Location:
Western Europe, bordering on the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea,
between Ireland and France
Map references:
Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
244,820 km2
land area:
241,590 km2
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Oregon
note:
includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Land boundaries:
total 360 km, Ireland 360 km
Coastline:
12,429 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon
boundaries
exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
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)
Climate:
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic
Current; more than half of the days are overcast
Terrain:
mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and
southeast
Natural resources:
coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk,
gypsum, lead, silica
Land use:
arable land:
29%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures:
48%
forest and woodland:
9%
other:
14%
Irrigated land:
1,570 km2 (1989)
*United Kingdom, Geography
Environment:
pollution control measures improving air and water quality; because of
heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal
waters
Note:
lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now
being linked by tunnel under the English Channel
*United Kingdom, People
Population:
57,970,200 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.29% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
13.58 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
10.87 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
76.5 years
male:
73.71 years
female:
79.43 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.83 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Briton(s), British (collective pl.)
adjective:
British
Ethnic divisions:
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 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1 million,
Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000, Hindu 350,000, Jewish
300,000 (1991 est.)
note:
the UK does not include a question on religion in its census
Languages:
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of
Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1978)
total population:
99%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
Labor force:
28.048 million
by occupation:
services 62.8%, manufacturing and construction 25.0%, government 9.1%,
energy 1.9%, agriculture 1.2% (June 1992)
*United Kingdom, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
conventional short form:
United Kingdom
Abbreviation:
UK
Digraph:
UK
Type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
London
Administrative divisions:
47 counties, 7 metropolitan counties, 26 districts, 9 regions, and 3 islands
areas
England:
39 counties, 7 metropolitan counties*; Avon, Bedford, Berkshire, Buckingham,, Cambridge,
Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derby, Devon, Dorset,
Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucester, Greater London*, Greater, Manchester*, Hampshire,,
Hereford and Worcester, Hertford, Humberside, Isle
of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Merseyside*, Norfolk,, Northampton,
Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham, Oxford,
Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire*, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and, Wear*, Warwick,,
West Midlands*, West Sussex, West Yorkshire*, Wiltshire, Northern Ireland:
26 districts; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge,
Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down,
Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt,
Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane
Scotland:
9 regions, 3 islands areas*; Borders, Central, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife,, Grampian, Highland,
Lothian, Orkney*, Shetland*, Strathclyde, Tayside,, Western Isles*, Wales:
8 counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, Powys, South
Glamorgan, West Glamorgan
Dependent areas:
Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands,
Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong (scheduled
to become a Special Administrative Region of China on 1 July 1997), Jersey,
Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and
the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
Independence:
1 January 1801 (United Kingdom established)
Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system:
common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no
judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
National holiday:
Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June)
*United Kingdom, Government
Political parties and leaders:
Conservative and Unionist Party, John MAJOR; Labor Party, John SMITH;
Liberal Democrats (LD), Jeremy (Paddy) ASHDOWN; Scottish National Party,
Alex SALMOND; Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd Iwan WIGLEY; Ulster
Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James MOLYNEAUX; Democratic Unionist
Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY; Ulster Popular Unionist Party
(Northern Ireland), James KILFEDDER; Social Democratic and Labor Party
(SDLP, Northern Ireland), John HUME; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry
ADAMS
Other political or pressure groups:
Trades Union Congress; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers'
Union; Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Elections:
House of Commons:
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
Executive branch:
monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or House of Lords and a
lower house or House of Commons
Judicial branch:
House of Lords
Leaders:
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 John MAJOR (since 28 November 1990)
Member of:
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australian Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB
(non-regional), CE, CERN, COCOM, CP, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECA (associate), ECE,
ECLAC, EIB, ESCAP, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, MTRC, NACC, NATO,
NEA, NSG, OECD, PCA, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM,
UNPROFOR, UNRWA, UN Security Council, UNTAC, UN Trusteeship Council, UPU,
WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Sir Robin RENWICK
chancery:
3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 462-1340
FAX:
(202) 898-4255
consulates general:
Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San
Francisco,
consulates:
Dallas, Miami, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Raymond G. H. SEITZ
embassy:
24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W.1A1AE
*United Kingdom, Government