The united kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning Great Britain, the northeast part of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The UK is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. The UK is a developed country, with the fifth (nominal GDP) or sixth (PPP) largest economy in the world. In 2007 the estimate on the GDP was of $2.23 trillion.

On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the political union of the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland. This event was the result of the Treaty of Union that was agreed on 22 July 1706

Some of the main languages they speak in the UK are English, Irish, Ulster Scots, Scottish Gaelic , Scots, Welsh, Cornish.

The UK is conformed of the following ethnic partys; 85.7% White British, 1.2% Irish, 5.3% White Other, 1.8% Indian, 1.3% Pakistani, 0.5% Bangladeshi, 2.0% Black, 1.2% Mixed Race, 0.4% East Asian, 0.4% Others.

2007 sensus estimate around 60,975,000 people living in the UK, and its currency is the Pound sterling, worth 1.4705 U.S. dollars.

Christianity is the major religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and then Judaism in terms of number of adherents.

The UK economy is made up of the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Based on market exchange rates, the United Kingdom is today the fifth largest economy in the world and the second largest in Europe after Germany.
The Industrial Revolution started in the United Kingdom with an initial concentration on heavy industries such as shipbuildin, coal mining, steel production, and textiles.

Kim Darroch is the UK's Permanent Representative. He has overall responsibility for the work of UKRep and sits in the UK seat in the Committee of Permanent Representatives a.k.a COREPER II or Coreper. This focuses mainly on the issues covered in European Councils and in the General Affairs, ECOFIN, Budget, Justice and Home Affairs, and Development Councils.

Year of EU entry: 1973

Literacy rate: 99.0 %

The unemployment rate: Rose to 6.5% - up 0.5% over the quarter and 1.3% on last year.

Mayor imports of the uk

Pharmaceutical preparations … US$3.8 billion (8.3% of British imports from U.S., up 186.7% from 2005)
Non-monetary gold … $2.9 billion (6.4%, up 186.7%)
Civilian aircraft engines … $2.4 billion (5.3%, up 6.4%)
Computer accessories … $2 billion (4.4%, down 4.3%)
Civilian aircraft parts … $1.7 billion (3.8%, up 11.6%)
Precious metals other than gold … $1.5 billion (3.3%, up 175.3%)
Collectibles (e.g. artwork, antiques, stamps) … $1.4 billion (3.1%, up 12.2%)
Telecommunications equipment … $1.4 billion (3%, up 6.6%)
Minimum value shipments … $1.3 billion (2.8%, up 22.3%)
Medicinal equipment … $1.2 billion (2.6%, up 11.1%)

Mayor UK exports

Medicinal, dental & pharmaceutical preparations …US$8.2 billion (15.3% of Britain to U.S. exports, up 41.8% from 2005)
New & used passenger cars … $5 billion (9.3%, down 12.5%)
Other petroleum products … $3.6 billion (6.8%, up 22.7%)
Crude oil … $2.9 billion (5.5%, down 37.2%)
Civilian aircraft engines … $2.3 billion (4.4%, up 18%)
Goods returned to U.S. then reimported … $2.1 billion (4%, down 0.9%)
Collectibles (e.g. artwork, antiques, stamps) … $1.6 billion (2.9%, up 13.2%)
Materials handling equipment … $1.24 billion (2.3%, up 36.1%)
Precious metals other than gold … $1.237 billion (2.3%, up 36.1%)
Alcoholic beverages other than wine … $1.2 billion (2.2%, up 11.8%)

The UK was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries,but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs.