348 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
348 lines
28 KiB
Plaintext
UNITED KINGDOM
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 244,820 km2; land area: 241,590 km2; includes Rockall
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and Shetland Islands
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon
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Land boundary: Ireland 360 km
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Coastline: 12,429 km
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Maritime claims:
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Continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in
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accordance with agreed upon boundaries;
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Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: Northern Ireland question with Ireland; Gibraltar
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question with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas);
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Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius
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claims island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory;
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Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland
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(Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall
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area); territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)
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Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over
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the North Atlantic Current; more than half of the days are overcast
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Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling
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plains in east and southeast
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Natural resources: coal, crude oil, natural gas, tin,
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limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica
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Land use: arable land 29%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
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pastures 48%; forest and woodland 9%; other 14%; includes irrigated
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1%
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Environment: pollution control measures improving air, water
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quality; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more
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than 125 km from tidal waters
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Note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from
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France and now being linked by tunnel under the English Channel
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PEOPLE
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Population: 57,515,307 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
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Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Briton(s), British (collective pl.);
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adjective--British
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Ethnic divisions: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh
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1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%
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Religion: Anglican 27.0 million, Roman Catholic 5.3 million,
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Presbyterian 2.0 million, Methodist 760,000, Jewish 410,000
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Language: English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales),
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Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
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Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1978 est.)
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Labor force: 28,966,000; services 60.6%, manufacturing and
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construction 27.2%, government 8.9%, energy 2.1%, agriculture
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1.2% (June 1990)
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Organized labor: 35.7% of labor force (1989)
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
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Ireland; abbreviated UK
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Type: constitutional monarchy
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Capital: London
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Administrative divisions: 47 counties, 7 metropolitan counties,
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26 districts, 9 regions, and 3 islands areas;
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England--39 counties, 7 metropolitan counties*; Avon, Bedford,
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Berkshire, Buckingham, Cambridge, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria,
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Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucester, Greater
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London*, Greater Manchester*, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcester,
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Hertford, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicester,
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Lincoln, Merseyside*, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland,
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North Yorkshire, Nottingham, Oxford, Shropshire, Somerset, South
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Yorkshire*, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear*, Warwick, West
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Midlands*, West Sussex, West Yorkshire*, Wiltshire;
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Northern Ireland--26 districts; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena,
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Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine,
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Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady,
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Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey,
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North Down, Omagh, Strabane;
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Scotland--9 regions, 3 islands areas*; Borders, Central, Dumfries
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and Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highland, Lothian, Orkney*, Shetland*,
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Strathclyde, Tayside, Western Isles*;
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Wales--8 counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan,
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Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan
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Independence: 1 January 1801, United Kingdom established
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Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and
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practice
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Dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory,
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British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar,
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Guernsey, Hong Kong (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region
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of China in 1997), Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands,
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Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and
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Caicos Islands
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Legal system: common law tradition with early Roman and modern
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continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts
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compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
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Saturday in June), 10 June 1989
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Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper
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house or House of Lords and a lower house or House of Commons
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Judicial branch: House of Lords
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
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Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the Queen, born 14 November 1948);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister John MAJOR (since 28 November
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1990)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Conservative and Unionist Party, John MAJOR;
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Labor Party, Neil KINNOCK;
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Social and Liberal Democratic Party (SLDP; formed from the merger of the
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Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party), Jeremy (Paddy) ASHDOWN;
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Scottish National Party, Alex SALMOND;
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Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd THOMAS;
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Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James MOLYNEAUX;
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Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY;
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Ulster Popular Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James KILFEDDER;
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Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Northern Ireland), John HUME;
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Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry ADAMS;
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Alliance Party (Northern Ireland), John ALDERDICE;
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Communist Party, Nina TEMPLE
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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House of Commons--last held 11 June 1987 (next to be held
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by June 1992);
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results--Conservative 43%, Labor 32%, Liberal/Social Democratic
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23%, other 2%;
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seats--(650 total) Conservative 376, Labor 228,
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Liberal/Social Democratic 22,
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Ulster Unionist (Northern Ireland) 9,
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Scottish National 4,
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Welsh National 3,
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Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) 3,
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Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland) 3,
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Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1,
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Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) 1;
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note--the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party merged
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to become the Social and Liberal Democratic Party in 1988
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Communists: 15,961
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Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress,
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Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers' Union, Campaign for
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Nuclear Disarmament
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Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, C,
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CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, COCOM, CP, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECA (associate), ECE,
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ECLAC, EIB, ESCAP, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
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ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
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INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OECD,
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PCA, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UN Security Council,
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UN Trusteeship Council, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir Antony ACLAND; Chancery
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at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
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462-1340; there are British Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston,
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Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco,
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and Consulates in Dallas, Miami, and Seattle;
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US--Ambassador Raymond SEITZ; Embassy at 24/31 Grosvenor Square,
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London, W.1A1AE, (mailing address is FPO New York 09509);
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telephone 44 (71) 499-9000; there are US Consulates General in Belfast
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and Edinburgh
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Flag: blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of
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England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of
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Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) which is superimposed on the
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diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as
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the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the
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Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including
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dependencies, Commonwealth countries, and others
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The UK is one of the world's great trading powers and
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financial centers, and its economy ranks among the four largest in
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Europe. The economy is essentially capitalistic with a generous admixture
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of social welfare programs and government ownership. Over the last decade
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the Thatcher government halted the expansion of welfare measures and
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promoted extensive reprivatization of the government economic sector.
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Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European
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standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor
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force. Industry is a mixture of public and private enterprises, employing
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about 27% of the work force and generating 22% of GDP. The UK is an
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energy-rich nation with large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves;
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primary energy production accounts for 12% of GDP, one of the highest
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shares of any industrial nation. In mid-1990 the economy fell into
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recession after eight years of strong economic expansion, which had
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raised national output by one quarter. Britain's inflation rate, which
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has been consistently well above those of her major trading partners,
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is expected to decline in 1991. Between 1986 and 1990 unemployment
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fell from 11% to about 6%, but it is now rising rapidly because of
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the economic slowdown. As a major trading nation, the UK will continue
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to be greatly affected by world boom or recession, swings in the
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international oil market, productivity trends in domestic industry,
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and the terms on which the economic integration of Europe proceeds.
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GDP: $858.3 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 0.8%
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(1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.3% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 5.7% (1990)
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Budget: revenues $385.0 billion; expenditures $385.5 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $35.0 billion (FY91 est.)
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Exports: $188.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals,
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semifinished goods, transport equipment;
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partners--EC 50.7% (FRG 11.9%, France 10.2%, Netherlands 7.0%),
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US 13.1%
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Imports: $222 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
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commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods,
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foodstuffs, consumer goods;
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partners--EC 52.6% (FRG 16.6%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 7.9%),
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US 10.8%
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External debt: $10.5 billion (1990)
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Industrial production: growth rate 0% (1990)
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Electricity: 98,000,000 kW capacity; 316,500 million kWh produced,
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5,520 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: machinery and transportation equipment, metals, food
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processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing,
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other consumer goods, motor vehicles, aircraft, shipbuilding, petroleum,
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coal
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Agriculture: accounts for only 1.5% of GNP and 1% of labor force;
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highly mechanized and efficient farms; wide variety of crops and
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livestock products produced; about 60% self-sufficient in food and
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feed needs; fish catch of 665,000 metric tons (1987)
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Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $21.0
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billion
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Currency: British pound or pound sterling (plural--pounds);
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1 British pound (L) = 100 pence
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Exchange rates: British pounds (L) per US$1--0.5171 (January
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1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987),
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0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985)
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Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: Great Britain--16,629 km total; British Railways (BR)
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operates 16,629 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (4,205 km electrified
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and 12,591 km double or multiple track); several additional small
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standard-gauge and narrow-gauge lines are privately owned and operated;
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Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 332 km 1.600-meter gauge,
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190 km double track
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Highways: UK, 362,982 km total; Great Britain, 339,483 km paved
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(including 2,573 km limited-access divided highway); Northern Ireland,
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23,499 km (22,907 paved, 592 km gravel)
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Inland waterways: 2,291 total; British Waterways Board, 606 km;
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Port Authorities, 706 km; other, 979 km
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Pipelines: 933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,993 km
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refined products; 12,800 km natural gas
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Ports: London, Liverpool, Felixstowe, Tees and Hartlepool,
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Dover, Sullom Voe, Southampton
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Merchant marine: 251 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
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4,643,056 GRT/6,214,450 DWT; includes 7 passenger, 21 short-sea
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passenger, 39 cargo, 34 container, 22 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
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10 refrigerated cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier,
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74 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker,
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9 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 1 specialized tanker, 25 bulk,
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2 combination bulk
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Civil air: 618 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 520 total, 388 usable; 252 with permanent-surface
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runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 37 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
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133 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: modern, efficient domestic and international
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system; 30,200,000 telephones; excellent countrywide broadcast systems;
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stations--223 AM, 165 (401 relays) FM, 207 (3,210 relays) TV; 40 coaxial
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submarine cables; satellite communication ground stations operating in
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INTELSAT (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), MARISAT, and EUTELSAT
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systems
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air
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Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 14,475,433; 12,167,324 fit for
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military service; no conscription
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Defense expenditures: $41 billion, 4.8% of GDP (FY90)
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