United Kingdom

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

• air pollution improved but remains a concern, particularly in the London region;
• soil pollution from pesticides and heavy metals;
• decline in marine and coastal habitats brought on by pressures from housing, tourism, and industry

• lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes;
• only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel (the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel);
• because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters

noun:

Briton(s), British (collective plural)

adjective:

British

0-14 years:

17.59% (male 5,871,268 /female 5,582,107)

15-24 years:

11.71% (male 3,895,850 /female 3,726,311)

25-54 years:

40.29% (male 13,387,119 /female 12,843,549)

55-64 years:

12.22% (male 3,936,466 /female 4,022,245)

65 years and over:

18.19% (male 5,321,392 /female 6,518,939) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

55.5 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

27.4 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

28.2 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

3.5 (2015 est.)

total:

40.5 years (2018 est.)

male:

39.3 years

female:

41.7 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

4.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

4.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

80.9 years (2018 est.)

male:

78.7 years

female:

83.2 years

conventional long form:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - the island of Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales

conventional short form:

United Kingdom

abbreviation:

UK

etymology:

• self-descriptive country name;
• the designation "Great Britain," in the sense of "Larger Britain," dates back to medieval times and was used to distinguish the island from "Little Britain," or Brittany in modern France;
• the name Ireland derives from the Gaelic "Eriu," the matron goddess of Ireland (goddess of the land)

name:

London

geographic coordinates:

51 30 N, 0 05 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

note: applies to the United Kingdom proper, not to its crown dependencies or overseas territories

• Anguilla;
• Bermuda;
• British Indian Ocean Territory;
• British Virgin Islands;
• Cayman Islands;
• Falkland Islands;
• Gibraltar;
• Montserrat;
• Pitcairn Islands;
• Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha;
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
• Turks and Caicos Islands

no official date of independence:

• 927 (minor English kingdoms unite);
• 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales);
• 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales);
• 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain);
• 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland);
• 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland);
• 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

history:

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

amendments:

• proposed as a bill for an Act of Parliament by the government, by the House of Commons, or by the House of Lords;
• passage requires agreement by both houses and by the monarch (Royal Assent);
• note - additions include the Human Rights Act of 1998, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, and the House of Lords (Expulsion and Suspension) Act 2015 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of the United Kingdom

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

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 Boris JOHNSON (Conservative) (since 24 July 2019);
• note - Prime Minister Theresa MAY announced her resignation to be effective after the election of a new Conservative Party leader in July

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister;
• election last held on 8 June 2017 (next to be held by 5 May 2022)

note: in addition to serving as the UK head of state, the British sovereign is the constitutional monarch for 15 additional Commonwealth countries (these 16 states are each referred to as a Commonwealth realm)

highest courts:

• Supreme Court (consists of 12 justices, including the court president and deputy president);
• note - the Supreme Court was established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and implemented in October 2009, replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the United Kingdom

judge selection and term of office:

judge candidates selected by an independent committee of several judicial commissions, followed by their recommendations to the prime minister, and appointed by the monarch; justices serve for life

subordinate courts:

• England and Wales: Court of Appeal (civil and criminal divisions);
• High Court;
• Crown Court;
• County Courts;
• Magistrates' Courts;
• Scotland: Court of Sessions;
• Sheriff Courts;
• High Court of Justiciary;
• tribunals;
• Northern Ireland: Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland;
• High Court;
• county courts;
• magistrates' courts;
• specialized tribunals

• Alliance Party (Northern Ireland) [Naomi LONG]
• Brexit Party [Nigel FARAGE]
• Conservative and Unionist Party [Boris JOHNSON]
• Democratic Unionist Party or DUP (Northern Ireland) [Arlene FOSTER]
• Green Party of England and Wales or Greens [Sian BERRY and Jonathan BARTLEY]
• Labor (Labour) Party [Jeremy CORBYN]
• Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) [Ed Davey and Sal Brinton, interim leaders]
• Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Adam PRICE]
• Scottish National Party or SNP [Nicola STURGEON]
• Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Mary Lou MCDONALD]
• Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Colum EASTWOOD]
• Ulster Unionist Party or UUP (Northern Ireland) [Robin SWANN]
• UK Independence Party or UKIP [Pat MOUNTAIN, interim leader]

• Ambassador (vacant);
• Charge d'Affaires Michael TATHAM (since 10 July 2019);
• note - Ambassador Sir Nigel Kim DARROCH (since 28 January 2016) resigned on 10 July 2019)

chancery:

3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 588-6500

FAX:

[1] (202) 588-7870

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco

consulate(s):

Orlando (FL), San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert Wood "Woody" JOHNSON IV (since 29 August 2017)

telephone:

[44] 20-7499-9000

embassy:

33 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW11 7US United Kingdom

mailing address:

PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040

FAX:

[44] 20-7891-3151

consulate(s) general:

Belfast, Edinburgh

• 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, and British overseas territories

• lion (Britain in general);
• lion, Tudor rose, oak (England);
• lion, unicorn, thistle (Scotland);
• dragon, daffodil, leek (Wales);
• shamrock, flax (Northern Ireland);
• national colors: red, white, blue (Britain in general);
• red, white (England);
• blue, white (Scotland);
• red, white, green (Wales)

name:

God Save the Queen

lyrics/music:

unknown

note: in use since 1745; by tradition, the song serves as both the national and royal anthem of the UK; it is known as either "God Save the Queen" or "God Save the King," depending on the gender of the reigning monarch; it also serves as the royal anthem of many Commonwealth nations

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

agriculture:

1.3%

industry:

15.2%

services:

83.5% (2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

31.1% (2012)

general assessment:

• technologically advanced domestic and international system;
• one of the largest markets in Europe for revenue and subscribers;
• will complete the switch to fibre by 2025;
• mobile penetration above the EU average;
• govt funding for trial 5G technologies;
• FttP provided to over million customers;
• super-fast broadband available to about 95% of customers (2018)

domestic:

equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems; fixed-line 50 per 100 and mobile-cellular 121 per 100 (2018)

international:

• country code - 44;
• numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and US;
• 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

• public service broadcaster, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world;
• BBC operates multiple TV networks with regional and local TV service;
• a mixed system of public and commercial TV broadcasters along with satellite and cable systems provide access to hundreds of TV stations throughout the world;
• BBC operates multiple national, regional, and local radio networks with multiple transmission sites;
• a large number of commercial radio stations, as well as satellite radio services are available (2018)

• Slight variations by service, but generally 16-36 years of age for enlisted (with parental consent under 18) and 18-29 for officers;
• minimum length of service 4 years;
• women serve in military services including ground combat roles (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

28 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 1,242 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

131,449,680 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

5,466,504,676 mt-km (2015)

total:

16,837 km (2015)

standard gauge:

16,534 km 1.435-m gauge (5,357 km electrified) (2015)

broad gauge:

303 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) (2015)

total:

394,428 km (2009)

paved:

394,428 km (includes 3,519 km of expressways) (2009)

total:

1,570

by type:

bulk carrier 129, container ship 109, general cargo 162, oil tanker 177, other 993 (2018)