Geography
Location: Group of islands in Western Europe, including the northern onesixth of the island of Ireland, between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, north-west of France. Area: 244,820 sq. km. Principal cities: London, Birmingham, Coventry, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle upon Tyne. Tourist attractions: Brighton Royal Pavilion, Canterbury Cathedral, Highgate Cemetery, Richmond Castle, Roman Baths Museum, Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, and Yorkshire Dales National Park. Time zone: GMT -0 hours.
People
Population: 60,776,238 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 0.275% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Anglican and Roman Catholic (around 40 million), Muslim (around 1.5 million), Presbyterian (around 800,000), Methodist 760,000, Sikh (around 500,000), Hindu (around 500,000), Jew (around 350,000). Languages: English, Welsh, Scottish form of Gaelic. Literacy rate: 99% (2000 est.). Infant mortality rate: 5.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 78.7 years, Mate 76.23 years, Female 81.3 years (2007 est.).
Government
Capital: London. National anthem:
God save the Queen. Government type: Constitutional monarchy. Independence: 1284 (date of union between England and Wales, formalized in 1536 through an Act of Union); 1707 (date of joining together of England and Scotland as Great Britain through an Act of Union); 1801 (date of legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland implemented with the adoption of the name The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland). Constitution: UK has no written constitution. Instead, there are statutes and common law and practice. Legal system: Common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences. Executive branch: Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952). Heir Apparent Prince Charles (son of the queen; born f4 November 1948). Head of government: Prime Minister Gordon Brown (since 27 June 2007). Elections and election results: None. The monarchy is hereditary. After legislative elections are held, the leader of the majority party. Legislative branch: Bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (618 seats consisting of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats, members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms). Judicial branch: House of Lords; Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary.
Economy
Currency: British pound. Currency conversion: British pound per Indian rupee—0.0123 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$1.93 trillion (2007 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 2.8% (2007 est.)- GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$31,800 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 3% (2006 est.). Population below poverty line: 17% (2002 est.). Unemployment rate: 2.9% (2006 est.). Exports: $468.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $603 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: $8.28 billion (2006).
Transport and Communications
Railways: 17,156 km. Roads: 388,008 km. Airports: London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports. Telephones: 34,898,000 (2002). Mobile cellular: 49,677,000 (2002). Internet users: 37.6 million (2005). Internet country code: .uk. ISD code: 44.