UnitedKingdomACountrystudyBriefIntroduction

TheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIrelandTheUK'sformofgovernmentisaconstitutionalmonarchywithaparliamentarysystemanditscapitalcityisLondon.ThecurrentBritishmonarch—since6February1952—isQueenElizabethII.ItisoneoftheCommonwealthRealms.TheUnitedKingdomconsistsoffourcountries:England,Scotland,WalesandNorthernIreland.Thelatterthreehavedevolvedadministrations,eachwithvaryingpowers,basedintheircapitalcities,Edinburgh,CardiffandBelfast,respectively.Guernsey,JerseyandtheIsleofManareCrowndependenciesandarenotpartoftheUK.TheUnitedKingdomhasfourteenBritishOverseasTerritories.TheseareremnantsoftheBritishEmpirewhich,atitsheightinthelate19thandearly20thcenturies,encompassedalmostaquarteroftheworld'slandmassandwasthelargestempireinhistory.Britishinfluencecanbeobservedinthelanguage,cultureandlegalsystemsofmanyofitsformercolonies.MapPopulationTheUKservicesectormakesuparound73%ofGDP.Londonisoneofthethree"commandcentres"oftheglobaleconomy(alongsideNewYorkCityandTokyo),istheworld'slargestfinancialcentrealongsideNewYork,andhasthelargestcityGDPinEurope.EdinburghisalsooneofthelargestfinancialcentresinEurope.TourismisveryimportanttotheBritisheconomyand,withover27milliontouristsarrivingin2004,theUnitedKingdomisrankedasthesixthmajortouristdestinationintheworldandLondonhasthemostinternationalvisitorsofanycityintheworld.Thecreativeindustriesaccountedfor7%GVAin2005andgrewatanaverageof6%perannumbetween1997and2005.LifeExpectancyCapiyalLondonisthecapitalcityofEnglandandtheUnitedKingdom.Withanestimated8,308,369residentsin2012,Londonisthemostpopulousregion,urbanzoneandmetropolitanareaintheUnitedKingdomandisthelargestcityintheEuropeanUnion.GovernmentTheUKhasaparliamentarygovernmentbasedontheWestminstersystemthathasbeenemulatedaroundtheworld:alegacyoftheBritishEmpire.TheparliamentoftheUnitedKingdomthatmeetsinthePalaceofWestminsterhastwohouses;anelectedHouseofCommonsandanappointedHouseofLords.AllbillspassedaregivenRoyalAssentbeforebecominglaw.Thepositionofprimeminister,theUK'sheadofgovernment,belongstothememberofparliamentwhocanobtaintheconfidenceofamajorityintheHouseofCommons,usuallytheleaderofthelargestpoliticalpartyinthatchamber.TheprimeministerchoosesacabinetandtheyareformallyappointedbythemonarchtoformHerMajesty'sGovernment.Byconvention,theQueenrespectstheprimeminister'sdecisionsofgovernment.CurrencyPound(Mark:￡)isUKmonetaryunitofcurrencyandcountryname.AlthoughtheUKisamemberoftheEU,buthasnotyetjoinedtheeurozone,itstillusingthepound.ThepoundisissuedbytheBankofEngland,butthereareotherissuers.Mostcommonlyusedtorefertothepoundsignis￡.TheinternationalorganizationforStandardizationfortheISO4217currencycodefortheGBP(GreatBritainPound).Atpresent,theBritishbusinesshasbeguntoaccepttheeuroandthedollarandotherforeigncurrency.ReligionFormsofChristianityhavedominatedreligiouslifeinwhatisnowtheUnitedKingdomforover1,400years.AlthoughamajorityofcitizensstillidentifywithChristianityinmanysurveys,regularchurchattendancehasfallendramaticallysincethemiddleofthe20thcentury,whileimmigrationanddemographicchangehavecontributedtothegrowthofotherfaiths,mostnotablyIslam.ThishasledsomecommentatorstovariouslydescribetheUKasamulti-faith,secularized,orpost-Christiansociety.TheChurchofEnglandistheestablishedchurchinEngland.ItretainsarepresentationintheUKParliamentandtheBritishmonarchisitsSupremeGovernor.InScotlandthePresbyterianChurchofScotlandisrecognisedasthenationalchurch.Itisnotsubjecttostatecontrol,andtheBritishmonarchisanordinarymember,requiredtoswearanoathto"maintainandpreservetheProtestantReligionandPresbyterianChurchGovernment"uponhisorheraccession.The(Anglican)ChurchinWaleswasdisestablishedin1920and,asthe(Anglican)ChurchofIrelandwasdisestablishedin1870beforethepartitionofIreland,thereisnoestablishedchurchinNorthernIreland.AlthoughtherearenoUK-widedatainthe2001censusonadherenceto