United Kingdom
Programs offered in United Kingdom:
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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
Area: slightly smaller than Oregon
Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Cities: Capital--London (metropolitan pop. about 7.1 million). Other cities--Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bradford, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast.
Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Population: 59,647,790 (July 2001 est.)
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%
Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Work force (1999, 28 million): Services--75.2%; manufacturing-- 15.6%; construction--6.5%; agriculture and fishing--1.9%; energy and water--0.8%.
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Exchange rates: British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001),
Economy: 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.
Country Notes:
In 1999, the United Kingdom's population was estimated at over 59 million-- the third-largest in Europe and the 18th-largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous and fertile southeast and is predominantly urban and suburban--with approximately 7.1 million in the capital of London.
Approximately one-fifth of British students go on to post-secondary education.
US Relations:
The United Kingdom and the United States continually consult on foreign policy issues and global problems and share major foreign and security policy objectives. The United Kingdom has the fourth-largest economy in the world, has one of the largest economies in the European Union and is a major international trading power. London ranks with New York as a leading international financial center.
The U.K. is the fourth-largest U.S. market after Canada, Japan, and Mexico. The U.S. and the U.K. share the world's largest investment partnership.This investment sustains over one million American jobs.
Embassy:
The U.S. embassy in the United Kingdom is located at 24 Grosvenor Sq., W1A 1AE, London (tel. [44] (207) 499-9000; fax [44] (207) 409-1637). Internet website: http://www.usembassy.org.uk
Maps courtesy of www.theodora.com/maps
used with permission.
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