England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom.
History: The UK was a dominant power during the 19th century in terms of industry and maritime. At its most powerful the British Empire covered ¼ of the world’s surface. During the First and Second World Wars England lost most of its strength and Ireland withdrew from England. In the second half of the 20th century the empire was broken down and a wealthy, progressive European nation developed.
UK is a permanent member of the Security Council and one of the founders of NATO. England is a member of the European Union (other member states include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden). However, despite being a member of the EU, England has chosen not to participate in the Economic and Monetary Union for now and has, thus far, rejected the EURO.
Population: approx. 60,000,000
Median Age: 39 Years
Ethnic groups:
- 92.1 % are white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%)
- 2 % black
- 1.8% Indian
- 1.3 % Pakistani
- others
Religion:
- 71% are Christians
- 2.7 % are Muslim
- 1 % Hindu
- 23 % do not have a religion
Economy: Britain has one of the strongest economies in Western Europe. The government has privatised numerous public services over the last 20 years and has increased their social welfare programs. The service sector (banks, insurance, business services etc) create the majority of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Its share is 73.4%, while industry creates 25.6% and agriculture 1% of the GDP. Government spending has risen in areas like education, health, and transport by increasing tax and widening public deficit.
GDP: about 1.90 trillion in 2006
Estimated GDP growth rate: 2.8%
Labour force: 31 million people and unemployment rate is approx 3%.
An estimated 17% of the population live below the poverty line (2002).
(Source: CIA Factbook)
|
