NAVIGATION
|
HOME
• FLAG FINDER
• MAP FINDER
• SOURCES
• ADD YOURSELF TO THE ATLAS! COUNTRIES A-D • COUNTRIES E-K • COUNTRIES L-R • COUNTRIES S-Z |
NAVIGATION
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
INTRODUCTION
|
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. |
GEOGRAPHY
|
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: 26.41%
permanent crops: 0.18% other: 73.41% (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 |
PEOPLE
|
Population:
|
60,094,648 (July 2003 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 5,621,590; female 5,350,319)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 20,067,529; female 19,626,123) 65 years and over: 15.6% (male 3,987,457; female 5,441,630) (2003 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total: 38.4 years
male: 37.3 years female: 39.5 years (2002) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.3% (2003 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
10.99 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 5.28 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 5.89 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 78.16 years
male: 75.74 years female: 80.7 years (2003 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.66 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.1% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
34,000 (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
460 (2001 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% |