2008 Edition

Background

As the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 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 and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process.

Area

total: 244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

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

lowest point: The Fens -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m

Environment - current issues

continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move toward a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government reduced the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and recycled or composted at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 11.75 cu km/yr (22%/75%/3%) per capita: 197 cu m/yr (1994)

Geographic coordinates

54 00 N, 2 00 W

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

1,700 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km

Land use

arable land: 23.23% permanent crops: 0.2% other: 76.57% (2005)

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

territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries

Natural hazards

winter windstorms; floods

Natural resources

coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land

Terrain

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

Total renewable water resources

160.6 cu km (2005)

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.9% (male 5,287,590/female 5,036,881) 15-64 years: 67.1% (male 20,698,645/female 20,185,040) 65 years and over: 16% (male 4,186,561/female 5,549,195) (2008 est.)

Birth rate

10.65 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

10.05 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Education expenditures

5.6% of GDP (2005)

Ethnic groups

white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani 1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

51,000 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 4.93 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 78.85 years male: 76.37 years female: 81.46 years (2008 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 39.9 years male: 38.8 years female: 41 years (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British

Net migration rate

2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Population

60,943,912 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate

0.276% (2008 est.)

Religions

Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 17 years (2006)

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: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.66 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Capital

name: London geographic coordinates: 51 30 N, 0 10 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: applies to the United Kingdom proper, not to its overseas dependencies or territories

Constitution

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Country name

conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK

Dependent areas

Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, 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 Robert Holmes TUTTLE embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 20 7499-9000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Nigel E. SHEINWALD chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500

England

34 two-tier counties, 32 London boroughs and 1 City of London or Greater London, 36 metropolitan counties, 46 unitary authorities two-tier counties: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire, Worcestershire

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister James Gordon BROWN (since 27 June 2007) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister

FAX

[1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco consulate(s): Denver, Orlando

[44] (0) 20 7629-9124 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh

Flag description

blue field 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), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the 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, and 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, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join 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

ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Judicial branch

House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary

Legal system

based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (618 seats; consisting of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier) elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by May 2010) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%; seats by party - Labor 355, Conservative 198, Liberal Democrat 62, other 31; seats by party in the House of Commons as of 4 June 2008 - Labor 351, Conservative 192, Liberal Democrat 63, Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 9, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn Fein 5, other 17 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been suspended four times, the latest occurring in October 2002 and lasting until 8 May 2007); in 1999, the UK held the first elections for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly, the most recent of which were held in May 2007

London boroughs and City of London or Greater London

Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, City of London, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster metropolitan counties: Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Calderdale, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Kirklees, Knowlsey, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, St. Helens, Stockport, Sunderland, Tameside, Trafford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton unitary authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol, Darlington, Derby, East Riding of Yorkshire, Halton, Hartlepool, County of Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, City of Kingston upon Hull, Leicester, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading, Redcar and Cleveland, Rutland, Slough, South Gloucestershire, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Warrington, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, York

National holiday

the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday

Northern Ireland

26 district council areas district council areas: Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Derry, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane

Political parties and leaders

Conservative [David CAMERON]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Peter ROBINSON]; Labor Party [Gordon BROWN]; Liberal Democrats [Nick CLEGG]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [Alex SALMOND]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Sir Reg EMPEY]

Political pressure groups and leaders

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

Scotland

32 unitary authorities unitary authorities: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, The Scottish Borders, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Wales

22 unitary authorities unitary authorities: Blaenau Gwent; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff; Carmarthenshire; Ceredigion; Conwy; Denbighshire; Flintshire; Gwynedd; Isle of Anglesey; Merthyr Tydfil; Monmouthshire; Neath Port Talbot; Newport; Pembrokeshire; Powys; Rhondda, Cynon, Taff; Swansea; The Vale of Glamorgan; Torfaen; Wrexham

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $1.154 trillion expenditures: $1.239 trillion (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

NA

Commercial bank prime lending rate

5.52% (31 December 2007)

Currency (code)

British pound (GBP)

Currency code

GBP

Current account balance

-$119.2 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$10.45 trillion (30 June 2007)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

34 (2005)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $12.46 billion (2006)

Economy - overview

The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quintet 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 less than 2% 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. Since emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy has enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record; growth has remained in the 2-3% range since 2004, outpacing most of Europe. The economy's strength has complicated the Labor government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and public opinion polls show a majority of Britons are opposed to the euro. The BROWN government has been speeding up the improvement of education, health services, and affordable housing at a cost in higher taxes and a widening public deficit.

Electricity - consumption

348.5 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

3.398 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports

8.613 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production

371 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 73.8% hydro: 0.9% nuclear: 23.7% other: 1.6% (2001)

Exchange rates

British pounds (GBP) per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003)

Exports

$442.2 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 14.2%, Germany 11.1%, France 8.1%, Ireland 8%, Netherlands 6.8%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 4.5%, Italy 4.1% (2007)

Fiscal year

6 April - 5 April

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 0.9% industry: 23.4% services: 75.7% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$35,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.1% (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.773 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$2.13 trillion (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 28.5% (1999)

Imports

$621.4 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Germany 14.2%, US 8.6%, China 7.3%, Netherlands 7.3%, France 6.9%, Belgium 4.7%, Norway 4.7%, Italy 4.2% (2007)

Industrial production growth rate

0.5% (2007 est.)

Industries

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, other consumer goods

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.3% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

18.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Labor force

30.89 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 1.4% industry: 18.2% services: 80.4% (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$3.058 trillion (2005)

Natural gas - consumption

91.1 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

10.4 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports

29.2 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - production

72.3 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

412 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Oil - consumption

1.763 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports

1.749 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports

1.673 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - production

1.69 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

3.6 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

14% (2006 est.)

Public debt

43.6% of GDP (2007 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$57.3 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$1.707 trillion (2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$1.288 trillion (2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$5.278 trillion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

5.3% (2007 est.)

Internet country code

.uk

Internet hosts

8.269 million (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

more than 400 (2000)

Internet users

40.2 million (2007)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios

84.5 million (1997)

Telephone system

general assessment: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: country code - 44; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and US; 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

33.682 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular

71.992 million (2007)

Television broadcast stations

228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions

30.5 million (1997)

Airports

449 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 310 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 131 914 to 1,523 m: 79 under 914 m: 59 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 139 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 113 (2007)

Heliports

11 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 518 by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 67, carrier 5, chemical tanker 61, container 180, liquefied gas 18, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 67, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 24, vehicle carrier 18 foreign-owned: 264 (Cyprus 2, Denmark 62, Finland 1, France 23, Germany 76, Hong Kong 2, Ireland 1, Italy 5, Japan 4, NZ 1, Norway 31, South Africa 3, Spain 1, Sweden 17, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 11, Turkey 2, UAE 9, US 12) registered in other countries: 391 (Algeria 11, Antigua and Barbuda 9, Argentina 4, Australia 5, Bahamas 56, Barbados 9, Belize 5, Bermuda 3, Brunei 1, Cape Verde 1, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 19, Gibraltar 2, Greece 32, Hong Kong 39, India 2, Italy 7, South Korea 1, Liberia 20, Luxembourg 8, Malta 19, Marshall Islands 18, Netherlands 2, Norway 5, Panama 59, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Sierra Leone 2, Singapore 17, Slovakia 1, Spain 5, Sweden 2, Thailand 5, Tonga 1, US 1) (2008)

Pipelines

condensate 567 km; condensate/gas 22 km; gas 18,980 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 4,930 km; oil/gas/water 165 km; refined products 4,444 km (2007)

Ports and terminals

Dover, Felixstowe, Immingham, Liverpool, London, Southampton, Teesport (England), Forth Ports, Hound Point (Scotland), Milford Haven (Wales)

Railways

total: 16,567 km broad gauge: 303 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) standard gauge: 16,264 km 1.435-m gauge (5,361 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways

total: 398,366 km paved: 398,366 km (includes 3,520 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways

3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2003)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 14,729,500 females age 16-49: 14,125,600 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 12,121,602 females age 16-49: 11,616,582 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 400,927 female: 383,593 (2008 est.)

Military branches

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

Military expenditures

2.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation

16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service (with parental consent under 18); women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 16 years of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in the Brigade of the Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary military service by Papua New Guinean citizens (2008)

Disputes - international

in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

Illicit drugs

producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008