Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine,
Cookstown, Craigavon, Derry, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne,
Limavady, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne,
Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane
Scotland: 32 unitary authorities
unitary authorities: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and
Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East
Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City
of Edinburgh, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), 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, The
Scottish Borders, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian
Wales: 22 unitary authorities
unitary authorities: Blaenau Gwent; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff;
Carmarthenshire; Ceredigion; Conwy; Denbighshire; Flintshire;
Gwynedd; Isle of Anglesey; Merthyr Tydfil; Monmouthshire; Neath Port
Talbot; Newport; Pembrokeshire; Powys; Rhondda, Cynon, Taff;
Swansea; The Vale of Glamorgan; Torfaen; Wrexham
Dependent areas:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin
Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat,
Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
Independence:
1927; 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:
the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday
Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system:
based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern
continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of
Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; 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 James Gordon BROWN (since 27 June
2007)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: 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 consists of House of Lords (618 seats;
consisting of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and
26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections;
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; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary
peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be
held by June 2010)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party -
Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%;
seats by party - Labor 355, Conservative 198, Liberal Democrat 62,
other 31; seats by party in the House of Commons as of 21 November
2008 - Labor 350, Conservative 192, Liberal Democrat 63, Scottish
National Party/Plaid Cymru 10, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn Fein 5,
other 17
note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly
(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 suspended four times, the latest occurring in
October 2002 and lasting until 8 May 2007); in 1999, the UK held the
first elections for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly, the
most recent of which were held in May 2007
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 [David CAMERON]; Democratic Unionist Party or DUP
(Northern Ireland) [Peter ROBINSON]; Labor Party [Gordon BROWN];
Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) [Nick CLEGG]; Party of Wales (Plaid
Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [Alex
SALMOND]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social
Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN];
Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Sir Reg EMPEY]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry;
National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council
(observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CERN,
EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G-20, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC,
MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club,
PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council,
UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG,
UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Nigel E. SHEINWALD
chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500
FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco
consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Orlando
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert Holmes TUTTLE
embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE
mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040
telephone: [44] (0) 20 7499-9000
FAX: [44] (0) 20 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, and British
overseas territories
Economy ::United Kingdom
Economy - overview:
The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the
quintet 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 less than
2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil
resources, but its oil and natural gas reserves are declining and
the UK became a net importer of energy in 2005; energy industries
now contribute about 4% to GDP. Services, particularly banking,
insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest
proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance.
Since emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy enjoyed the
longest period of expansion on record during which time growth
outpaced most of Western Europe. The global economic slowdown, tight
credit, and falling home prices, however, pushed Britain back into
recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompted the BROWN
government to implement a number of new measures to stimulate the
economy and stabilize the financial markets; these include
part-nationalizing the banking system, cutting taxes, suspending
public sector borrowing rules, and bringing forward public spending
on capital projects. The Bank of England periodically coordinates
interest rate moves with the European Central Bank, but Britain
remains outside the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and
opinion polls show a majority of Britons oppose joining the euro.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.236 trillion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
$2.22 trillion (2007 est.)
$2.164 trillion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.68 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
0.7% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
2.6% (2007 est.)
2.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$36,700 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32
$36,500 (2007 est.)
$35,700 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 24.2%
services: 74.5% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
31.23 million (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 18.2%
services: 80.4% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
5.6% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
5.3% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
14% (2006 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
34 (2005)
country comparison to the world: 92
36.8 (1999)
Investment (gross fixed):
16.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
Budget:
revenues: $1.056 trillion
expenditures: $1.214 trillion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
51.8% of GDP (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
39.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.6% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
2.3% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
0.86% (31 December 2008)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
4.63% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 137
5.52% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
Stock of quasi money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
Stock of domestic credit:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$5.277 trillion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 5
$3.859 trillion (31 December 2007)
$3.794 trillion (31 December 2006)
Agriculture - products:
cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish
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, other consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate:
-2% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
Electricity - production:
368.6 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
Electricity - consumption:
345.8 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
Electricity - exports:
1.272 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
12.29 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
1.584 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
Oil - consumption:
1.71 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
Oil - exports:
1.602 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
Oil - imports:
1.651 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
Oil - proved reserves:
3.41 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
Natural gas - production:
69.9 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
Natural gas - consumption:
95.94 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Natural gas - exports:
10.5 billion cu m (2008)
country comparison to the world: 19
Natural gas - imports:
36.54 billion cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
Natural gas - proved reserves:
342.9 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
Current account balance:
-$45.68 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185
-$78.78 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$466.3 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
$442 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners:
US 13.8%, Germany 11.5%, Netherlands 7.8%, France 7.6%, Ireland
7.5%, Belgium 5.3%, Spain 4.1% (2008)
Imports:
$639.3 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
$620.7 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Germany 13.1%, US 8.7%, China 7.5%, Netherlands 7.4%, France 6.8%,
Norway 6%, Belgium 4.7%, Italy 4.1% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$52.98 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
$57.3 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$9.041 trillion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 2
$11.26 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$1.445 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
$1.348 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$1.567 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
$1.705 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rates:
British pounds (GBP) per US dollar - 0.5302 (2008 est.), 0.4993
(2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004)
Communications ::United Kingdom
Telephones - main lines in use:
33.209 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 9
Telephones - mobile cellular:
75.565 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 11
Telephone system:
general assessment: technologically advanced domestic and
international system
domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and
fiber-optic systems
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
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 206, FM 696, shortwave 3 (2008)
Television broadcast stations:
940 (2008)
Internet country code:
.uk
Internet hosts:
9.322 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 11
Internet users:
48.755 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 7
Transportation ::United Kingdom
Airports:
506 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 14
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 307
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 32
1,524 to 2,437 m: 125
914 to 1,523 m: 77
under 914 m: 64 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 199
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 22
under 914 m: 173 (2009)
Heliports:
11 (2009)
Pipelines:
condensate 43 km; gas 7,541 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 699
km; refined products 4,417 km (2008)
Railways:
total: 16,454 km
country comparison to the world: 17
broad gauge: 303 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland)
standard gauge: 16,151 km 1.435-m gauge (5,248 km electrified) (2008)
Roadways:
total: 398,366 km
country comparison to the world: 16
paved: 398,366 km (includes 3,520 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways:
3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2008)
country comparison to the world: 32
Merchant marine:
total: 518
country comparison to the world: 22
by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 67, carrier 5, chemical tanker 61,
container 180, liquefied gas 18, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 67,
petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 24,
vehicle carrier 18
foreign-owned: 264 (Cyprus 2, Denmark 62, Finland 1, France 23,
Germany 76, Hong Kong 2, Ireland 1, Italy 5, Japan 4, NZ 1, Norway
31, South Africa 3, Spain 1, Sweden 17, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 11,
Turkey 2, UAE 9, US 12)
registered in other countries: 391 (Algeria 11, Antigua and Barbuda
9, Argentina 4, Australia 5, Bahamas 56, Barbados 9, Belize 5,
Bermuda 3, Brunei 1, Cape Verde 1, Cayman Islands 3, Cyprus 19,
Gibraltar 2, Greece 32, Hong Kong 39, India 2, Italy 7, South Korea
1, Liberia 20, Luxembourg 8, Malta 19, Marshall Islands 18,
Netherlands 2, Norway 5, Panama 59, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Sierra Leone 2, Singapore 17,
Slovakia 1, Spain 5, Sweden 2, Thailand 5, Tonga 1, US 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Dover, Felixstowe, Immingham, Liverpool, London, Southampton,
Teesport (England); Forth Ports, Hound Point (Scotland); Milford
Haven (Wales)
Military ::United Kingdom
Military branches:
Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service
(with parental consent under 18); women serve in military services,
but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval
postings; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of
Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 16
years of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in
the Brigade of the Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary
military service by Papua New Guinean citizens (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 14,729,500
females age 16-49: 14,125,600 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 12,123,900
females age 16-49: 11,616,769 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 393,892
female: 376,351 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70
Transnational Issues ::United Kingdom
Disputes - international:
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to
reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and
Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in
talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves of UK plans to
grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the
Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former
inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagossians reside in
Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship, where some have
since resettled; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed the
UK Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the
islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which
still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
(British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially
overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute
Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends
beyond 200 nm
Illicit drugs:
producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic
precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin
American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center
page last updated on November 11, 2009
======================================================================
@United States (North America)
Introduction ::United States
Background:
Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776
and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of
America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and
20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the
nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a
number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences
in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a
northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11
southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an
economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force
lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the
end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most
powerful nation state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low
unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
Geography ::United States
Location:
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North
Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates:
38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references:
North America
Area:
total: 9,826,675 sq km
country comparison to the world: 3
land: 9,161,966 sq km
water: 664,709 sq km
note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Area - comparative:
about half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of
Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger
than Brazil); slightly larger than China; more than twice the size
of the European Union
Land boundaries:
total: 12,034 km
border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska),
Mexico 3,141 km
note: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and
is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28 km
Coastline:
19,924 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: not specified
Climate:
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in
Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River,
and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter
temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in
January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes
of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain:
vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in
east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged,
volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Death Valley -86 m
highest point: Mount McKinley 6,198 m
Natural resources:
coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold,
iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum,
natural gas, timber
note: the US has the world's largest coal reserves with 491 billion
short tons accounting for 27% of the world's total
Land use:
arable land: 18.01%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 81.78% (2005)
Irrigated land:
223,850 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
3,069 cu km (1985)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 477 cu km/yr (13%/46%/41%)
per capita: 1,600 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin;
hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes
in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires
in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major
impediment to development
Environment - current issues:
air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the
US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning
of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and
fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the
western part of the country require careful management;
desertification
Environment - international agreements: