Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.4% (2003)
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 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 19 December, 2006
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@United States
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) and the Great
Depression of the 1930s. 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