|
Background:
|
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 Economic and 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, but the
latter is suspended due to wrangling over the peace
process. |
|
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 |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
54 00 N,
2 00 W |
|
Map references:
|
Europe
|
|
Area:
|
total:
244,820 sq km
land: 241,590 sq km
water: 3,230 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly
smaller than Oregon |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total:
360 km
border countries: Ireland 360 km |
|
Coastline:
|
12,429 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: as defined in continental
shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon
boundaries |
|
Climate:
|
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over
the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the
days are overcast |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly
rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains
in east and southeast |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest
point: The Fens -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
coal,
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin,
limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica
sand, slate, arable land |
|
Land use:
|
arable
land: 23.46%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 76.33% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
1,080 sq
km (1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards:
|
winter
windstorms; floods |
|
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-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic
Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
|
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 |
|
Population:
|
60,441,457 (July 2005 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 17.7% (male 5,490,592/female 5,229,691)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 20,329,272/female
19,855,862)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 4,063,357/female
5,472,683) (2005 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
38.99 years
male: 37.89 years
female: 40.13 years (2005 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.28%
(2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
10.78
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
10.18
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
2.18
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
5.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 78.38 years
male: 75.94 years
female: 80.96 years (2005 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.66
children born/woman (2005 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.2%
(2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
51,000
(2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
less than
500 (2003 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun:
Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective: British |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
white
(English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern
Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani
1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census) |
|
Religions:
|
Christian
(Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist)
71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or
none 23.1% (2001 census) |
|
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% |
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland; note - Great Britain
includes England, Scotland, and Wales
conventional short form: United Kingdom
abbreviation: UK |
|
Government type:
|
constitutional monarchy |
|
Capital:
|
London
|
|
Administrative divisions:
|
England -
47 boroughs, 36 counties, 29 London boroughs, 12 cities
and boroughs, 10 districts, 12 cities, 3 royal boroughs
: boroughs: Barnsley, Blackburn with Darwen,
Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest,
Brighton and Hove, Bury, Calderdale, Darlington,
Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Halton, Hartlepool,
Kirklees, Knowsley, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton
Keynes, North Tyneside, Oldham, Poole, Reading, Redcar
and Cleveland, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sandwell, Sefton,
Slough, Solihull, Southend-on-Sea, South Tyneside, St.
Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Swindon, Tameside,
Thurrock, Torbay, Trafford, Walsall, Warrington, Wigan,
Wirral, Wolverhampton
: counties: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire,
Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire,
Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex,
Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire,
Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire,
Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire,
Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire,
Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire,
Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire,
Worcestershire
: London boroughs: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet,
Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing,
Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham,
Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow,
Islington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge,
Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets,
Waltham Forest, Wandsworth
: cities and boroughs: Birmingham, Bradford,
Coventry, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon
Tyne, Salford, Sheffield, Sunderland, Wakefield,
Westminster
: districts: Bath and North East Somerset, East
Riding of Yorkshire, North East Lincolnshire, North
Lincolnshire, North Somerset, Rutland, South
Gloucestershire, Telford and Wrekin, West Berkshire,
Wokingham
: cities: City of Bristol, Derby, City of
Kingston upon Hull, Leicester, City of London,
Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth,
Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, York
: royal boroughs: Kensington and Chelsea,
Kingston upon Thames, Windsor and Maidenhead
: Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities, 6
counties
: districts: Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena,
Ballymoney, Banbridge, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh,
Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon,
Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Moyle,
Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh,
Strabane
: cities: Belfast, Derry
: counties: County Antrim, County Armagh, County
Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, 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
: county boroughs: Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend,
Caerphilly, Conwy, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port
Talbot, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Torfaen, Wrexham
: counties: Isle of Anglesey, Ceredigion,
Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Monmouthshire,
Pembrokeshire, Powys, The Vale of Glamorgan
: cities and counties: Cardiff, Swansea |
|
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 and Ascension, 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:
|
the UK
does not celebrate one particular national holiday |
|
Constitution:
|
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
practice |
|
Legal system:
|
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 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 (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; pending
further reforms, elections are held only as vacancies in
the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last
held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by May 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 356,
Conservative 197, Liberal Democrat 62, other 31; note -
as of 30 September 2005 the seats by party - Labor 354,
Conservative 196, Liberal Democrat 62, other 34
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); 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 [David CAMERON];
Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian
PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) BLAIR]; Liberal
Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru)
[Dafydd IWAN]; 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:
|
AfDB,
AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE,
CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, 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, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest),
NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris
Club, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UN Security Council,
UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL,
UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO, ZC |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador David G. MANNING
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, New York, and San Francisco
consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, and Seattle
|
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador Robert Holmes TUTTLE
embassy: 24/31 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, as well as British overseas
territories |
|
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 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. Output recovered in 2004, to
3.2% growth, but fell in 2005, to 1.8%. Despite slower
growth, 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 that the economy is doing well
outside of EMU, and they cite public opinion polls that
continue to show a majority of Britons opposed to the
euro. Meantime, the government has been speeding up the
improvement of education, transport, and health
services, at a cost in higher taxes and a widening
public deficit. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$1.867
trillion (2005 est.) |
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$2.275
trillion (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
1.8%
(2005 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $30,900 (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 1.1%
industry: 26%
services: 72.9% (2005 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
30.07
million (2005 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 1.5%, industry 19.1%, services 79.5% (2004)
|
|
Unemployment rate:
|
4.7%
(2005 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
17% (2002
est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest
10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
36.8
(1999) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
2.2%
(2005 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
16.3% of
GDP (2005 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $881.4 billion
expenditures: $951 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (2005 est.) |
|
Public debt:
|
42.2% of
GDP (2005 est.) |
|
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, and
other consumer goods |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-0.9%
(2005 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
369.9
billion kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
346.1
billion kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
3 billion
kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
5.1
billion kWh (2003) |
|
Oil - production:
|
2.393
million bbl/day (2003 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
1.722
million bbl/day (2003 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
1.498
million bbl/day (2001) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
1.084
million bbl/day (2003) |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
4.5
billion bbl (31 December 2004) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
105.9
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
92.85
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
15.75
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
2.7
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
714.9
billion cu m (31 December 2004) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$-38.4
billion (2005 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$372.7
billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 15.3%,
Germany 10.8%, France 9.2%, Ireland 6.8%, Netherlands
6%, Belgium 5.1%, Spain 4.5%, Italy 4.2% (2004) |
|
Imports:
|
$483.7
billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Germany
13%, US 9.3%, France 7.4%, Netherlands 6.6%, Belgium
4.9%, China 4.3%, Italy 4.3% (2004) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$48.73
billion (2004) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$7.107
trillion (30 June 2005) |
|
Economic aid - donor:
|
ODA, $7.9
billion (2004) |
|
Currency (code):
|
British
pound (GBP) |
|
Exchange rates:
|
British
pounds per US dollar - 0.54 (2005), 0.5462 (2004),
0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
6 April -
5 April |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
34.898 million (2002) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
49.677 million (2002) |
|
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; 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 |
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.uk |
|
Internet hosts:
|
3,398,708 (2004) |
|
Internet users:
|
25 million (2002) |
|
Airports:
|
471 (2004
est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
334
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 149
914 to 1,523 m: 85
under 914 m: 59 (2005 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
137
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 112 (2005 est.) |
|
Heliports:
|
11 (2005
est.) |
|
Pipelines:
|
condensate 370 km; gas 21,446 km; liquid petroleum gas
59 km; oil 6,420 km; oil/gas/water 63 km; refined
products 4,474 km (2004) |
|
Railways:
|
total:
17,274 km
standard gauge: 16,814 km 1.435-m gauge (5,296 km
electrified)
broad gauge: 460 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern
Ireland) (2004) |
|
Roadways:
|
total:
392,931 km
paved: 392,931 km (including 3,431 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2003) |
|
Waterways:
|
3,200 km
(620 km used for commerce) (2004) |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total:
429 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 9,181,284 GRT/9,566,275
DWT
by type: bulk carrier 18, cargo 55, chemical
tanker 48, container 134, liquefied gas 11, passenger
12, passenger/cargo 64, petroleum tanker 40,
refrigerated cargo 19, roll on/roll off 25, vehicle
carrier 3
foreign-owned: 202 (Australia 3, Canada 15,
Denmark 38, Finland 2, Germany 56, Greece 4, Ireland 1,
Italy 9, Netherlands 12, Norway 28, South Africa 4,
Sweden 15, Taiwan 7, United States 8)
registered in other countries: 446 (2005) |
|
Ports and terminals:
|
Hound
Point, Immingham, Milford Haven, Liverpool, London,
Southampton, Sullom Voe, Teesport |
|
Military branches:
|
Army,
Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force
|
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
16 years
of age for voluntary military service (January 2004)
|
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males
age 16-49: 14,607,724 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males
age 16-49: 12,046,268 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$42,836.5
million (2003) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
2.4%
(2003) |
|
Disputes - international:
|
in 2003,
Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum
to remain a British colony and against a "total shared
sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation
in talks between the UK and Spain; 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 Chagosians reside in
Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship but
no right to patriation in the UK; 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 |
This page was last updated on 10
January, 2006
|
