Geography
Area: 243,000 sq. km. (93,000 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than Oregon.
Cities: Capital--London (metropolitan pop. about 7.2 million). Other
cities--Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool,
Bradford, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast.
Terrain: 30% arable, 50% meadow and pasture, 12% waste or urban, 7%
forested, 1% inland water.
Land use: 25% arable, 46% meadows and pastures, 10% forests and
woodland, 19% other.
Climate: Generally mild and temperate; weather is subject to frequent
changes but to few extremes of temperature.
People
Nationality: Noun--Briton(s). Adjective--British.
Population (2004 est.): 60.27 million.
Annual population growth rate (2004 est.): 0.29%.
Major ethnic groups: British, Irish, West Indian, South Asian.
Christian singles note-Major religions: Church
of England (Anglican), Roman Catholic, Church of Scotland
(Presbyterian), Muslim.
Major languages: English, Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic.
Education: Years compulsory--12. Attendance--nearly
100%. Literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2004 est.)--5.22/1,000. Life
expectancy (2004 est.)--males 75.84 yrs.; females 80.83 yrs.;
total 78.27 years
Work force (2003, 29.8 million): Services--80.4%; industry–18.7%;
agriculture–0.9%.
Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Constitution: Unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
practice.
Branches: Executive--monarch (head of state), prime minister
(head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral
Parliament: House of Commons, House of Lords; Scottish Parliament,
Welsh Assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly. Judicial--magistrates'
courts, county courts, high courts, appellate courts, House of Lords.
Subdivisions: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland (municipalities,
counties, and parliamentary constituencies).
Political parties: Great Britain--Conservative, Labour, Liberal
Democrats; also, in Scotland--Scottish National Party. Wales--Plaid
Cymru (Party of Wales). Northern Ireland--Ulster Unionist Party,
Social Democratic and Labour Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn
Fein, Alliance Party, and other smaller parties.
Suffrage: British subjects and citizens of other Commonwealth
countries and the Irish Republic resident in the U.K., at 18.
Economy
GDP (at current market prices, 2003 est.): $1.664 trillion.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 2.1%.
Per capita GDP (2003 est.): $27,700.
Natural resources: Coal, oil, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore,
salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica.
Agriculture (1.1% of GDP): Products--cereals, oilseed,
potatoes, vegetables, cattle, sheep, poultry, fish.
Industry: Types--steel, heavy engineering and metal
manufacturing, textiles, motor vehicles and aircraft, construction
(5.2% of GDP), electronics, chemicals.
Trade (2003 est.): Exports of goods and services--$304.5
billion: manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages,
tobacco. Major markets--U.S., European Union. Imports of
goods and services--$363.6 billion: manufactured goods, machinery,
fuels, foodstuffs. Major suppliers--U.S., European Union,
Japan.
PEOPLE
Christian singles note-The United Kingdom's
population in 2004 surpassed 60 million--the third-largest in the
European Union and the 21st-largest in the world. Its overall
population density is one of the highest in the world. Almost
one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous and fertile
southeast and is predominantly urban and suburban--with about 7.2
million in the capital of London, which remains the largest city in
Europe. The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99%) is attributable
to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870
and secondary level in 1900. Education is mandatory from ages 5
through 16. About one-fifth of British students go on to
post-secondary education. The Church of England and the Church of
Scotland are the official churches in their respective parts of the
country, but most religions found in the world are represented in the
United Kingdom.
A group of islands close to continental Europe, the British Isles
have been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from
Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several
centuries. Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied
ethnic stocks that settled there before the 11th century. The
pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were
blended in Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had
lived in Northern France. Although Celtic languages persist in Wales,
Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the predominant language is English,
which is primarily a blend of Anglo-Saxon and Norman French.
