United Kingdom

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

constitutional monarchyIndependence 1 January 1801 (United Kingdom established)

United Kingdom as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 90 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 sq km

LocationWestern Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of

Populationas each edition published it

58.3 million July 1995 est. · 57.37m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.27% 1995 est. · 0.29% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 38.4 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

77 years 1995 est. · 76.5 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.82 children per woman 1995 est. · 1.8 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 7 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$17,980 1994 est. · $15,900 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

4.2% 1994 est. · -0.6% in 1993

Geography

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

14 fields

Land useshare of 244,820 sq km

arable land 29%permanent crops 0%meadows and pastures 48%forest and woodland 9%other 14%irrigated 1,570 sq km (1989)

Area

244,820sq km

land area: 241,590 sq kmcomparative area: slightly smaller than Oregonnote: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

Coastline

12,429km

continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundariesexclusive fishing zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

360km

total · Ireland 360 km

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

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

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

15 fields

Population

58,295,119

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 0.27% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

13.18Death

10.66Net migration

0.17

Labor force

28.048million

by occupation: services 62.8%, manufacturing and construction 25.0%, government 9.1%, energy 1.9%, agriculture 1.2% (June 1992)

Literacy

15and over can read and write

age · (1991 est.)total population: 99%

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.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:: 77 years
male:: 74.18 years
female:: 79.95 years (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%

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)

Government

Constitutional monarchy; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Prime Minister John MAJOR (since 28 November 1990)

29 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

41.9%

Conservative 41.9%Labor 34.5%Liberal Democratic 17.9%other 5.7%

Legislature, 651 seatsseats by party

Conservative 336Labor 271Liberal Democratic 20other 24

Names

conventional long form:: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
conventional short form:: United Kingdom

Abbreviation

Digraph

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)
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

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

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.

19 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$17,980

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

4.2%

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 5.6% (1994)

Inflation, consumer prices

2.4%

(1994)

Unemployment rate

9.3%

(1994)

Budget

Revenues

$325.5 billionExpenditures

$400.9 billion

expenditures including capital expenditures of $33 billion (FY93/94 est.)

Installed generating capacity, 65,360,000 kW

Electricity production

303 billionElectricity consumption per capita

5,123 (1993)

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.)

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)

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

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 505 in all

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

174

1,524 to 2,437 m

914 to 1,523 m

172

under 914 m

1,524 to 2,438 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

360,047Railroads

16,888Inland waterways

2,291

Highways: (includes Northern Ireland) · paved: 360,047 km (includes Northern Ireland; Great Britain has 3,100 km limited access divided highway) · Railroads: ; 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) · Inland waterways: ; British Waterways Board, 606 km; Port Authorities, 706 km; other, 979 km

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

Communications

3 fields

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

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