The United Kingdom in 1980
The World Factbook
LAND
243,978 km2; 30% arable, 50% meadow and pasture, 12% waste or urban, 7% forested, 1% inland water
Land boundaries: 360 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 3 nm (fishing 200 nm)
Coastline: 12,429 km
PEOPLE
Population: 56,095,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.1%
Nationality: noun—Briton(s), British (collective pl.); adjective–British
Ethnic divisions: 81.5% English, 9.6% Scottish, 2.4% Irish, 1.9% Welsh, 1.8% Ulster, 0.8% other; West Indian, Indian, Pakistani over 2%
Religion: 27.0 million Church of England, 5.3 million Roman Catholic, 2.0 million Presbyterian, 760,000 Methodist, 450,000 Jews (registered)
Language: English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy: 98% to 99%
Labor force: (1978) 26 million, 12.4% unemployed (October 1980)
Organized labor: 40% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Official name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: London
Political subdivisions: 635 parliamentary constituencies
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
National holiday: Celebration of the birthday of the Queen, 16 June
Branches: legislative authority resides in Parliament; executive authority lies with collectively responsible Cabinet led by Prime Minister; House of Lords is supreme judicial authority and highest court of appeal
Government leader: Chief of State, Queen ELIZABETH II; Head of Government, Prime Minister Margaret Thacher
Suffrage: Universal over age 18
Elections: at the discretion of Prime Minister, but must be held before the expiration of a five-year electoral mandate; last election 3 May 1979
Political parties and leaders: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher; Labor, Michael Foot; Liberal, David Steel; Social Democratic, joint leadership at present; Communist, Gordan McLennan; Scottish National, Gordon Wilson; Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley
Voting strength: (1979 election) Conservative 339 seats (43.9%), Labor 268 seats (36.9%), Liberal 11 seats (13.8%), Scottish National 2 seats (1.6%), Plaid Cymru 2 seats (0.4%), other 13 seats (2.8%); (1981 byelections) Conservative 336 seats, Labor 250 seats, Liberal 12 seats, Social Democratic 28 seats, Scottish National 2 seats, Plaid Cymru 2 seats, others 13 seats
Communists: 29,000
Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress, Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers Union, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Member of: ADB, CENTO, Colombo Plan, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, EEC, ELDO, ESRO, EURATOM, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IMF, IOOC, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
ECONOMY
GNP: $518.7 billion (1980), $9,280 per capita; 60.3% consumption, 17.4% investment, 21.6% government; −1.5% stockbuilding, 2.2% net foreign balance, real growth −1.4% (1980)
Agriculture: mixed farming predominates; main products—wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, livestock, dairy products; 53.7% self-sufficient; dependent on imports for more than half of consumption of refined sugar, butter, oils and fats, and bacon and ham; caloric intake, 2,260 calories per day per capita, 1978
Fishing: catch 710,500 metric tons (1980 est.); 1980 exports $359 million, imports $812 million
Major industries: machinery and transport equipment, metals, food processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing
Crude steel: 11.3 million metric tons produced (1980), 390 kg per capita; 30.9 million metric tons capacity (1977)
Electric power: 82,000,000 kW capacity (1980); 284.862 billion kWh produced (1980), 5,090 kWh per capita
Exports: $110.1 billion (f.o.b., 1980); machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, metals, nonmetallic mineral manufactures, foodstuffs, petroleum
Imports: $116.1 billion (c.i.f., 1980); foodstuffs, petroleum, machinery, crude materials, chemicals, nonferrous metals
Major trade partners: 42.5% EC, 11.4% Commonwealth, 11.0% West Germany, 9.8% US, 7.8% France
Aid: donor—bilateral economic aid authorized (ODA and OOF), $8,956 million (1970-78)
Budget (national and local government): FY82 (proj.) revenues, 105.5 billion pounds; expenditures, 115.5 billion pounds; deficit including nationalized industries, 9.5 billion pounds
Monetary conversion rate: 1 pound sterling=US$2.3263 (average January-December 1980)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: Great Britain—17,754 km total; British Railways (BR) operates 17,735 km standard gauge (1.435 m) (3,718 km electrified, 12,708 km double or multiple track), and 19 km 0.597-meter gauge; several additional small standard gauge and narrow gauge lines are privately owned; Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 357 km 1.600-meter gauge, 190 km double track
Highways: United Kingdom, 361,491 km total; Great Britain, 337,992 km paved (including 2,485 km limited-access divided highway); Northern Ireland, 23,499 km (22,907 paved, 592 km gravel)
Inland waterways: 3,219 km publicly owned; 605 km major commercial routes
Pipelines: 933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,907 km refined products; 1,770 km natural gas
Ports: 23 major, 350 minor
Civil air: 570 major transport aircraft, including 5 leased in and 16 leased out
Airfields: 630 total, 390 usable; 253 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 38 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 145 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: modern, efficient domestic and international system; 26.8 million telephones (48.0 per 100 popl.); excellent countrywide broadcast; 97 AM, 330 FM, and 1,680 TV stations; 31 coaxial submarine cables; 2 earth satellite stations with a total of 5 antennas
DEFENSE FORCES
Military manpower: males 15-49, 13,767,000; 11,680,000 fit for military service; no conscription; 476,000 reach military age (18) annually
Military budget: proposed for the fiscal year ending 31 March 1982, $24.1 billion; about 15% of central government budget
The World Factbook (1982)
by the Central Intelligence Agency