Compare United Kingdom (2002) - China (2004)

Compare United Kingdom (2002) z China (2004)

	United Kingdom (2002)	China (2004)

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, 6 counties; Antrim, County Antrim, Ards, Armagh, County Armagh*, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, County Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, County Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, County Londonderry*, Derry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane, County Tyrone*; 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	23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Age structure	0-14 years: 18.7% (male 5,732,385; female 5,443,900) 15-64 years: 65.5% (male 19,803,478; female 19,381,734) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 3,931,463; female 5,485,042) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 22.3% (male 153,401,051; female 135,812,993) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 469,328,664; female 443,248,860) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 46,308,923; female 50,747,133) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish	rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish
Airports	470 (2001)	507 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 334 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 151 914 to 1,523 m: 83 under 914 m: 59 (2002)	total: 332 over 3,047 m: 49 2,438 to 3,047 m: 97 1,524 to 2,437 m: 129 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 35 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 136 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 112 (2002)	total: 175 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 36 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 66 (2003 est.)
Area	total: 244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands	total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Oregon	slightly smaller than the US
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 the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999.	For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Birth rate	11.34 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $565 billion expenditures: $540 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY01)	revenues: $265.8 billion expenditures: $300.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003)
Capital	London	Beijing
Climate	temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast	extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Coastline	12,429 km	14,500 km
Constitution	unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice	most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Country name	conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK	conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC
Currency	British pound (GBP)	yuan (CNY) note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
Death rate	10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$NA	$197.8 billion (2003 est.)
Dependent areas	Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands	-
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador William S. FARISH 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] (0) 207 629-8288 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh	chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr. embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang
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, and Seattle	chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Disputes - international	Spain and UK are discussing "total shared sovereignty" over Gibraltar, subject to a constitutional referendum by Gibraltarians, who have largely expressed opposition to any form of cession to Spain; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory) and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; Argentina claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; 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	involved in complex dispute with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; most of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides are committed to begin resolution with discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector; Kashmir remains the world's largest and highly militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas), but recent discussion and confidence-building measures among parties are beginning to defuse tensions, India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China in a 1964 boundary agreement; China and Taiwan continue to assert their claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China has been attempting to manage illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China and Russia in 2004 resolved their last border dispute over islands in the Amur and Argun Rivers, but details on demarcation have not yet been worked-out; boundary delimitation agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km, but demarcation has not commenced; agreements with Vietnam demarcating maritime boundaries and fisheries cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin were ratified in June, and demarcation of the land boundary continues; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; in response to groups in Burma and Thailand expressing concern over China's plans to construct 13 hydroelectric dams on the Nu River in Yunnan Province (Salween River in Burma), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suspended the project to conduct an environmental impact assessment, a smaller scale version of only 4 dams is now scheduled to move forward
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $4.5 billion (2000)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	NA
Economy - overview	The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is 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. GDP growth slipped in 2001-02 as the global downturn, the high value of the pound, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. Still, the economy is one of the strongest in Europe; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The relatively good economic performance has complicated the BLAIR government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The Prime Minister has pledged to hold a public referendum if membership meets Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN's five economic "tests." Scheduled for assessment by mid-2003, the tests will determine whether joining EMU would have a positive effect on British investment, employment, and growth. Critics point out, however, that the economy is thriving outside of EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue to show a majority of Britons opposed to the single currency. Meantime, the government has been speeding up the improvement of education, transport, and health services, at a cost in higher taxes.	In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2003 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still poor. Agriculture and industry have posted major gains especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan, and in Shanghai, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (growing income disparities and rising unemployment). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water supply and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen its ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth. Growing shortages of electric power and raw materials will hold back the expansion of industrial output in 2004.
Electricity - consumption	345.03 billion kWh (2000)	1.312 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	134 million kWh (2000)	10.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	14.308 billion kWh (2000)	1.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	355.76 billion kWh (2000)	1.42 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 73% hydro: 1% nuclear: 23% other: 2% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Fenland -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m	lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Environment - current issues	continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move towards a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the Government aims to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015; between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3%	air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling 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%	Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Exchange rates	British pounds per US dollar - 0.6981 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997)	yuan per US dollar - 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999)
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 (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister	chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003) head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant
Exports	$286.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)	151,200 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco	machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	EU 58.1% (Germany 12.5%, France 10.2%, Netherlands 7.7%, Ireland 7.3%), US 15.4% (2001)	US 21.1%, Hong Kong 17.4%, Japan 13.6%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4% (2003)
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); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the 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	red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
GDP	purchasing power parity - $1.52 trillion (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $6.449 trillion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 1% industry: 25% services: 74% (2000)	agriculture: 14.8% industry and construction: 52.9% services: 32.3% (2003)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $25,300 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.6% (2002 est.)	9.1% (official data) (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	54 00 N, 2 00 W	35 00 N, 105 00 E
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	world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak;
Heliports	11 (2002)	15 (2003 est.)
Highways	total: 371,603 km paved: 371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.)	total: 1,402,698 km paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 28% (1995)	lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
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	major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine
Imports	$330.1 billion f.o.b. (2002)	1.207 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs	machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals
Imports - partners	EU 51.7% (Germany 12.7%, France 8.6%, Netherlands 6.7%, Benelux 5.1%), US 13.2% (2001)	Japan 18%, Taiwan 11.9%, South Korea 10.4%, US 8.2%, Germany 5.9% (2003)
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	221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)
Industrial production growth rate	-3.4% (2002 est.)	30.4% (2003 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	iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate	5.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2.1% (2002 est.)	1.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, 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, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC	AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	more than 400 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	1,080 sq km (1998 est.)	525,800 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 People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
Labor force	29.7 million (2001)	778.1 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 1%, industry 25%, services 74% (1999)	agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km	total: 22,117 km border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Land use	arable land: 26.41% permanent crops: 0.18% other: 73.41% (1998 est.)	arable land: 15.4% permanent crops: 1.25% other: 83.36% (2001)
Languages	English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)	Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
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	a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
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 - Labor 42.1%, Conservative and Unionist 32.7%, Liberal Democrats 18.8%, other 6.4%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29; note - seating as of 15 February 2002: Labor 410, Conservative 164, Liberal Democrats 53, other 32 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 twice rescinded before reinstatement in November 2001); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly	unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms) elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.99 years male: 75.29 years female: 80.84 years (2002 est.)	total population: 71.96 years male: 70.4 years female: 73.72 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (2000 est.) male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.9% male: 95.1% female: 86.5% (2002)
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	Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Map references	Europe	Asia
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 contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 212 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,308,232 GRT/4,171,757 DWT ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 32, chemical tanker 13, combination ore/oil 1, container 53, liquefied gas 3, passenger 13, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 48, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 26, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Bermuda 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 21, Germany 6, Greece 3, Hong Kong 4, Italy 1, Monaco 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 9, Russia 1, South Africa 2, Sweden 11, Taiwan 2, United States 5 (2002 est.)	total: 1,850 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,724,653 GRT/27,749,784 DWT by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 355, cargo 822, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 165, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large load carrier 8, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 272, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 25, short-sea/passenger 39, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: Cambodia 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 12, Japan 1, South Korea 2, Liberia 1, Malaysia 1, Panama 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1 registered in other countries: 790 (2004 est.)
Military branches	Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air Force	People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$31.7 billion (2002)	$60 billion (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.32% (2002)	3.5-5.0% (FY03 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 14,632,418 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 379,524,688 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 12,151,734 (2002 est.)	males age 15-49: 208,143,352 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 12,494,201 (2004 est.)
National holiday	Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926)	Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Nationality	noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British	noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese
Natural hazards	winter windstorms; floods	frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Natural resources	coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land	coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Net migration rate	1.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km	gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Conservative and Unionist Party [Iain DUNCAN SMITH]; 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) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE]	Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders	Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress	no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups
Population	59,778,002 (July 2002 est.)	1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	17%	10% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	0.21% (2002 est.)	0.57% (2004 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, Teesport, Tyne	Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998)	AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios	84.5 million (1997)	-
Railways	total: 16,878 km standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double- or multiple-tracked) broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double-tracked) note: all 1.600-m gauge track is in common carrier service in Northern Ireland (1996)	total: 70,058 km standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (18,668 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines dual gauge: 22,640 km (not included in total) (2003)
Religions	Anglican and Roman Catholic 40 million, Muslim 1.5 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 500,000, Hindu 500,000, Jewish 350,000	Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4% note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
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: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)	at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 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: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: country code - 86; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	34.878 million (1997)	263 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	43.5 million (yearend 1998)	269 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995)	3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Terrain	mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast	mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Total fertility rate	1.73 children born/woman (2002 est.)	1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	5.2% (2002 est.)	10.1% urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2003 est.)
Waterways	3,200 km	121,557 km (2002)

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