United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

Prime Minister: Tony Blair (1997)

Area: 94,525 sq mi (244,820 sq km)

Population (2003 est.): 60,094,648 (growth rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 11.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 5.3/1000; density per sq mi: 636

Capital and largest city(2000 est.): London, 11,800,000 (metro. area)

Other large cities: Birmingham, 1,009,100; Leeds, 721,800; Glasgow, 681,470; Liverpool, 479,000; Bradford, 477,500; Edinburgh, 441,620; Manchester, 434,600; Bristol, 396,600

Monetary unit: Pound sterling (¡ê)

Languages: English, Welsh, Scots Gaelic

Ethnicity/race: English 81.5%; Scottish 9.6%; Irish 2.4%; Welsh 1.9%; Ulster 1.8%; West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%

Religions: Church of England (established church), Church of Wales (disestablished), Church of Scotland (established church¡ªPresbyterian), Church of Ireland (disestablished), Roman Catholic, Methodist, Congregational, Baptist, Jewish

Literacy rate: 99% (1978)

London - Towerbridge	London - Towerbridge
London - Big Ben	London - White Hall
London - Trafalgar Square	London - Westminster

(www.picturesofplaces.com )

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2000 est.): $1.36 trillion; per capita $22,800. Real growth rate: 3%. Inflation: 2.4%. Unemployment: 5.5%. Arable land: 25%. Agriculture: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish. Labor force: 29.2 million (1999); agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (1996 est.). 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. Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land. Exports: $282 billion (f.o.b., 2000): manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco. Imports: $324 billion (f.o.b., 2000): manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs. Major trading partners: EU, U.S., Japan.

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 34.878 million (1997); mobile cellular: 13 million (yearend 1998). 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 Service Providers (ISPs): 245 (2000). Internet users: 19.47 million (2000).

Transportation: Railways: total: 16,878 km (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. 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. Airports: 489 (2000 est.).

International disputes: Northern Ireland issue with Ireland (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); Gibraltar issue with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius and the Seychelles claim Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); 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.