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Population | 64.72 m |
Capital | London |
Surface area | 241,300 km2 |
Official Languages | 241,300 km2 |
Gross domestic product (GDP) (2014) | $2,990 |
Currency | Pound sterling |
Human development index (HDI), an index based on life expectancy, education and GDP (max. 1) | 0.907 |
World rank | 14 |
Key economic sectors (% of GDP in 2003) | Services (78); industry (21); agriculture (1) |
Leading companies | HSBC at £130,213m. (US$161,403m.), with British American Tobacco the second largest at £99,651m. (US$123,520m.) |
Unemployment in February 2010 | 5·1% (Nov 2015 – Jan 2016) |
Main religious denominations | Christian, 59·3% of the population; no religion, 25·1%; Muslim, 4·8%; |
Political system | The party best represented in the lower chamber of Parliament (the House of Commons) after a general election normally forms a government, which is accountable to Parliament. General elections to the House of Commons must be held after at most 5 years. Certain powers were devolved to a Scottish Parliament and assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland in 1998. |
Electoral system | Simple majority (first-past-the-post) system for Westminster elections; additional member system for Scotland and Wales; Single Transferable Vote for Northern Ireland |
Current (March 2010) leaders | Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II (b. 1926), since 1952 Prime Minister: Theresa May (since 2016) |
Previous leaders: | Prime Minister: David Cameron (2010 – 2016) |
Joined the EU/EC | 1973 |
Commissioner from country in Barroso II College of Commissioners, and portfolio | Catherine Ashton (High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission) |
Number of MEPs | 73 |
Turnout in 2014 EP elections (%) | 35.6 (34.7 in 2009) |
Member of eurozone | No |
Except where a specific reference is inserted, the sources for this profile are either Neill Nugent’s book itself, or Barry Turner (ed.), The Statesman’s Yearbook Online, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. If your library subscribes, you can gain access at
http://www.statesmansyearbook.com