People: Population: 60,270,708. Age distrib. (%):
Geography: Total area: 94,525 sq mi, 244,820 sq km; Land area: 93,278 sq mi, 241,590 sq km. Location: Off the NW coast of Europe, across English Channel, Strait of Dover, and North Sea. Neighbors: Ireland to W, France to SE. Topography: England is mostly rolling land, rising to Uplands of southern Scotland; Lowlands are in center of Scotland, granite Highlands are in N. Coast is heavily indented, especially on W. British Isles have milder climate than N Europe due to the Gulf Stream and ample rainfall. Severn, 220 mi., and Thames, 215 mi., are longest rivers. Capital: London, 7,619,000. Cities (urban aggr.): Birmingham, 2,243,000; Manchester, 2,223,000; Leeds, 1,417,000; Liverpool 924,000.
Government: Type: Constitutional monarchy. Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II; b Apr. 21, 1926; in office: Feb. 6, 1952. Head of gov.: Prime Min. Tony Blair; b May 6, 1953; in office: May 2, 1997. Local divisions: 467 local authorities, including England: 387; Wales: 22; Scotland: 32; Northern Ireland: 26. Defense budget (2003): $41.3 bil. Active troops: 212,660.
Economy: Industries: machine tools, electric power equip., automation equip., railroad equip., shipbuilding, aircraft, vehicles, electronics & comm. equip., metals, chemicals, coal, oil. Chief crops: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables. Natural resources: coal, oil, nat. gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica. Crude oil reserves (2003): 4.7 bil. bbls. Arable land: 25%. Livestock (2003): cattle: 10.46 mil.; chickens: 167.1 mil.; pigs: 5.05 mil.; sheep: 35.7 mil. Fish catch (2002 est): 868,955 metric tons. Electricity Prod. (2002): 360.8 bil. kWh. Labor force (1999): agriculture 1%, industry 25%, services 74%.
Finance: Monetary unit: Pound (GBP) (Sept. 2004: 0.56 = $1 U.S.). GDP (2003 est.): $1.664 tril.; per capita GDP: $27,700; GDP growth: 2.1%. Imports (2003 est.): $363.6 bil.; partners (2002): Germany 12.9%, U.S. 11.9%, France 7.8%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium 5%, Italy 4.4%. Exports (2003 est.): $304.5 bil.; partners (2002): U.S. 15.5%, Germany 11.2%, France 9.4%, Ireland 8%, Netherlands 7.1%, Belgium 5.2%, Italy 4.4%, Spain 4.3%. Tourism: $19.5 bil. Budget (FY01): $540.0 bil. Intl. reserves less gold: $28.16 bil. Gold: 10.07 mil oz t. Consumer prices: 2.9%.
Transport: Railroad: Length: 10,497 mi. Motor vehicles (1999): 24.59 mil pass. cars, 3.33 mil comm. vehicles. Civil aviation: 101.2 bil. pass.-mi; 334 airports. Chief ports: London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Belfast.
Communications: TV sets: 661 per 1,000 pop. Radios: 1,437 per 1,000 pop. Telephone lines (2002): 34.9 mil. Daily newspaper circ.: 329 per 1,000 pop. Internet (2002): 25.0 mil. users.
Health: Life expect.: 75.8 male; 80.8 female. Births (per 1,000 pop.): 10.9. Deaths (per 1,000 pop.): 10.2. Natural inc.: 0.07%. Infant mortality (per 1,000 live births): 5.2. AIDS rate: 0.2%.
Education: Compulsory: ages 5-16. Literacy (2000 est.): 99%.
Major Intl. Organizations: UN and all of its specialized agencies, the Commonwealth, EU, NATO, OECD, OSCE.
Embassy: 3100 Massachusetts Ave. NW 20008; 588-6500.
Website: www.britainusa.com
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comprises England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Queen and Royal Family. The ruling sovereign is Elizabeth II of the House of Windsor, b Apr. 21, 1926, elder daughter of King George VI. She succeeded to the throne Feb. 6, 1952, and was crowned June 2, 1953. She was married Nov. 20, 1947, to Lt. Philip Mountbatten, b June 10, 1921, former Prince of Greece. He was created Duke of Edinburgh, and given the title H.R.H., Nov. 19, 1947; he was named Prince of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland Feb. 22, 1957. Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, b Nov. 14, 1948, is the Prince of Wales and heir apparent. His 1st son, William Philip Arthur Louis, b June 21, 1982, is second in line to the throne.
Parliament is the legislative body for the UK, with certain powers over dependent units. It consists of 2 houses: The House of Commons has 659 members, elected by direct ballot and divided as follows: England 529; Wales 40; Scotland 72; Northern Ireland 18. Following a drastic reduction in the number of hereditary peerages, the House of Lords (July 2004) comprised 91 hereditary peers, 586 life peers, and 2 archbishops and 24 bishops of the Church of England, for a total of 703.
Resources and Industries. Great Britain's major occupations are manufacturing and trade. Metals and metal-using industries contribute more than 50% of exports. Of about 60 million acres of land in England, Wales, and Scotland, 46 million are farmed, of which 17 million are arable, the rest pastures.
Large oil and gas fields have been found in the North Sea. Commercial oil production began in 1975. There are large deposits of coal.
Britain imports all of its cotton, rubber, sulphur, about 80% of its wool, half of its food and iron ore, also certain amounts of paper, tobacco, chemicals. Manufactured goods made from these basic materials have been exported since the industrial age began. Main exports are machinery, chemicals, textiles, clothing, autos and trucks, iron and steel, locomotives, ships, jet aircraft, farm machinery, drugs, radio, TV, radar and navigation equipment, scientific instruments, arms, whisky.
Religion and Education. The Church of England is Protestant Episcopal. The queen is its temporal head, with rights of appointments to archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other offices. There are 2 provinces, Canterbury and York, each headed by an archbishop. The most famous church is Westminster Abbey (1050-1760), site of coronations, tombs of Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, kings, poets, and of the Unknown Warrior.
The most celebrated British universities are Oxford and Cambridge, each dating to the 13th century. There are about 70 other universities.
History. Britain was part of the continent of Europe until about 6,000 bc, but migration across the English Channel continued long afterward. Celts arrived 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. Their language survives in Welsh, and Gaelic enclaves.
England was added to the Roman Empire in ad 43. After the withdrawal of Roman legions in 410, waves of Jutes, Angles, and Saxons arrived from German lands. They contended with Danish raiders for control from the 8th through 11th centuries. The last successful invasion was by French speaking Normans in 1066, who united the country with their dominions in France.
Opposition by nobles to royal authority forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, a guarantee of rights and the rule of law. In the ensuing decades, the foundations of the parliamentary system were laid.
English dynastic claims to large parts of France led to the Hundred Years War, 1338-1453, and the defeat of England. A long civil war, the War of the Roses, lasted 1455-85, and ended with the establishment of the powerful Tudor monarchy. A distinct English civilization flourished. The economy prospered over long periods of domestic peace unmatched in continental Europe. Religious independence was secured when the Church of England was separated from the authority of the pope in 1534.
Under Queen Elizabeth I, England became a major naval power, leading to the founding of colonies in the new world and the expansion of trade with Europe and the Orient. Scotland was united with England when James VI of Scotland was crowned James I of England in 1603.
A struggle between Parliament and the Stuart kings led to a bloody civil war, 1642-49, and the establishment of a republic under the Puritan Oliver Cromwell. The monarchy was restored in 1660, but the “Glorious Revolution†of 1688 confirmed the sovereignty of Parliament: a Bill of Rights was granted 1689.
In the 18th century, parliamentary rule was strengthened. Technological and entrepreneurial innovations led to the Industrial Revolution. The 13 North American colonies were lost, but replaced by growing empires in Canada and India. Britain's role in the defeat of Napoleon, 1815, strengthened its position as the leading world power.
The extension of the franchise in 1832 and 1867, the formation of trade unions, and the development of universal public education were among the drastic social changes that accompanied the spread of industrialization and urbanization in the 19th century. Large parts of Africa and Asia were added to the empire during the reign of Queen Victoria, 1837-1901.
Though victorious in World War I, Britain suffered huge casualties and economic dislocation. Ireland became independent in 1921, and independence movements became active in India and other colonies. The country suffered major bombing damage in World War II, but held out against Germany single-handedly for a year after France fell in 1940.
Industrial growth continued in the postwar period, but Britain lost its leadership position to other powers. Labor governments passed socialist programs nationalizing some basic industries and expanding social security. Prime Min. Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, however, tried to increase the role of private enterprise. In 1987, Thatcher became the first British leader in 160 years to be elected to a 3rd consecutive term as prime minister. Falling on unpopular times, she resigned as prime minister in Nov. 1990. Her successor, John Major, led Conservatives to an upset victory at the polls, Apr. 9, 1992.
The UK supported the UN resolutions against Iraq and sent military forces to the Persian Gulf War. The Channel Tunnel linking Britain to the Continent was inaugurated May 6, 1994. Britain's relations with the European Union, and France especially, were frayed in 1996 when the EU banned British beef because of the threat of “mad cow†disease.
On May 1, 1997, the Labour Party swept into power in a landslide victory, the largest of any party since 1935. Labour Party leader Tony Blair, 43, became Britain's youngest prime minister since 1812. Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris, Aug. 31. Britain played a leading role in the NATO air war against Yugoslavia, Mar.-June 1999, and contributed 12,000 troops to the multinational security force in Kosovo (KFOR).
Blair led Labour to another landslide election victory June 7, 2001. After the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S., Britain took an important role in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. The U.K. participated in the bombing of Afghanistan that began Oct. 7.
Overcoming dissent within his own cabinet, Blair committed British troops to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Mar.-Apr. 2003. Forces from the U.K. then remained to occupy S Iraq. Blair's credibility was challenged after the death of arms expert David Kelly fueled controversy over whether a prewar dossier about Iraq's weapons capabilities had been modified to provide a rationale for war. Parliamentary and judicial panels probed the affair; an inquiry headed by Lord Butler concluded, July 14, 2004, that prewar intelligence was faulty but that the available evidence had not been deliberately distorted.
