Match 249 DB Rec# - 7,701 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :United Kingdom
Text :
United Kingdom
Geography
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
Area:
total area:
244,820 sq km
land area:
241,590 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Oregon
note:
includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Land boundaries:
total 360 km, Ireland 360 km
Coastline:
12,429 km
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
International disputes:
Northern Ireland question with Ireland; Gibraltar question 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)
Climate:
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic
Current; more than half of the days are overcast
Terrain:
mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and
southeast
Natural resources:
coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk,
gypsum, lead, silica
Land use:
arable land:
29%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
48%
forest and woodland:
9%
other:
14%
Irrigated land:
1,570 sq km (1989)
Geography
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
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling;
signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Desertification
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
People
Population:
58,295,119 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
19% (female 5,572,189; male 5,843,192)
15-64 years:
65% (female 18,723,583; male 18,935,931)
65 years and over:
16% (female 5,471,383; male 3,748,841) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.27% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
13.18 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
10.66 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
77 years
male:
74.18 years
female:
79.95 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective:
British
Ethnic divisions:
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 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.)
note:
the UK does not include a question on religion in its census
Languages:
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of
Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1991 est.)
total population:
99%
Labor force:
28.048 million
by occupation:
services 62.8%, manufacturing and construction 25.0%, government 9.1%,
energy 1.9%, agriculture 1.2% (June 1992)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
conventional short form:
United Kingdom
Abbreviation:
UK
Digraph:
UK
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
London
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
Dependent areas:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands,
Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong (scheduled
to become a Special Administrative Region of China on 1 July 1997), Jersey,
Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and
the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
Independence:
1 January 1801 (United Kingdom established)
National holiday:
Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June)
Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
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
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES
(son of the Queen, born 14 November 1948)
Government
head of government:
Prime Minister John MAJOR (since 28 November 1990)
cabinet:
Cabinet of Ministers
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament
House of Lords:
consists of a 1,200-member body, four-fifths are hereditary peers, 2
archbishops, 24 other senior bishops, serving and retired Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary, other life peers, Scottish peers
House of Commons:
elections last held 9 April 1992 (next to be held by NA April 1997); results
- Conservative 41.9%, Labor 34.5%, Liberal Democratic 17.9%, other 5.7%;
seats - (651 total) Conservative 336, Labor 271, Liberal Democratic 20,
other 24
Judicial branch:
House of Lords
Political parties and leaders:
Conservative and Unionist Party, John MAJOR; Labor Party, Anthony (Tony)
Blair; Liberal Democrats (LD), Jeremy (Paddy) ASHDOWN; Scottish National
Party, Alex SALMOND; Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd Iwan WIGLEY;
Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James MOLYNEAUX; Democratic
Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY; Ulster Popular Unionist
Party (Northern Ireland); Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Northern
Ireland), John HUME; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry ADAMS
Other political or pressure groups:
Trades Union Congress; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers'
Union; Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Member of:
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional),
CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, FAO, G- 5,
G- 7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN,
UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Sir Robin William RENWICK
chancery:
3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 462-1340
FAX:
[1] (202) 898-4255
consulate(s) general:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San
Francisco,
consulate(s):
Dallas, Miami, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Adm. William W. CROWE
embassy:
24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W. 1A1AE
mailing address:
PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040
telephone:
[44] (71) 499-9000
Government
FAX:
[44] (71) 409-1637
consulate(s) general:
Belfast, Edinburgh
Flag:
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) 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 dependencies, Commonwealth countries, and
others
Economy
Overview:
The UK is one of the world's great trading powers and financial centers, and
its economy ranks among the four largest in Western Europe. The economy is
essentially capitalistic; over the past 13 years the ruling Tories have
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, and
primary energy production accounts for 12% 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, now employing only 25% of the
work force and generating only 21% of GDP. The economy registered 4.2% GDP
growth in 1994, its fastest annual rate for six years. Exports and
manufacturing output are the primary engines of growth. Unemployment is
gradually falling. Inflation is at the lowest level in 27 years, but British
monetary authorities raised interest rates to 6.25% in 1994 in a preemptive
strike on emerging inflationary pressures such as higher taxes and rising
manufacturing costs. The combination of a buoyant economy and fiscal
tightening is projected to trim the FY94/95 budget shortfall to about $50
billion - down from about $75 billion in FY93/94. The major economic policy
question for Britain in the 1990s is the terms on which it participates in
the financial and economic integration of Europe.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.0452 trillion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
4.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$17,980 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.4% (1994)
Unemployment rate:
9.3% (1994)
Budget:
revenues:
$325.5 billion
expenditures:
$400.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $33 billion (FY93/94 est.)
Exports:
$200 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods,
transport equipment
partners:
EU countries 56.7% (Germany 14.0%, France 11.1%, Netherlands 7.9%), US 10.9%
Imports:
$215 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer
goods
partners:
EU countries 51.7% (Germany 14.9%, France 9.3%, Netherlands 8.4%), US 11.6%
External debt:
$16.2 billion (June 1992)
Industrial production:
growth rate 5.6% (1994)
Electricity:
capacity:
65,360,000 kW
Economy
production:
303 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
5,123 kWh (1993)
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
Agriculture:
accounts for only 1.5% of GDP; wide variety of crops and livestock products
Illicit drugs:
gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market;
producer of synthetic drugs; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin;
money-laundering center
Economic aid:
donor:
ODA and OOF commitments (1992-93), $3.2 billion
Currency:
1 British pound (#) = 100 pence
Exchange rates:
British pounds (#) per US$1 - 0.6350 (January 1995), 0.6529 (1994), 0.6033
(1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
Transportation
Railroads:
total:
16,888 km; note - several additional small standard-gauge and narrow-gauge
lines are privately owned and operated
broad gauge:
330 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track)
standard gauge:
16,558 km 1.435-m gauge (4,950 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple
track)
Highways:
total:
360,047 km (includes Northern Ireland)
paved:
360,047 km (includes Northern Ireland; Great Britain has 3,100 km limited
access divided highway)
Inland waterways:
2,291 total; British Waterways Board, 606 km; Port Authorities, 706 km;
other, 979 km
Pipelines:
crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km;
natural gas 12,800 km
Ports:
Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool,
London, Manchester, Medway, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne
Merchant marine:
total:
155 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,249,823 GRT/3,978,336 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 11, cargo 24, chemical tanker 2, container 23, liquefied gas tanker 3,
oil tanker 56, passenger 7, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 13, short-sea passenger 13, specialized tanker 1
Airports:
total:
505
with paved runways over 3,047 m:
10
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
30
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
174
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
91
with paved runways under 914 m:
172
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
27
Communications
Telephone system:
30,200,000 telephones; technologically advanced domestic and international
system
local:
NA
intercity:
NA equal mix of buried cables, microwave and optical-fiber systems
international:
40 coaxial submarine cables; 10 INTELSAT (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian
Ocean), 1 INMARSAT, and 1 EUTELSAT earth satellite; at least 8 large
international switching centers
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 225, FM 525 (mostly repeaters), shortwave 0
radios:
70 million
Television:
broadcast stations:
207 (repeaters 3,210)
televisions:
20 million
Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 14,429,485; males fit for military service 12,041,935 (1995
est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $35.1 billion, 3.1% of GDP (FY95/96)
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The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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