United Kingdom (2001) | French Polynesia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | England - 47 boroughs, 36 counties*, 29 London boroughs**, 12 cities and boroughs***, 10 districts****, 12 cities*****, 3 royal boroughs******; Barking and Dagenham**, Barnet**, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset****, Bedfordshire*, Bexley**, Birmingham***, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford***, Brent**, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol*****, Bromley**, Buckinghamshire*, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire*, Camden**, Cheshire*, Cornwall*, Coventry***, Croydon**, Cumbria*, Darlington, Derby*****, Derbyshire*, Devon*, Doncaster, Dorset*, Dudley, Durham*, Ealing**, East Riding of Yorkshire****, East Sussex*, Enfield**, Essex*, Gateshead, Gloucestershire*, Greenwich**, Hackney**, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham**, Hampshire*, Haringey**, Harrow**, Hartlepool, Havering**, Herefordshire*, Hertfordshire*, Hillingdon**, Hounslow**, Isle of Wight*, Islington**, Kensington and Chelsea******, Kent*, City of Kingston upon Hull*****, Kingston upon Thames******, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth**, Lancashire*, Leeds***, Leicester*****, Leicestershire*, Lewisham**, Lincolnshire*, Liverpool***, City of London*****, Luton, Manchester***, Medway, Merton**, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne***, Newham**, Norfolk*, Northamptonshire*, North East Lincolnshire****, North Lincolnshire****, North Somerset****, North Tyneside, Northumberland*, North Yorkshire*, Nottingham*****, Nottinghamshire*, Oldham, Oxfordshire*, Peterborough*****, Plymouth*****, Poole, Portsmouth*****, Reading, Redbridge**, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames**, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland****, Salford***, Shropshire*, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield***, Slough, Solihull, Somerset*, Southampton*****, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire****, South Tyneside, Southwark**, Staffordshire*, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent*****, Suffolk*, Sunderland***, Surrey*, Sutton**, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin****, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets**, Trafford, Wakefield***, Walsall, Waltham Forest**, Wandsworth**, Warrington, Warwickshire*, West Berkshire****, Westminster***, West Sussex*, Wigan, Wiltshire*, Windsor and Maidenhead******, Wirral, Wokingham****, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire*, York*****; Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities*; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast*, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Derry*, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane; Scotland - 32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian; Wales - 11 county boroughs, 9 counties*, 2 cities and counties**; Isle of Anglesey*, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff**, Ceredigion*, Carmarthenshire*, Conwy, Denbighshire*, Flintshire*, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire*, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire*, Powys*, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea**, Torfaen, The Vale of Glamorgan*, Wrexham | none (overseas lands of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are five archipelagic divisions named Archipel des Marquises, Archipel des Tuamotu, Archipel des Tubuai, Iles du Vent, Iles Sous-le-Vent
note: Clipperton Island is administered by France from French Polynesia |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
18.89% (male 5,778,415; female 5,486,114) 15-64 years: 65.41% (male 19,712,932; female 19,304,771) 65 years and over: 15.7% (male 3,895,921; female 5,469,637) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 36,541/female 34,999)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 96,769/female 89,593) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 8,428/female 8,248) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish | coconuts, vanilla, vegetables, fruits, coffee; poultry, beef, dairy products |
Airports | 489 (2000 est.) | 51 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
349 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 162 914 to 1,523 m: 89 under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.) |
total: 39
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 7 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
140 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 116 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 7 (2006) |
Area | total:
244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands |
total: 4,167 sq km (118 islands and atolls)
land: 3,660 sq km water: 507 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly less than one-third the size of Connecticut |
Background | Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, 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. 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, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside of the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999. | The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll after a three-year moratorium. The tests were suspended in January 1996. In recent years, French Polynesia's autonomy has been considerably expanded. |
Birth rate | 11.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$555.2 billion expenditures: $510.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $37.7 billion (FY00) |
revenues: $865 million
expenditures: $644.1 million; including capital expenditures of $185 million (1996) |
Capital | London | name: Papeete
geographic coordinates: 17 32 S, 149 34 W time difference: UTC-10 (5 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast | tropical, but moderate |
Coastline | 12,429 km | 2,525 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK |
conventional long form: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia
conventional short form: French Polynesia local long form: Pays d'outre-mer de la Polynesie Francaise local short form: Polynesie Francaise former: French Colony of Oceania |
Currency | British pound (GBP) | - |
Death rate | 10.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas lands of France; overseas territory of France from 1946-2004 |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip LADER embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 207499-9000 (switchboard) FAX: [44] (171) 409-1637 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh |
none (overseas lands of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, Orlando (reports to Atlanta), San Juan, and Seattle |
none (overseas lands of France) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $3.4 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $580 million (2004) |
Economy - overview | The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, deploys an essentially capitalistic economy, one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. The economy has grown steadily, at just above or below 3%, for the last several years. The BLAIR government has put off the question of participation in the euro system until after the next election, in June of 2001; Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN has identified some key economic tests to determine whether the UK should join the common currency system, but it will largely be a political decision. A serious short-term problem is foot-and-mouth disease, which by early 2001 had broken out in nearly 600 farms and slaughterhouses and had resulted in the killing of 400,000 animals. | Since 1962, when France stationed military personnel in the region, French Polynesia has changed from a subsistence agricultural economy to one in which a high proportion of the work force is either employed by the military or supports the tourist industry. With the halt of French nuclear testing in 1996, the military contribution to the economy fell sharply. Tourism accounts for about one-fourth of GDP and is a primary source of hard currency earnings. Other sources of income are pearl farming and deep-sea commercial fishing. The small manufacturing sector primarily processes agricultural products. The territory benefits substantially from development agreements with France aimed principally at creating new businesses and strengthening social services. |
Electricity - consumption | 333.012 billion kWh (1999) | 459.2 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 265 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 14.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 342.771 billion kWh (1999) | 493.7 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
69.38% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 26.68% other: 2.39% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fenland -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Orohena 2,241 m |
Environment - current issues | continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has meet Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and hopes to reduce even more); small particulate emissions, largely from vehicular traffic, remain a problem; solid waste continues to rise and recycling is very limited | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
- |
Ethnic groups | English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8% | Polynesian 78%, Chinese 12%, local French 6%, metropolitan French 4% |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 95.89 (2005), 96.04 (2004), 105.66 (2003), 126.71 (2002), 133.26 (2001)
note: pegged at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony C. L. (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons (assuming there is no majority party, a prime minister would have a majority coalition or at least a coalition that was not rejected by the majority) |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Commissioner of the Republic Anne BOQUET (since September 2005)
head of government: President of French Polynesia Oscar TEMARU (since 3 March 2005); President of the Territorial Assembly Antony GEROS (since 9 May 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers; president submits a list of members of the Territorial Assembly for approval by them to serve as ministers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; high commissioner appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the territorial government and the president of the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly for five-year terms (no term limits) |
Exports | $282 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco | cultured pearls, coconut products, mother-of-pearl, vanilla, shark meat |
Exports - partners | EU 58% (Germany 12%, France 10%, Netherlands 8%), US 15% (1999) | France 46.3%, Japan 20.8%, Niger 12.8%, US 12.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue 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) and which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or 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, as well as British overseas territories | two narrow red horizontal bands encase a wide white band; centered on the white band is a disk with blue and white wave pattern on the lower half and gold and white ray pattern on the upper half; a stylized red, blue and white ship rides on the wave pattern; the French flag is used for official occasions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.36 trillion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.7% industry: 24.9% services: 73.4% (1999) |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 19% services: 76.9% (2002) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,800 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 00 N, 2 00 W | 15 00 S, 140 00 W |
Geography - note | lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters | includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 coral); Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru |
Government - note | - | under certain acts of France, French Polynesia has acquired autonomy in all areas except those relating to police and justice, monetary policy, tertiary education, immigration, and defense and foreign affairs; the duties of its president are fashioned after those of the French prime minister |
Heliports | 11 (2000 est.) | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total:
371,603 km paved: 371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 27.3% (1991) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center | - |
Imports | $324 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs | fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | EU 53% (Germany 14%, France 9%, Netherlands 7%), US 13%, Japan 5% (1999) | France 52.7%, Singapore 14.9%, NZ 6.8%, US 6.6% (2005) |
Independence | England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284; in the Act of Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927 | none (overseas lands of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000) | NA% |
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 | tourism, pearls, agricultural processing, handicrafts, phosphates |
Infant mortality rate | 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2000 est.) | 1.1% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | FZ, ICFTU, PIF (observer), SPC, UPU, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 245 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,080 sq km (1993 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel; Court of the First Instance or Tribunal de Premiere Instance; Court of Administrative Law or Tribunal Administratif |
Labor force | 29.2 million (1999) | 65,870 (December 2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 13%
industry: 19% services: 68% (2002) |
Land boundaries | total:
360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 10% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.75%
permanent crops: 5.5% other: 93.75% (2005) |
Languages | English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) | French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census) |
Legal system | common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; British courts and legislation are increasingly subject to review by European Union courts | based on French system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (some proposals for further reform include elections); House of Commons - last held 7 June 2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and was rescinded in February 2000); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly |
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (57 seats - changed from 49 seats for May 2004 election; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - People's Rally for the Republic (Gaullist) 28, Union for Democracy 27, New Star 1, This Country is Yours 1; after by-elections of 13 February 2005 seating was as follows: People's Rally for the Republic 27, Union for Democracy 27, and Alliance for a New Democracy 3 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; two seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, UMP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.82 years male: 75.13 years female: 80.66 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.1 years
male: 73.69 years female: 78.63 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (1978 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 14 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1977 est.) |
Location | 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 | Oceania, archipelagoes in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way from South America to Australia |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
200 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,934,776 GRT/3,760,240 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 31, chemical tanker 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 47, liquefied gas 3, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 23,684 GRT/17,291 DWT
by type: cargo 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) registered in other countries: 2 (Wallis and Futuna 2) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie and National Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $36.884 billion (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
14,599,199 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
12,139,930 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British |
noun: French Polynesian(s)
adjective: French Polynesian |
Natural hazards | NA | occasional cyclonic storms in January |
Natural resources | coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land | timber, fish, cobalt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative and Unionist Party [William HAGUE]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) Blair]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [John HUME]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE] | Alliance for a New Democracy or ADN [Nicole BOUTEAU and Philip SCHYLE](includes the parties The New Star and This Country is Yours); Independent Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (Tavini Huiraatira) [Oscar TEMARU]; New Fatherland Party (Ai'a Api) [Emile VERNAUDON]; People's Rally for the Republic of Polynesia or RPR (Tahoeraa Huiraatira) [Gaston FLOSSE]; Union for Democracy or UPD [Oscar TEMARU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress | NA |
Population | 59,647,790 (July 2001 est.) | 274,578 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 17% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.23% (2001 est.) | 1.48% (2006 est.) |
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 | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 84.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
16,878 km broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 342 km is in common carrier use, and is in Northern Ireland standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track) (1996) |
- |
Religions | Anglican 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000, Hindu 350,000, Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.) | Protestant 54%, Roman Catholic 30%, other 10%, no religion 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 689; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 34.878 million (1997) | 53,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13 million (yearend 1998) | 87,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995) | 7 (plus 17 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast | mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs |
Total fertility rate | 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.01 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 11.8% (1994) |
Waterways | 3,200 km | - |