United Kingdom

• 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)

• temperate;
• moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current;
• more than one-half of the days are overcast

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-Environmental Protocol, 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, Desertification

• 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

0-14 years:

20% (male 5,853,545; female 5,565,153)

15-64 years:

65% (male 19,050,420; female 18,797,406)

65 years and over:

15% (male 3,753,361; female 5,470,090) (July 1996 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.69 male(s)/female

all ages:

0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

total population:

76.41 years

male:

73.78 years

female:

79.17 years (1996 est.)

noun:

Briton(s), British (collective plural)

adjective:

British

conventional long form:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

conventional short form:

United Kingdom

abbreviation:

UK

• common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences;
• no judicial review of Acts of Parliament;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

• 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

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

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, 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, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sir John Olav KERR

chancery:

3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-1340

chief of mission:

Ambassador William J. CROWE, Jr.

embassy:

24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W. 1A1AE

mailing address:

PSC 801, Box 40, London; FPO AE 09498-4040

telephone:

[44] (71) 499-9000

• 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

• cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables;
• cattle, sheep, poultry;
• fish

• gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market;
• producer of synthetic drugs;
• transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin;
• money-laundering center

total:

17,561 km

broad gauge:

434 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 357 km is in common carrier use, is in Northern Ireland

standard gauge:

• 16,892 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track);
• note - 16,532 km of 1.435-m routes are in common carrier service;
• the remaining 360 km are operated by a total of 40 tourist or other private companies

narrow gauge:

• 235 km 0.260-m, 0.311-m, 0.381-m, 0.600-m, 0.610-m, 0.686-m, 0.760-m, 0.762-m, 0.800-m, 0.825-m, 0.914-m and 1.067-m gauges;
• note - these short, narrow-gage lines are operated by a total of 25 tourist and other private firms (1995)

total:

386,243 km (1993 est.)

paved:

NA km (including 3,237 km of expressways in Great Britain)

unpaved:

NA km

• crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km;
• petroleum products 2,993 km;
• natural gas 12,800 km

total:

151 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,191,969 GRT/3,861,239 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 10, cargo 21, chemical tanker 2, container 24, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 56, passenger 8, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 14, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)

males age 15-49:

14,515,077

males fit for military service:

12,102,431 (1996 est.)