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Compare United Kingdom (2001) - Guinea-Bissau (2005)

Compare United Kingdom (2001) z Guinea-Bissau (2005)

 United Kingdom (2001)Guinea-Bissau (2005)
 United KingdomGuinea-Bissau
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 9 regions (regioes, singular - regiao); Bafata, Biombo, Bissau, Bolama, Cacheu, Gabu, Oio, Quinara, Tombali; note - Bolama may have been renamed Bolama/Bijagos
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: 41.5% (male 293,280/female 294,483)


15-64 years: 55.5% (male 376,719/female 409,402)


65 years and over: 3% (male 17,865/female 24,278) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish rice, corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), cashew nuts, peanuts, palm kernels, cotton; timber; fish
Airports 489 (2000 est.) 28 (2004 est.)
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: 3


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
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: 25


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.)
Area total:
244,820 sq km

land:
241,590 sq km

water:
3,230 sq km

note:
includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
total: 36,120 sq km


land: 28,000 sq km


water: 8,120 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Oregon slightly less than three times 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. Since independence from Portugal in 1974, Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable upheaval. The founding government consisted of a single party system and command economy. In 1980, a military coup established Joao VIEIRA as president and a path to a market economy and multiparty system was implemented. A number of coup attempts through the 1980s and early 1990s failed to unseat him and in 1994 he was elected president in the country's first free elections. A military coup attempt and civil war in 1998 eventually led to VIEIRA's ouster in 1999. In February 2000, an interim government turned over power when opposition leader Kumba YALA took office following two rounds of transparent presidential elections. YALA was ousted in a bloodless coup in September 2003, and Henrique ROSA was sworn in as President. Guinea-Bissau's transition back to democracy will be complicated by its crippled economy, devastated in the civil war.
Birth rate 11.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 37.65 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues:
$555.2 billion

expenditures:
$510.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $37.7 billion (FY00)
revenues: NA


expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA
Capital London Bissau
Climate temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast tropical; generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds
Coastline 12,429 km 350 km
Constitution unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice 16 May 1984; amended 4 May 1991, 4 December 1991, 26 February 1993, 9 June 1993, and 1996
Country name conventional long form:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

conventional short form:
United Kingdom

abbreviation:
UK
conventional long form: Republic of Guinea-Bissau


conventional short form: Guinea-Bissau


local long form: Republica da Guine-Bissau


local short form: Guine-Bissau


former: Portuguese Guinea
Currency British pound (GBP) -
Death rate 10.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 16.53 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $NA $941.5 million (2000 est.)
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
the US Embassy suspended operations on 14 June 1998 in the midst of violent conflict between forces loyal to then President VIEIRA and military-led junta; US embassy Dakar is responsible for covering Guinea-Bissau: telephone - [221] 823-4296; FAX - [221] 822-5903
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
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Henrique Adriano DA SILVA


chancery: 1511 K Street NW, Suite 519, Washington, DC 20005


telephone: [1] (202) 347-3950


FAX: [1] (202) 347-3954
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 attempts to stem refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, and political instability from a separatist movement in Senegal's Casamance region
Economic aid - donor ODA, $3.4 billion (1997) -
Economic aid - recipient - $115.4 million (1995)
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. One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks sixth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. However, intermittent fighting between Senegalese-backed government troops and a military junta destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and caused widespread damage to the economy in 1998; the civil war led to a 28% drop in GDP that year, with partial recovery in 1999-2002. Before the war, trade reform and price liberalization were the most successful part of the country's structural adjustment program under IMF sponsorship. The tightening of monetary policy and the development of the private sector had also begun to reinvigorate the economy. Because of high costs, the development of petroleum, phosphate, and other mineral resources is not a near-term prospect. However, unexploited offshore oil reserves could provide much-needed revenue in the long run. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. In December 2003, the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP were forced to step in to provide emergency budgetary support in the amount of $107 million for 2004, representing over 80% of the total national budget. Government drift and indecision, however, have resulted in continued low growth in 2004.
Electricity - consumption 333.012 billion kWh (1999) 51.15 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports 265 million kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 14.5 billion kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production 342.771 billion kWh (1999) 55 million kWh (2002)
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: unnamed location in the northeast corner of the country 300 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 deforestation; soil erosion; overgrazing; overfishing
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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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% African 99% (Balanta 30%, Fula 20%, Manjaca 14%, Mandinga 13%, Papel 7%), European and mulatto less than 1%
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) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)


note: since 1 January 1999, the XOF franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF francs per 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 Henrique ROSA (interim; since 28 September 2003); note - a September 2003 coup overthrew the elected government of Kumba YALA; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 to 28 September 2003


head of government: Prime Minister Carlos GOMES Junior (since 9 May 2004)


cabinet: NA


elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 1999 and 16 January 2000 (next to be held May 2005); prime minister appointed by the president after consultation with party leaders in the legislature


election results: Kumba YALA elected president; percent of vote, second ballot - Kumba YALA (PRS) 72%, Malan Bacai SANHA (PAIGC) 28%


note: a bloodless coup led to the dissolution of the elected government of Kumba YALA in September 2003; General Verissimo Correia SEABRA served as interim president from 14 September 2003 until stepping aside on 28 September 2003 with the establishment of a caretaker government
Exports $282 billion (f.o.b., 2000) NA
Exports - commodities manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco cashew nuts, shrimp, peanuts, palm kernels, sawn lumber
Exports - partners EU 58% (Germany 12%, France 10%, Netherlands 8%), US 15% (1999) India 52.1%, US 22.2%, Nigeria 13.2% (2004)
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 equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and green with a vertical red band on the hoist side; there is a black five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
GDP purchasing power parity - $1.36 trillion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
1.7%

industry:
24.9%

services:
73.4% (1999)
agriculture: 62%


industry: 12%


services: 26% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $22,800 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 3% (2000 est.) 2.6% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 54 00 N, 2 00 W 12 00 N, 15 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 this small country is swampy along its western coast and low-lying further inland
Heliports 11 (2000 est.) -
Highways total:
371,603 km

paved:
371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways)

unpaved:
0 km (1998 est.)
total: 4,400 km


paved: 453 km


unpaved: 3,947 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
2.6%

highest 10%:
27.3% (1991)
lowest 10%: 0.5%


highest 10%: 42.4% (1991)
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
Imports - commodities manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products
Imports - partners EU 53% (Germany 14%, France 9%, Netherlands 7%), US 13%, Japan 5% (1999) Senegal 44.6%, Portugal 13.8%, China 4.2% (2004)
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 24 September 1973 (unilaterally declared by Guinea-Bissau); 10 September 1974 (recognized by Portugal)
Industrial production growth rate 2% (2000) 2.6% (1997 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 agricultural products processing, beer, soft drinks
Infant mortality rate 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 107.17 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 117.78 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 96.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.4% (2000 est.) 4% (2002 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 ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 245 (2000) -
Irrigated land 1,080 sq km (1993 est.) 170 sq km (1998 est.)
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 Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal da Justica (consists of nine justices appointed by the president and serve at his pleasure; final court of appeals in criminal and civil cases); Regional Courts (one in each of nine regions; first court of appeals for Sectoral Court decisions; hear all felony cases and civil cases valued at over $1,000); 24 Sectoral Courts (judges are not necessarily trained lawyers; they hear civil cases under $1,000 and misdemeanor criminal cases)
Labor force 29.2 million (1999) 480,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (1996 est.) agriculture 82% (2000 est.)
Land boundaries total:
360 km

border countries:
Ireland 360 km
total: 724 km


border countries: Guinea 386 km, Senegal 338 km
Land use arable land:
25%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
46%

forests and woodland:
10%

other:
19% (1993 est.)
arable land: 10.67%


permanent crops: 8.82%


other: 80.51% (2001)
Languages English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
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 NA
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 National People's Assembly or Assembleia Nacional Popular (100 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve a maximum of four years)


elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2008)


election results: percent of vote by party - PAIGC 31.5%, PRS 24.8%, PUSD 16.1%, UE 4.1%, APU 1.3%, 13 other parties 22.2%; seats by party - PAIGC 45, PRS 35, PUSD 17, UE 2, APU 1
Life expectancy at birth total population:
77.82 years

male:
75.13 years

female:
80.66 years (2001 est.)
total population: 46.61 years


male: 44.77 years


female: 48.52 years (2005 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 15 and over can read and write


total population: 42.4%


male: 58.1%


female: 27.4% (2003 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 Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Senegal
Map references Europe Africa
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.)
-
Military branches Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force People's Revolutionary Armed Force (FARP; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force), paramilitary force
Military expenditures - dollar figure $36.884 billion (FY97) $8.9 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.7% (FY97) 3.1% (2004)
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) Independence Day, 24 September (1973)
Nationality noun:
Briton(s), British (collective plural)

adjective:
British
noun: Guinean(s)


adjective: Guinean
Natural hazards NA hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires
Natural resources coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum
Net migration rate 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde or PAIGC [Carlos GOMES Junior]; Front for the Liberation and Independence of Guinea or FLING [Francois MENDY]; Guinea-Bissau Resistance-Ba Fata Movement or RGB-MB [Helder Vaz LOPES]; Guinean Civic Forum or FCG [Antonieta Rosa GOMES]; International League for Ecological Protection or LIPE [Alhaje Bubacar DJALO, president]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Abubacer BALDE, secretary general]; Party for Democratic Convergence or PCD [Victor MANDINGA]; Social Renovation Party or PRS [Kumba YALA]; Union for Change or UM [Jorge MANDINGA, president, Dr. Anne SAAD, secretary general]; United Platform or UP [coalition formed by PCD, FDS, FLING, and RGB-MB]; United Social Democratic Party or PUSD [Francisco Jose FADUL]
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.) 1,416,027 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line 17% NA
Population growth rate 0.23% (2001 est.) 1.96% (2005 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 Bissau, Buba, Cacheu, Farim
Radio broadcast stations AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998) AM 1 (transmitter out of service), FM 4, shortwave 0 (2002)
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.) indigenous beliefs 50%, Muslim 45%, Christian 5%
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: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female


total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 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: small system


domestic: combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications


international: country code - 245
Telephones - main lines in use 34.878 million (1997) 10,600 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 13 million (yearend 1998) 1,300 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995) NA (1997)
Terrain mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast mostly low coastal plain rising to savanna in east
Total fertility rate 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) 4.93 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.5% (2000 est.) NA (1998)
Waterways 3,200 km 4 largest rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004)
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