UNITED KINGDOM
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 244,820 km2; land area: 241,590 km2; includes Rockall
and Shetland Islands
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundary: 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
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, crude oil, natural gas, tin,
limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica
Land use: arable land 29%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 48%; forest and woodland 9%; other 14%; includes irrigated
1%
Environment: pollution control measures improving air, water
quality; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more
than 125 km from tidal waters
Note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from
France and now being linked by tunnel under the English Channel
PEOPLE
Population: 57,515,307 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Briton(s), British (collective pl.);
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%
Religion: Anglican 27.0 million, Roman Catholic 5.3 million,
Presbyterian 2.0 million, Methodist 760,000, Jewish 410,000
Language: English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales),
Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1978 est.)
Labor force: 28,966,000; services 60.6%, manufacturing and
construction 27.2%, government 8.9%, energy 2.1%, agriculture
1.2% (June 1990)
Organized labor: 35.7% of labor force (1989)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland; abbreviated 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
Independence: 1 January 1801, United Kingdom established
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
practice
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 in 1997), Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands,
Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and
Caicos Islands
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
National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
Saturday in June), 10 June 1989
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper
house or House of Lords and a lower house or House of Commons
Judicial branch: House of Lords
Leaders:
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 John MAJOR (since 28 November
1990)
Political parties and leaders:
Conservative and Unionist Party, John MAJOR;
Labor Party, Neil KINNOCK;
Social and Liberal Democratic Party (SLDP; formed from the merger of the
Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party), Jeremy (Paddy) ASHDOWN;
Scottish National Party, Alex SALMOND;
Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd THOMAS;
Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James MOLYNEAUX;
Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY;
Ulster Popular Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James KILFEDDER;
Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Northern Ireland), John HUME;
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry ADAMS;
Alliance Party (Northern Ireland), John ALDERDICE;
Communist Party, Nina TEMPLE
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Commons--last held 11 June 1987 (next to be held
by June 1992);
results--Conservative 43%, Labor 32%, Liberal/Social Democratic
23%, other 2%;
seats--(650 total) Conservative 376, Labor 228,
Liberal/Social Democratic 22,
Ulster Unionist (Northern Ireland) 9,
Scottish National 4,
Welsh National 3,
Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) 3,
Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland) 3,
Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1,
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) 1;
note--the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party merged
to become the Social and Liberal Democratic Party in 1988
Communists: 15,961
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, BIS, C,
CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, COCOM, CP, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECA (associate), ECE,
ECLAC, EIB, ESCAP, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OECD,
PCA, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UN Security Council,
UN Trusteeship Council, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir Antony ACLAND; Chancery
at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
462-1340; there are British Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco,
and Consulates in Dallas, Miami, and Seattle;
US--Ambassador Raymond SEITZ; Embassy at 24/31 Grosvenor Square,
London, W.1A1AE, (mailing address is FPO New York 09509);
telephone 44 (71) 499-9000; there are US Consulates General in Belfast
and 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
Europe. The economy is essentially capitalistic with a generous admixture
of social welfare programs and government ownership. Over the last decade
the Thatcher government halted the expansion of welfare measures and
promoted extensive reprivatization of the government economic sector.
Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European
standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor
force. Industry is a mixture of public and private enterprises, employing
about 27% of the work force and generating 22% of GDP. The UK is an
energy-rich nation with large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves;
primary energy production accounts for 12% of GDP, one of the highest
shares of any industrial nation. In mid-1990 the economy fell into
recession after eight years of strong economic expansion, which had
raised national output by one quarter. Britain's inflation rate, which
has been consistently well above those of her major trading partners,
is expected to decline in 1991. Between 1986 and 1990 unemployment
fell from 11% to about 6%, but it is now rising rapidly because of
the economic slowdown. As a major trading nation, the UK will continue
to be greatly affected by world boom or recession, swings in the
international oil market, productivity trends in domestic industry,
and the terms on which the economic integration of Europe proceeds.
GDP: $858.3 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 0.8%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.3% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 5.7% (1990)
Budget: revenues $385.0 billion; expenditures $385.5 billion,
including capital expenditures of $35.0 billion (FY91 est.)
Exports: $188.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals,
semifinished goods, transport equipment;
partners--EC 50.7% (FRG 11.9%, France 10.2%, Netherlands 7.0%),
US 13.1%
Imports: $222 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods,
foodstuffs, consumer goods;
partners--EC 52.6% (FRG 16.6%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 7.9%),
US 10.8%
External debt: $10.5 billion (1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1990)
Electricity: 98,000,000 kW capacity; 316,500 million kWh produced,
5,520 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: machinery and transportation equipment, metals, food
processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing,
other consumer goods, motor vehicles, aircraft, shipbuilding, petroleum,
coal
Agriculture: accounts for only 1.5% of GNP and 1% of labor force;
highly mechanized and efficient farms; wide variety of crops and
livestock products produced; about 60% self-sufficient in food and
feed needs; fish catch of 665,000 metric tons (1987)
Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $21.0
billion
Currency: British pound or pound sterling (plural--pounds);
1 British pound (L) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: British pounds (L) per US$1--0.5171 (January
1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987),
0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: Great Britain--16,629 km total; British Railways (BR)
operates 16,629 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (4,205 km electrified
and 12,591 km double or multiple track); several additional small
standard-gauge and narrow-gauge lines are privately owned and operated;
Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 332 km 1.600-meter gauge,
190 km double track
Highways: UK, 362,982 km total; Great Britain, 339,483 km paved
(including 2,573 km limited-access divided highway); Northern Ireland,
23,499 km (22,907 paved, 592 km gravel)
Inland waterways: 2,291 total; British Waterways Board, 606 km;
Port Authorities, 706 km; other, 979 km
Pipelines: 933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,993 km
refined products; 12,800 km natural gas
Ports: London, Liverpool, Felixstowe, Tees and Hartlepool,
Dover, Sullom Voe, Southampton
Merchant marine: 251 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
4,643,056 GRT/6,214,450 DWT; includes 7 passenger, 21 short-sea
passenger, 39 cargo, 34 container, 22 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
10 refrigerated cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier,
74 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker,
9 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 1 specialized tanker, 25 bulk,
2 combination bulk
Civil air: 618 major transport aircraft
Airports: 520 total, 388 usable; 252 with permanent-surface
runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 37 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
133 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: modern, efficient domestic and international
system; 30,200,000 telephones; excellent countrywide broadcast systems;
stations--223 AM, 165 (401 relays) FM, 207 (3,210 relays) TV; 40 coaxial
submarine cables; satellite communication ground stations operating in
INTELSAT (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), MARISAT, and EUTELSAT
systems
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air
Force
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 14,475,433; 12,167,324 fit for
military service; no conscription
Defense expenditures: $41 billion, 4.8% of GDP (FY90)