United Kingdom

constitutional monarchyIndependence 1 January 1801, United Kingdom established

United Kingdom as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalLondon

Area244,820 km2

Populationas each edition published it

57.37 million July 1990 · 68.75m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.29% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 38.4 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 76.5 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.8 children per woman 1990 · 1.64 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 3.7 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $15,900 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition -0.6% in 1993

Geography

14 fields

Land useshare of 244,820 km2

arable land 29%meadows and pastures 48%forest and woodland 9%other 14%NEGL% permanent crops; includes 1% irrigated

Total area

244,820km2

land area: 241,590 km2; includes Rockall and Shetland IslandsComparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Coastline

12,429km

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundary

360km

Ireland

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries;

Disputes

maritime boundary with Ireland;
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;
Hong Kong is scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997;
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

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

People

14 fields

Population

57,365,665

(July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

14Death

11Net migration

Ethnic divisions

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

Literacy

99%

Nationality

noun--Briton(s), British (collective pl.); adjective--British

Religion

27.0 million Anglican, 5.3 million Roman Catholic, 2.0 million Presbyterian, 760,000 Methodist, 410,000 Jewish

Language

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

Labor force

28,120,000; 53.3% services, 23.6% manufacturing and construction, 10.8% self-employed, 6.8% government, 1.0% agriculture (1988)

Government

Constitutional monarchy

19 fields

House of Commons, 650 seats, elected 11 June 1987seats by party

Conservative 376Labour 228Social and Liberal Democratic Party 18Ulster (Official) Unionist (Northern Ireland) 9Social Democratic Party 4Scottish National Party 4Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist) 3Ulster Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) 3Social Democratic and Labour (Northern Ireland) 3Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) 1

Percent of vote

Conservative 43%Labour 32%Social and Liberal Democratic Party 23%others 2%

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, St. 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 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 Margaret THATCHER (since 4 May 1979);
Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey HOWE (since 24 July 1989)

Political parties and leaders

Conservative, Margaret Thatcher;
Labour, Neil Kinnock;
Social Democratic, David Owen (disbanded 3 June 1990);
Social and Liberal Democratic Party, Jeremy (Paddy) Ashdown;
Communist, Nina Temple;
Scottish National, Gordon Wilson;
Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Thomas;
Ulster Unionist, James Molyneaux;
Democratic Unionist, Ian Paisley;
Social Democratic and Labour, John Hume;
Provisional Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams;
Alliance/Northern Ireland

Suffrage

universal at age 18 House of Commons--last held 11 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992);
results--Conservative 43%, Labour 32%, Social and Liberal Democratic Party 23%, others 2%;
seats--(650 total) Conservative 376, Labour 228, Social and Liberal Democratic Party 18, Ulster (Official) Unionist (Northern Ireland) 9, Social Democratic Party 4, Scottish National Party 4, Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist) 3, Ulster Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) 3, Social Democratic and Labour (Northern Ireland) 3, Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1, Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) 1

Communists

15,961

Other political or pressure groups

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

Member of

ADB, CCC, Colombo Plan, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ESCAP, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

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 Henry E. CATTO;
Embassy at 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W.1A1AE, (mailing address is Box 40, FPO New York 09509);
telephone [44] (01) 499-9000;
there are US Consulates General in Belfast and Edinburgh

Flag

blue with the red cross of St. George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of St. Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of St. 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

The UK is one of the world's great trading powers and financial centers, and its economy ranks among the four largest in Europe.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$818.0billion

per capita $14,300; real growth rate 2.3% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

7.8%

(1989)

Unemployment rate

6.4%

(1989)

External debt

$15.7billion

(1988)

Budget

Revenues

$348.7 billionExpenditures

$327.8 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $42.0 billion (FY89)

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 has halted the expansion of welfare measures and has 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 24% 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. Following the recession of 1979-81, the economy has enjoyed the longest period of continuous economic growth it has had during the last 30 years. During the period 1982-89 real GDP grew by about 25%, while the inflation rate of 14% was nearly halved.

Between 1986 and 1989 unemployment fell from 11% to about 6%. 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.

Exports

$151.0 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment;
partners--EC 50.4% (FRG 11.7%, France 10.2%, Netherlands 6.8%), US 13.0%, Communist countries 2.3%

Imports

$189.2 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods;
partners--EC 52.5% (FRG 16.6%, France 8.8%, Netherlands 7.8%), US 10.2%, Communist countries 2.1%

Industrial production

growth rate 0.9% (1989)

Electricity

98,000,000 kW capacity; 361,990 million kWh produced, 6,350 kWh per capita (1989)

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)

Aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $18.9 billion

Currency

British pound or pound sterling (plural--pounds); 1 British pound (L) = 100 pence

Exchange rates

British pounds (L) per US$1--0.6055 (January 1990), 0.6099 (1989) 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 285 ships by type

passenger 7short-sea passenger 22cargo 44container 44roll-on/roll-off cargo 21refrigerated cargo 9vehicle carrier 1railcar carrier 1petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 78chemical tanker 4liquefied gas 5combination ore/oil 2specialized tanker 1bulk 45combination bulk 1285 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,174,142GRT/9,024,090 DWT

Airports, 522 total, 379 usable

permanent-surface runways

245runways over 3,659 m

1runways 2,440-3,659 m

37runways 1,220-2,439 m

132

Networkskm

Inland waterways

2,291Pipelines

933

Inland waterways: ; British Waterways Board, 606 km; Port Authorities, 706 km; other, 979 km · Pipelines: , almost all insignificant; 2,993 km refined products; 12,800 km natural gas

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

modern, efficient domestic and international system;
30,200,000 telephones;
excellent countrywide broadcast systems;
stations--223 AM, 165 (396 relays) FM, 205 (3,210 relays) TV;
38 coaxial submarine cables;
communication satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), MARISAT, and EUTELSAT systems