|
Introduction |
United
Kingdom |
|
Background:
|
Great Britain, the
dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, 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.
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 European 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. |
|
Location:
|
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 |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
54 00 N, 2 00 W |
|
Map references:
|
Europe |
|
Area:
|
total: 244,820
sq km
water: 3,230 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
land: 241,590 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than
Oregon |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 360 km
border countries: 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 |
|
Climate:
|
temperate; moderated by
prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than
one-half of the days are overcast |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly rugged hills and
low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point:
Fenland -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
coal, petroleum,
natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum,
lead, silica, arable land |
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 26%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 74% (1998 est.) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
1,080 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
winter windstorms;
floods |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
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 towards a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by
2010); by 2005 the Government aims to reduce the amount of industrial
and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998
levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste,
increasing to 33% by 2015; between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household
recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3% |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Air
Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
|
Geography - note:
|
lies near vital North
Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel
under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no
location is more than 125 km from tidal waters |
|
Population:
|
59,778,002 (July 2002
est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years:
18.7% (male 5,732,385; female 5,443,900)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 19,803,478; female 19,381,734)
65 years and over: 15.8% (male 3,931,463; female 5,485,042)
(2002 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.21% (2002 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
11.34 births/1,000
population (2002 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
10.3 deaths/1,000
population (2002 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
1.06 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2002 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
5.45 deaths/1,000 live
births (2002 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population:
77.99 years
female: 80.84 years (2002 est.)
male: 75.29 years |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.73 children
born/woman (2002 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.11% (1999 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
20,800 (1999) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
450 (1999 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Briton(s),
British (collective plural)
adjective: British |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
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 and Roman
Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000,
Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000 |
|
Languages:
|
English, Welsh (about
26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000
in Scotland) |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age
15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 99% (2000 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA% |
|
Government |
United Kingdom |
|
Country name:
|
conventional long
form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
conventional short form: United Kingdom
abbreviation: UK |
|
Government type:
|
constitutional monarchy
|
|
Capital:
|
London |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
England - 47 boroughs,
36 counties*, 29 London boroughs**, 12 cities and boroughs***, 10
districts****, 12 cities*****, 3 royal boroughs******; Barking and
Dagenham**, Barnet**, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset****,
Bedfordshire*, Bexley**, Birmingham***, Blackburn with Darwen,
Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford***,
Brent**, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol*****, Bromley**,
Buckinghamshire*, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire*, Camden**,
Cheshire*, Cornwall*, Coventry***, Croydon**, Cumbria*, Darlington,
Derby*****, Derbyshire*, Devon*, Doncaster, Dorset*, Dudley, Durham*,
Ealing**, East Riding of Yorkshire****, East Sussex*, Enfield**,
Essex*, Gateshead, Gloucestershire*, Greenwich**, Hackney**, Halton,
Hammersmith and Fulham**, Hampshire*, Haringey**, Harrow**, Hartlepool,
Havering**, Herefordshire*, Hertfordshire*, Hillingdon**, Hounslow**,
Isle of Wight*, Islington**, Kensington and Chelsea******, Kent*, City
of Kingston upon Hull*****, Kingston upon Thames******, Kirklees,
Knowsley, Lambeth**, Lancashire*, Leeds***, Leicester*****,
Leicestershire*, Lewisham**, Lincolnshire*, Liverpool***, City of
London*****, Luton, Manchester***, Medway, Merton**, Middlesbrough,
Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne***, Newham**, Norfolk*,
Northamptonshire*, North East Lincolnshire****, North
Lincolnshire****, North Somerset****, North Tyneside, Northumberland*,
North Yorkshire*, Nottingham*****, Nottinghamshire*, Oldham,
Oxfordshire*, Peterborough*****, Plymouth*****, Poole,
Portsmouth*****, Reading, Redbridge**, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond
upon Thames**, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland****, Salford***,
Shropshire*, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield***, Slough, Solihull,
Somerset*, Southampton*****, Southend-on-Sea, South
Gloucestershire****, South Tyneside, Southwark**, Staffordshire*, St.
Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent*****, Suffolk*,
Sunderland***, Surrey*, Sutton**, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and
Wrekin****, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets**, Trafford, Wakefield***,
Walsall, Waltham Forest**, Wandsworth**, Warrington, Warwickshire*,
West Berkshire****, Westminster***, West Sussex*, Wigan, Wiltshire*,
Windsor and Maidenhead******, Wirral, Wokingham****, Wolverhampton,
Worcestershire*, York*****; Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2
cities*, 6 counties**; Antrim, County Antrim**, Ards, Armagh, County
Armagh**, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast*, Carrickfergus,
Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, County Down**,
Dungannon, Fermanagh, County Fermanagh**, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn,
County Londonderry**, Derry*, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne,
Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane, County Tyrone**; Scotland -
32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute,
The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee
City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East
Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City,
Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North
Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland
Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West
Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian; Wales - 11
county boroughs, 9 counties*, 2 cities and counties**; Isle of
Anglesey*, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff**,
Ceredigion*, Carmarthenshire*, Conwy, Denbighshire*, Flintshire*,
Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire*, Neath Port Talbot, Newport,
Pembrokeshire*, Powys*, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea**, Torfaen, The
Vale of Glamorgan*, Wrexham |
|
Dependent areas:
|
Anguilla, Bermuda,
British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman
Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man,
Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the
South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands |
|
Independence:
|
England has existed as
a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and
Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284; in the Act of
Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great
Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was
implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921
formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties
remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the
current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927 |
|
National holiday:
|
Birthday of Queen
ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926) |
|
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; British courts and legislation are increasingly subject
to review by European Union courts |
|
Suffrage:
|
18 years of age;
universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
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 Anthony (Tony) BLAIR (since
2 May 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; the prime minister
is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons (assuming
there is no majority party, a prime minister would have a majority
coalition or at least a coalition that was not rejected by the
majority) |
|
Legislative branch:
|
bicameral Parliament
comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers,
92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless
the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (some proposals for
further reform include elections); House of Commons - last held 7 June
2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party -
Labor 42.1%, Conservative and Unionist 32.7%, Liberal Democrats 18.8%,
other 6.4%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166,
Liberal Democrat 52, other 29; note - seating as of 15 February 2002:
Labor 410, Conservative 164, Liberal Democrats 53, other 32
note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland
Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the
transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end
of 1999 and was twice rescinded before reinstatement in November
2001); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and
a new Welsh Assembly |
|
Judicial branch:
|
House of Lords (highest
court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by
the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern
Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice,
and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the
Justiciary |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
Conservative and
Unionist Party [Iain Duncan SMITH]; Democratic Unionist Party
(Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony)
BLAIR]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid
Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY];
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and
Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist
Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers'
Union; Trades Union Congress |
|
International organization participation:
|
AfDB, AsDB, Australia
Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE,
ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA,
NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security
Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM,
UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief of mission:
Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER
chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870
consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, and Seattle
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland,
Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief of mission:
Ambassador William S. FARISH
embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE
mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040
telephone: [44] (0) 207499-9000 (switchboard)
FAX: [44] (0) 207 629-8288
consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh |
|
Flag description:
|
blue with the red cross
of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed
on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland)
and which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew
(patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the
design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for
a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and
their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas
territories |
|
Economy - overview:
|
The UK, a leading
trading power and financial center, is one of the quartet of trillion
dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the
government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the
growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly
mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60%
of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal,
natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for
10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation.
Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services,
account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry
continues to decline in importance. GDP growth slipped in 2001 as the
global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the
"new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the
economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates,
and unemployment remain low, and the government expects growth of 2%
to 2.5% in 2002. The relatively good economic performance has
complicated the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain
to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The Prime
Minister has pledged to hold a public referendum if membership meets
Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN's five economic "tests." Scheduled
for assessment by mid-2003, the tests will determine whether joining
EMU would have a positive effect on British investment, employment,
and growth. Critics point out, however, that the economy is thriving
outside of EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue
to show a majority of Britons opposed to the single currency. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power parity
- $1.47 trillion (2001 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
2.4% (2001 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity
- $24,700 (2001 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture:
1.7%
industry: 24.9%
services: 73.4% (1999) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
17% |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 27.3% (1991) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
36.1 (1991) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
1.8% (2001 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
29.7 million (2001)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 1%,
industry 25%, services 74% (1999) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
5.1% (2001 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $565
billion
expenditures: $540 billion, including capital expenditures of
$NA (FY01) |
|
Industries:
|
machine tools, electric
power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment,
shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and
communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper
and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other
consumer goods |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-1.6% (2001 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
355.761 billion kWh
(2000) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel:
73.26%
hydro: 1.46%
other: 2.31% (2000)
nuclear: 22.97% |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
345.032 billion kWh
(2000) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
134 million kWh (2000)
|
|
Electricity - imports:
|
14.308 billion kWh
(2000) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
cereals, oilseed,
potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish |
|
Exports:
|
$287 billion (f.o.b.,
2001) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
manufactured goods,
fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco |
|
Exports - partners:
|
EU 54% (Germany 11%,
France 9%, Netherlands 7%, Ireland 7%), US 15% (2000) |
|
Imports:
|
$337 billion (c.i.f.,
2001) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
manufactured goods,
machinery, fuels; foodstuffs |
|
Imports - partners:
|
EU 48% (Germany 11%,
France 7%, Netherlands 6%), US 13%, Japan 5% (2000) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$NA |
|
Economic aid - donor:
|
ODA, $4.5 billion
(2000) |
|
Currency:
|
British pound (GBP)
|
|
Currency code:
|
GBP |
|
Exchange rates:
|
British pounds per US
dollar - 0.6981 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180
(1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
1 April - 31 March |
|
Communications |
United Kingdom |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
34.878 million (1997)
|
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
13 million (yearend
1998) |
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment:
technologically advanced domestic and international system
domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay,
and fiber-optic systems
international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth
stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1
Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large
international switching centers |
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 219, FM 431,
shortwave 3 (1998) |
|
Radios:
|
84.5 million (1997)
|
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
228 (plus 3,523
repeaters) (1995) |
|
Televisions:
|
30.5 million (1997)
|
|
Internet country code:
|
.uk |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
245 (2000) |
|
Internet users:
|
33 million (2001) |
|
Transportation |
United Kingdom |
|
Railways:
|
total: 16,878 km
standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified;
12,591 km double- or multiple-tracked)
broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double-tracked)
note: all 1.600-m gauge track is in common carrier service in
Northern Ireland (1996) |
|
Highways:
|
total: 371,603
km
paved: 371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
3,200 km |
|
Pipelines:
|
crude oil (almost all
insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800
km |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Aberdeen, Belfast,
Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth,
Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth,
Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total: 212 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,308,232 GRT/4,171,757 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 32, chemical tanker 13,
combination ore/oil 1, container 53, liquefied gas 3, passenger 13,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 48, refrigerated cargo 4, roll
on/roll off 26, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a
flag of convenience: Bermuda 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 21, Germany 6,
Greece 3, Hong Kong 4, Italy 1, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 9,
Russia 1, South Africa 2, Sweden 11, Taiwan 2, United States 5 (2002
est.) |
|
Airports:
|
470 (2001) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 332
over 3,047 m: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
914 to 1,523 m: 84
under 914 m: 57 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 150 |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 138
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 114 (2001) |
|
Heliports:
|
13 (2001) |
|
Military branches:
|
Army, Royal Navy
(including Royal Marines), Royal Air Force |
|
Military manpower - availability:
|
males age 15-49:
14,632,418 (2002 est.) |
|
Military manpower - fit for military service:
|
males age 15-49:
12,151,734 (2002 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$31.7 billion (2002)
|
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
2.32% (2002) |
|
Transnational Issues |
United Kingdom |
|
Disputes - international:
|
Spain and UK are
discussing "total shared sovereignty" over Gibraltar, subject to a
constitutional referendum by Gibraltarians, who have largely expressed
opposition to any form of cession to Spain; Mauritius and Seychelles
claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) and its
former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were
granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in
1965; Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South
Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Rockall continental shelf
dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica
(British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially
overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland
over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM |
|
Illicit drugs:
|
gateway country for
Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of
synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and
synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian
heroin; money-laundering center |
|
