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Background:
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As the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 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 and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. 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 was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process.
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Location:
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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
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Geographic coordinates:
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54 00 N, 2 00 W
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Map references:
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Area:
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total: 244,820 sq km
land: 241,590 sq km
water: 3,230 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Oregon
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Land boundaries:
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total: 360 km
border countries: Ireland 360 km
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Coastline:
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12,429 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries
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Climate:
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temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
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Terrain:
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mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: The Fens -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m
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Natural resources:
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coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land
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Land use:
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arable land: 23.23%
permanent crops: 0.2%
other: 76.57% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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1,700 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources:
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160.6 cu km (2005)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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Total: 11.75 cu km/yr (22%/75%/3%)
Per capita: 197 cu m/yr (1994)
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Natural hazards:
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winter windstorms; floods
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Environment - current issues:
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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 toward a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government reduced the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and recycled or composted at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters
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Population:
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60,776,238 (July 2007 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 17.2% (male 5,349,053/female 5,095,837)
15-64 years: 67% (male 20,605,031/female 20,104,313)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 4,123,464/female 5,498,540) (2007 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 39.6 years
male: 38.5 years
female: 40.7 years (2007 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.275% (2007 est.)
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Birth rate:
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10.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Death rate:
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10.09 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.025 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 5.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.58 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 78.7 years
male: 76.23 years
female: 81.3 years (2007 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.2% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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51,000 (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 500 (2003 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective: British
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Ethnic groups:
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white (of which 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)
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Religions:
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Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census)
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Languages:
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English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
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This page was last updated on 24 January, 2008
- The Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook - |
