UK Country Profile

Physical Geography

1. Official Name of the Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

2. Climate: temperate, mild, southwest winds over North Atlantic Coast, overcast, varied soils, 33.7 inches of precipitation (rain/snow) over 133 days, oaks, elm, ash, beech, woods, fens, marsh areas, moorland, heather, grasses, cliffs, mountains

3. Map: 55.3781° N, 3.4360° W, consult the map for physical features and other nations refer to the map 93,628 square miles Political Geography

4. Type of Government, Name of Government Officials, and Political Parties: parliamentary constitutional monarchy, Prime Minister Theresa May (centre-right), Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn (centre-left), Conservative and Unionist Party, Labour Party, Co-operative Party

5. Capital: London

6. International Organization Affiliations: European Union, United Nations, International Telecommunication Union, International Atomic Energy Agency, Australia Group, Interpol

7. Size of Armed Forces: over 152,350 strong personnel with a budget of around $58 billion annually Cultural Geography

8. Official Language, Other Languages Spoken, Ethnic Composition, and Major Religions: *English*, Welsh, Polish, Urdu, and, Bengali, composed of White, Welsh, Arab, Indian, and Chinese, Christianity, Protestant, Baptist, Hinduism, and Islam

9. Population, Population Growth Rate, and Population Distribution: 66.57 million, 0.6% growth rate, and White 92.12%, Asian/Asian British 4.39%, Black 1.95%, Other 1.15%

10. Major Cities: London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle

11. Infant Mortality Rates and Life Expectancy: 4.3 deaths for every 1000 live births, 79.2 years for men and 82.9 years for women

12. Teachers and Doctors Per Population: 6.83 Teachers out of every 1000 people and 2.8 Physicians/Doctors out of every 1000 people (9.63 Teachers/Doctors per Population) Economic Geography

13. GDP (total and per Capita): $2.809 trillion, $42,261

14. Percent of Arable Land Used for Agriculture: 71%

15. Natural Resources: coal, petroleum, gold, iron ore, natural gas, gypsum, silica sand

16. Major Agricultural and Industrial Products: potatoes, cereals, fish, vegetables, machine tools, metals, paper, electronic equipment, motor parts/vehicles, aircraft

17. Major Exports and Imports: refined petroleum products, natural gas, crude oil, manufactured goods, chemicals, tobacco, machinery, fuels, beverages, foodstuffs

18. Currency and Current Exchange Rate: Pound Sterling, 1 Pound equals 1.27 US Dollar

19. Balance of Trade: -4.2 billion dollars

a. Total Import: $72.2 billion

b. Total Export: $68 billion

20. Historical Events ( https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18028620): 1981 - Prince Charles marries Lady Diana.

Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister and introduces free-market policies 1982 - The Falklands War occurs, where Argentina attempts to overpower British forces to gain control over the region. A task force of the UK re-takes the land. 1983 - Struggling economy with a high unemployment rate, riots in Northern Ireland continue concerning the constitutional status of the country. 1984 - Attempted assassination of Thatcher by the Irish Republic Army with a bomb blast, minister escapes untouched while several others are killed and injured 1988 - Flight Pan Am 103 explodes in mid-air over Scotland and plunges onto Lockerbie, with 259 casualties on board and an additional 11 at ground level. 1991 - The United Kingdom joins the United States in the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait from Iraq occupation. 1993 - Downing Street declaration from Northern Ireland, which is a peace proposal stating Northern Ireland would transfer to the Republic of Ireland from the UK only if their population voted in favor of this change 1996 - Announcement made by the government concerning BSE, or “mad cow disease” and how it can be transmitted to humans. Beef industry falls, with lots of animal slaughter, market collapse, export bans, and farmers struggle. 1997 - Princess Diana dies in a car crash. Britain gives control of Hong Kong to China.

Tony Blair wins the election for Prime Minister with a landslide victory. 1999 - UK forces enter an air war against the nations Yugoslavia and Kosovo 2001- in January, Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbaset al-Megrahi is found guilty of bombing the Pan Am Flight 103 of 1988, which crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing a total of 270 civilians. 2003 - The Iraq War occurs, with the UK taking part alongside the United States to ensure no weapons of mass destruction are held in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad 2005 - Four Islamist suicide bomb attacks on London's public transportation units, with 52 casualties and about 700 found injured from the attack. Only two weeks later, more potential suicide bombers are discovered before they are able to detonate four devices on the same transport system.

2007 - Northern Ireland is sworn into the United Kingdom officially and Gordon Brown replaces Tony Blair as the Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. 2008 - The Great Recession strikes with the government taking over the three leading banks and facilitating them with 37 billion pounds. It also drives billions in the financial system following the record market declining after being plagued by the universal “credit crunch”. 2009 - Britain calls back the majority of its remaining troops in southern Iraq, leaving only a small training force asked to help shape the Iraqi soldiers. 2011 - Prince William marries Catherine Middleton. Britain plays a leading role in the global arbitration in the Libyan Civil War. 2012 - United Kingdom hosts the 2012 Summer Paralympics and Olympics.

2014 - Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom for independence and loses as 55% of voters are in favor of remaining in the UK. 2016 - Voters in referendum opt to leave the European Union and leads to a political crisis. Theresa Mays becomes Prime Minister. 2017 - Attacks on Manchester and London by Islamic terrorist groups leave a total of 300 people dead. The Parliament is divided between the idea of Brexit after voting held by Theresa May to give her power to have authority to commence the UK’s exit of the European Union. 2018 - Poisoning of former British spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia is blamed on the Kremlin as the controversy arises. Two key ministers resigned to protest the government’s proposal for a shared trade area with the EU. 

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