United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
constitutional monarchy
United Kingdom as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 125 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation.
As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999.
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
18 fieldsLand useshare of 244,820 sq 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
Climate
- temperate;
- moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current;
- more than one-half of the days are overcast
Natural resources
coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land
Environment - current issues
- continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move towards a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010);
- by 2005 the government aims to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015;
- between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3%
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified:
- Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - 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
19 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2003 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 18.3% (male 5,621,590; female 5,350,319)
- 15-64 years:
- 66.1% (male 20,067,529; female 19,626,123)
- 65 years and over:
- 15.6% (male 3,987,457; female 5,441,630) (2003 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.73 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups
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 and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000
Languages
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy
- definition:
- age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
- total population:
- 99% (2000 est.)
- male:
- NA%
- female:
- NA%
Government
Constitutional monarchy; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Prime Minister Anthony (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997)
19 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
House of Commons, 659 seats, elected 7 June 2001seats by party
Percent of vote
Country name
- conventional long form:
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- conventional short form:
- United Kingdom
- abbreviation:
- UK
Administrative divisions
- England - 47 boroughs, 36 counties*, 29 London boroughs**, 12 cities and boroughs***, 10 districts****, 12 cities*****, 3 royal boroughs******;
- Barking and Dagenham**, Barnet**, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset****, Bedfordshire*, Bexley**, Birmingham***, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford***, Brent**, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol*****, Bromley**, Buckinghamshire*, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire*, Camden**, Cheshire*, Cornwall*, Coventry***, Croydon**, Cumbria*, Darlington, Derby*****, Derbyshire*, Devon*, Doncaster, Dorset*, Dudley, Durham*, Ealing**, East Riding of Yorkshire****, East Sussex*, Enfield**, Essex*, Gateshead, Gloucestershire*, Greenwich**, Hackney**, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham**, Hampshire*, Haringey**, Harrow**, Hartlepool, Havering**, Herefordshire*, Hertfordshire*, Hillingdon**, Hounslow**, Isle of Wight*, Islington**, Kensington and Chelsea******, Kent*, City of Kingston upon Hull*****, Kingston upon Thames******, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth**, Lancashire*, Leeds***, Leicester*****, Leicestershire*, Lewisham**, Lincolnshire*, Liverpool***, City of London*****, Luton, Manchester***, Medway, Merton**, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne***, Newham**, Norfolk*, Northamptonshire*, North East Lincolnshire****, North Lincolnshire****, North Somerset****, North Tyneside, Northumberland*, North Yorkshire*, Nottingham*****, Nottinghamshire*, Oldham, Oxfordshire*, Peterborough*****, Plymouth*****, Poole, Portsmouth*****, Reading, Redbridge**, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames**, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland****, Salford***, Shropshire*, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield***, Slough, Solihull, Somerset*, Southampton*****, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire****, South Tyneside, Southwark**, Staffordshire*, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent*****, Suffolk*, Sunderland***, Surrey*, Sutton**, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin****, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets**, Trafford, Wakefield***, Walsall, Waltham Forest**, Wandsworth**, Warrington, Warwickshire*, West Berkshire****, Westminster***, West Sussex*, Wigan, Wiltshire*, Windsor and Maidenhead******, Wirral, Wokingham****, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire*, York*****;
- Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities*, 6 counties**;
- Antrim, County Antrim**, Ards, Armagh, County Armagh**, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast*, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, County Down**, Dungannon, Fermanagh, County Fermanagh**, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, County Londonderry**, Derry*, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane, County Tyrone**;
- Scotland - 32 council areas;
- Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian;
- Wales - 11 county boroughs, 9 counties*, 2 cities and counties**;
- Isle of Anglesey*, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff**, Ceredigion*, Carmarthenshire*, Conwy, Denbighshire*, Flintshire*, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire*, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire*, Powys*, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea**, Torfaen, The Vale of Glamorgan*, Wrexham
Dependent areas
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
Independence
- England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century;
- the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union;
- in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain;
- the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;
- the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland;
- six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
National holiday
Official Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926)
Legal system
- common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences;
- has judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998;
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 Anthony (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997)
- cabinet:
- Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
- elections:
- none;
- the monarchy is hereditary;
- following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)
- elections:
- House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; pending further reforms, elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise);
- House of Commons - last held 7 June 2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006)
- election results:
- House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 42.1%, Conservative and Unionist 32.7%, Liberal Democrats 18.8%, other 6.4%;
- seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29;
- note - seating as of 15 February 2002: Labor 410, Conservative 164, Liberal Democrats 53, other 32
note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been rescinded three times the latest occurring in October 2002; since October 2002 the Northern Ireland Parliament has been suspended);
in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly
Judicial branch
- House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life);
- Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts);
- Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary
Political parties and leaders
Conservative and Unionist Party [Michael HOWARD]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) BLAIR]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn Jones]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY];
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament;
- Confederation of British Industry;
- National Farmers' Union;
- Trades Union Congress
International organization participation
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador David G. MANNING
- chancery:
- 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 588-7870
- consulate(s):
- Dallas, Denver, Miami, and Seattle
- consulate(s) general:
- Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 588-6500
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador William S. FARISH
- embassy:
- 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE
- mailing address:
- PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040
- telephone:
- [44] (0) 7499-9000
- FAX:
- [44] (0) 7629-9124
- consulate(s) general:
- Belfast, Edinburgh
Flag description
- blue field 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);
- properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack;
- the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories
Economy
The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe.
43 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2000)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has 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; primary energy production accounts for 10% 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.
GDP growth slipped in 2001-03 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out, however, that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue to show a majority of Britons opposed to the single currency.
Meantime, the government has been speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health services, at a cost in higher taxes. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, together with the subsequent problems of restoring the economy and the polity, involve a heavy commitment of British military forces.
Industries
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
Exchange rates
British pounds per US dollar - 0.67 (2002), 0.69 (2001), 0.66 (2000), 0.62 (1999), 0.6 (1998)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- technologically advanced domestic and international system
- domestic:
- equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems
- international:
- 40 coaxial submarine cables;
- satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat;
- at least 8 large international switching centers
Transportation
10 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 16,893 km
- standard gauge:
- 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified)
- broad gauge:
- 357 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) (2002)
Pipelines
- condensate 370 km;
- gas 21,263 km;
- liquid petroleum gas 59 km;
- oil 6,420 km;
- oil/gas/water 63 km;
- refined products 4,474 km;
- water 650 km (2003)
Ports and harbors
Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Teesport, Tyne
Merchant marine
- total:
- 295 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,752,179 GRT/6,963,112 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 14, cargo 43, chemical tanker 19, combination ore/oil 1, container 95, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 1, passenger 18, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 50, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 37, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bermuda 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 21, Germany 6, Greece 3, Hong Kong 4, Italy 1, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, Russia 1, South Africa 2, Sweden 11, Taiwan 2, US 5 (2002 est.)
Military
Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air Force
5 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against "total shared sovereignty" arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony;
- Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965;
- Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
- Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland;
- territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim;
- disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM
Illicit drugs
- gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market;
- major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals;
- major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin;
- money-laundering center
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “United Kingdom.” The World Factbook 2003. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/united-kingdom/2003.