Country name conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
conventional short form: United Kingdom
abbreviation: UK 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. 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 European 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.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 Area total: 244,820 sq km
water: 3,230 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
land: 241,590 sq km Area - comparative slightly smaller than Oregon Coastline 12,429 km Climate temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast Terrain mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast Elevation extremes lowest point: The Fens -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m Natural hazards winter windstorms; floods 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 towards a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government aims to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015; between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3% 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 Population 60,094,648 (July 2003 est.) Age structure 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 5,621,590; female 5,350,319)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 20,067,529; female 19,626,123)
65 years and over: 15.6% (male 3,987,457; female 5,441,630) (2003 est.) Median age total: 38.4 years
male: 37.3 years
female: 39.5 years (2002) 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: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) Nationality noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective: British 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% Religions Anglican and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000 Languages English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) Internet country code .uk Literacy definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 99% (2000 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% Government type constitutional monarchy National holiday Official Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926) Legal system common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations International organization participation AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, 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, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC Economy - overview The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is 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. GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated the BLAIR government"s efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out, however, that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue to show a majority of Britons opposed to the single currency. Meantime, the government has been speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health services, at a cost in higher taxes. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, together with the subsequent problems of restoring the economy and the polity, involve a heavy commitment of British military forces. Exports - partners US 15.5%, Germany 11.2%, France 9.4%, Ireland 8%, Netherlands 7.1%, Belgium 5.2%, Italy 4.4%, Spain 4.3% (2002) Currency British pound (GBP) Currency code GBP Exchange rates British pounds per US dollar - 0.67 (2002), 0.69 (2001), 0.66 (2000), 0.62 (1999), 0.6 (1998) Airports 470 (2002) Airports - with paved runways total: 334
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
914 to 1,523 m: 83
under 914 m: 59 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 Airports - with unpaved runways total: 136
2438 to 3047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 112 (2002)
914 to 1,523 m: 22 Disputes - international Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against "total shared sovereignty" arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM |
