands areas*; Borders, Central, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highland, Lothian, Orkney*, Shetland*, Strathclyde, Tayside, Western Isles*; Wales - 8 counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan

note

England may now have 35 counties and Wales 9 counties

Capital

London

Constitution

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Country name

abbreviation

UK

conventional long form

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

conventional short form

United Kingdom

Data code

UK

Dependent areas

Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Philip LADER

embassy

24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W. 1A1AE

mailing address

PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040

telephone

(171) 499-9000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER

telephone

(202) 588-6500

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

chief of state

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948)

elections

none; the monarch is hereditary; the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons (assuming there is no majority party, a prime minister would have a majority coalition or at least a coalition that was not rejected by the majority)

head of government

Prime Minister Anthony C. L. (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997)

FAX

(202) 588-7870

(171) 409-1637

consulate(s)

Dallas, Miami, and Seattle

consulate(s) general

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

consulate(s) general

Belfast, Edinburgh

Flag description

blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) and which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories

Government type

constitutional monarchy

Independence

England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284; in the Act of Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927

International organization participation

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Judicial branch

House of Lords, several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life

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; British courts and legislation are increasingly subject to review by European Union courts

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (the old House of Lords has been disbanded, and the new one is still being formed; the most likely plan calls for 500 members, one-fifth elected and the rest appointed) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)

election results

House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 45%, Conservative and Unionist 31%, Liberal Democratic 17%, other 7%; seats by party - Labor 418, Conservative and Unionist 165, Liberal Democrat 46, other 30

elections

House of Lords - no elections; note - the newly-forming House of Lords may call for some elected seats; House of Commons - last held 1 May 1997 (next to be held by NA May 2002); note - in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and was rescinded in February 2000); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly

note

in 1999, the government ended the right of most hereditary members, except for life members and 92 hereditary members, to sit in the House of Lords; they will sit until final reforms are made

National holiday

Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June)

Political parties and leaders

Alliance Party (Northern Ireland) ; Conservative and Unionist Party ; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) ; Labor Party ; Liberal Democrats ; Scottish National Party ; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) ; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) ; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE]; Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru)

Political pressure groups and leaders

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish

Budget

expenditures

$507.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $35.1 billion (FY98/99)

revenues

$541 billion

Currency

1 British pound = 100 pence

Debt - external

$NA

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $3.4 billion (1997)

Economy - overview

The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, deploys an essentially capitalistic economy, one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. Economic growth has been slowed in 1999; recovery to 3% is in prospect for 2000, based on a rise in exports and domestic demand. The BLAIR government has put off the question of participation in the euro system until after the next election, not expected until 2001; Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN has identified some key economic tests to determine whether the UK should join the common currency system.

Electricity - consumption

331.482 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

200 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

12.6 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

343.099 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

68.24%

hydro

1.49%

nuclear

28.48%

other

1.79% (1998)

Exchange rates

British pounds per US$1 - 0.6092 (January 2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996), 0.6335 (1995)

Exports

$271 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports - commodities

manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners

EU 58% (Germany 12%, France 10%, Netherlands 8%), US 13% (1998)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.29 trillion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

1.7%

industry

25.3%

services

73% (1998)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $21,800 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.9% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 24.7% (1986)

Imports

$305.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports - commodities

manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs

Imports - partners

EU 53% (Germany 13%, France 9%, Netherlands 7%, Italy 5%), US 14% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

-0.3% (1999)

Industries

production machinery including machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.3% (1999)

Labor force

29.2 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation

services 68.9%, manufacturing and construction 17.5%, government 11.3%, energy 1.2%, agriculture 1.1% (1996)

Population below poverty line

17%

Unemployment rate

6% (1999)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

364 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios

84.5 million (1997)

Telephone system

technologically advanced domestic and international system

domestic

equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems

international

40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers

Telephones - main lines in use

29.41 million (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

13 million (yearend 1998)

Television broadcast stations

78 (plus 869 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

30.5 million (1997)

Airports

498 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

357 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 166 914 to 1,523 m: 93 under 914 m: 55 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

141 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 117 (1999 est.)

Heliports

12 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways)

total

371,603 km

unpaved

0 km (1998 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 4, cargo 33, chemical tanker 5, combination ore/oil 1, container 39, liquified gas 2, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 50, roll-on/roll-off 18, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1 (1999 est.)

total

173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,917,708 GRT/3,063,113 DWT

Pipelines

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

Ports and harbors

Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne

Railways

broad gauge

342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 342 km is in common carrier use, and is in Northern Ireland

standard gauge

16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track) (1996)

total

16,878 km

Waterways

3,200 km

Military branches

Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$36.884 billion (FY97/98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.7% (FY97/98)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 14,574,955 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 12,134,272 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

Northern Ireland issue with Ireland (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); Gibraltar issue with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory); Seychelles claims Chagos Archipelago in British Indian Ocean Territory

Illicit drugs

gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; producer and major consumer of synthetic drugs, synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center

UNITED STATES