The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, 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's withdrawal 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 and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The UK is also an active member of the EU, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999. The latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process, but devolution was fully completed in March 2010.

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

54 00 N, 2 00 W

Europe

twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon

12,429 km

temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast

mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast

coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land

arable land 25.1%; permanent crops 0.2%; permanent pasture 45.7%

2,280 sq km (2005)

147 cu km (2011)

winter windstorms; floods

continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; 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

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

white 87.2%, black/African/Caribbean/black British 3%, Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%, Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 1.9%, mixed 2%, other 3.7% (2011 est.)

English

Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7% (2011 est.)

64,088,222 (July 2015 est.)

0.54% (2015 est.)

12.17 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

9.35 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

2.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

LONDON (capital) 10.313 million; Manchester 2.646 million; Birmingham 2.515 million; Glasgow 1.223 million; Southampton/Portsmouth 882,000; Liverpool 870,000 (2015)

1.89 children born/woman (2015 est.)

84%

9.1% of GDP (2013)

2.81 physicians/1,000 population (2013)

2.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 99.1% of population

rural: 99.6% of population

total: 99.2% of population

urban: 0.9% of population

rural: 0.4% of population

total: 0.8% of population (2015 est.)

0.33% (2013 est.)

126,700 (2013 est.)

fewer than 600 (2013 est.)

29.8% (2014)

6% of GDP (2011)

constitutional monarchy and Commonwealth realm

Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); notable earlier dates: 927 (minor English kingdoms united); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England and Scotland as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland)

the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday

unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice; note - recent additions include the Human Rights Act of 1998, the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (2011)

common law system; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Alliance Party (Northerm Ireland) [David FORD]

Conservative Party [David CAMERON]

Democratic Unionist Party or DUP (Northern Ireland) [Peter ROBINSON]

Green Party of England and Wales or Greens [Natalie BENNETT]

Labor Party [Ed MILIBAND]

Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) [Nick CLEGG]

Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Leanne WOOD]

Respect Party [George GALLOWAY]

Scottish National Party or SNP [Nicola STURGEON]

Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]

Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Alasdair MCDONNELL]

Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Mike NESBITT]

UK Independence Party or UKIP [Nigel FARAGE]

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Confederation of British Industry

National Farmers' Union

Trades Union Congress

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CD, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNSC (permanent), UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

blue field 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), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the 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, and British overseas territories

lion (Britain in general); lion, Tudor rose, oak (England); lion, unicorn, thistle (Scotland); dragon, daffodil, leek (Wales); shamrock, flax (Northern Ireland); national colors: red, white, blue (Britain in general); red, white (England); blue, white (Scotland); red, white, green (Wales)

The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil resources, but its oil and natural gas reserves are declining and the UK has been a net importer of energy since 2005. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, are key drivers of British GDP growth. Manufacturing, meanwhile, has declined in importance but still accounts for about 10% of economic output.

In 2008, the global financial crisis hit the economy particularly hard, due to the importance of its financial sector. Falling home prices, high consumer debt, and the global economic slowdown compounded Britain's economic problems, pushing the economy into recession in the latter half of 2008 and prompting the then BROWN (Labour) government to implement a number of measures to stimulate the economy and stabilize the financial markets. Facing burgeoning public deficits and debt levels, in 2010 the CAMERON-led coalition government (between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats) initiated an austerity program, which aimed to lower London's budget deficit from about 11% of GDP in 2010 to nearly 1% by 2015. The CAMERON government raised the value added tax from 17.5% to 20% in 2011. It has pledged to reduce the corporation tax rate to 20% by 2015. However, the deficit still remains one of the highest in the G7, standing at 6.0% in 2014.

In 2012, weak consumer spending and subdued business investment weighed on the economy, however, in 2013 GDP grew 1.7% and in 2014, 2.6%, accelerating unexpectedly because of greater consumer spending and a recovering housing market.

The Bank of England (BoE) implemented an asset purchase program of £375 billion (approximately $586 billion) as of December 2014. During times of economic crisis, the BoE coordinates interest rate moves with the European Central Bank, but Britain remains outside the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

$2.549 trillion (2014 est.)

$2.485 trillion (2013 est.)

$2.445 trillion (2012 est.)

$2.945 trillion (2014 est.)

2.6% (2014 est.)

1.7% (2013 est.)

1.7% (2012 est.)

$39,500 (2014 est.)

$38,500 (2013 est.)

$37,900 (2012 est.)

12.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

12.5% of GDP (2013 est.)

12.6% of GDP (2012 est.)

(2014 est.)

(2014 est.)

cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish

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, other consumer goods

0.7% (2014 est.)

32.62 million (2013 est.)

6.2% (2014 est.)

7.6% (2013 est.)

15% (2013 est.)

32.4 (2012)

33.4 (2010)

32.9% of GDP (2014 est.)

-6% of GDP (2014 est.)

79.1% of GDP (2014 est.)

74.2% of GDP (2013 est.)

6 April - 5 April

1.5% (2014 est.)

2.6% (2013 est.)

0.5% (31 December 2014)

0.5% (31 December 2013)

4.4% (31 December 2014 est.)

4.37% (31 December 2013 est.)

$114.2 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$108.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$3.567 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$3.491 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$3.812 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$3.699 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$3.019 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.903 trillion (31 December 2011)

$3.107 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

-$162.2 billion (2014 est.)

-$119.9 billion (2013 est.)

$503.4 billion (2014 est.)

$476.6 billion (2013 est.)

manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco

Switzerland 13.8%, Germany 9%, US 8.8%, Netherlands 7.6%, France 6.4%, Ireland 5.7%, Belgium 4.3% (2013)

$802.1 billion (2014 est.)

$824.4 billion (2013 est.)

manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs

Germany 13.9%, China 8.5%, Netherlands 8.5%, France 6%, US 5.6%, Belgium 5% (2013)

$109.1 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$108.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$8.795 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$8.572 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.446 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.37 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

$1.884 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.815 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)

British pounds (GBP) per US dollar -

0.6003 (2014 est.)

0.6391 (2013 est.)

0.63 (2012 est.)

0.624 (2011 est.)

0.6472 (2010 est.)

335 billion kWh (2014 est.)

303.8 billion kWh (2014 est.)

2.72 billion kWh (2014 est.)

20.5 billion kWh (2014 est.)

76.44 million kW (31 December 2014 est.)

76% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

11.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

4.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

816,300 bbl/day (2013 est.)

526,600 bbl/day (2013 est.)

567,200 bbl/day (2013 est.)

2.961 billion bbl (1 January 2014 est.)

1.306 million bbl/day (2013 est.)

1.328 million bbl/day (2013 est.)

511,900 bbl/day (2013 est.)

445,300 bbl/day (2013 est.)

38.34 billion cu m (2013 est.)

71.68 billion cu m (2013 est.)

9.915 billion cu m (2013 est.)

48.38 billion cu m (2013 est.)

241 billion cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

568.3 million Mt (2013 est.)

public service broadcaster, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world; BBC operates multiple TV networks with regional and local TV service; a mixed system of public and commercial TV broadcasters along with satellite and cable systems provide access to hundreds of TV stations throughout the world; BBC operates multiple national, regional, and local radio networks with multiple transmission sites; a large number of commercial radio stations, as well as satellite radio services are available (2008)

AM 206, FM 696, shortwave 3 (2008)

940 (2008)

.uk

460 (2013)

160 (2013)

9 (2013)

condensate 502 km; condensate/gas 9 km; gas 28,603 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 5,256 km; oil/gas/water 175 km; refined products 4,919 km; water 255 km (2013)

3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2009)

Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2013)

16-33 years of age (officers 17-28) for voluntary military service (with parental consent under 18); no conscription; women serve in military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and some naval postings; must be citizen of the UK, Commonwealth, or Republic of Ireland; reservists serve a minimum of 3 years, to age 45 or 55; 17 years 6 months of age for voluntary military service by Nepalese citizens in the Brigade of Gurkhas; 16-34 years of age for voluntary military service by Papua New Guinean citizens (2012)

2.49% of GDP (2012)

2.48% of GDP (2011)

2.49% of GDP (2010)

in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insisted on equal participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproved of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory); in 2001, the former inhabitants of the archipelago, evicted 1967 - 1973, were granted U.K. citizenship and the right of return, followed by Orders in Council in 2004 that banned rehabitation, a High Court ruling reversed the ban, a Court of Appeal refusal to hear the case, and a Law Lords' decision in 2008 denied the right of return; in addition, the United Kingdom created the world's largest marine protection area around the Chagos islands prohibiting the extraction of any natural resources therein; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm

producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center