KEY FACTS

Population: 62,783,000 (2012)
GDP p.c. growth: 1.7% p.a. 1990–2012
UN HDI 2012: world ranking 26
Official language: English
Time: GMT plus 0–1hr
Currency: Pound sterling (£)

Geography

Area: 243,305 sq km
Coastline: 12,400 km
Capital: London

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) consists of a group of islands off the western coast of Europe. The largest, Great Britain, comprises three countries: England, Scotland and Wales. Ireland, to the west, consists of the UK’s province of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. There are several offshore islands and island groups, the largest lying off Scotland. The UK is a union of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Crown dependencies (the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) are largely self-governing with the UK responsible for their defence and international relations and are not part of the United Kingdom.

Main towns:

London (capital, England, pop. 7.74m in 2010), Birmingham (England, 942,800), Glasgow (Scotland, 578,800), Liverpool (England, 452,800), Edinburgh (Scotland, 451,900), Leeds (England, 441,000), Sheffield (England, 415,200), Manchester (England, 396,300), Bristol (England, 373,000), Cardiff (Wales, 316,800), Leicester (England, 296,600), Bradford (England, 279,000), Coventry (England, 267,800), Kingston upon Hull (England, 265,600), Belfast (Northern Ireland, 258,700), Plymouth (England, 253,200), Stoke-on-Trent (England, 249,100), Derby (England, 247,500), Wolverhampton (England, 246,100), Nottingham (England, 240,400), Southampton (England, 236,900), Portsmouth (England, 203,600), Swansea (Wales, 173,900), Norwich (England, 171,200), Newcastle-upon-Tyne (England, 168,100), Aberdeen (Scotland, 165,600), Oxford (England, 146,700) and Cambridge (England, 117,000).

Society

KEY FACTS 2012

Population per sq km: 258
Life expectancy: 80 years
Net primary enrolment: 100% (2011)

Population:

62,783,000 (2012); England 83.6 per cent, Scotland 8.6 per cent, Wales 4.9 per cent, Northern Ireland 2.9 per cent (2001 census); 80 per cent of people live in urban areas and 26 per cent in urban agglomerations of more than one million people; growth 0.4 per cent p.a. 1990–2012; birth rate 12 per 1,000 people (16 in 1970); life expectancy 80 years (72 in 1970 and around 50 in 1901). According to the 2001 census, the ethnic origins of the population are 92.1 per cent European; 4.0 per cent Asian (1.8 per cent Indian, 1.3 per cent Pakistani, 0.5 per cent Bangladeshi); two per cent Caribbean or African; and 0.4 per cent Chinese.

Language:

English (official language); Welsh (an official language in Wales) is spoken by about 21 per cent of people in Wales (2001 census) and is the first language in much of rural north and west Wales; Scottish Gaelic is spoken in Scotland by some 70,000 people, many of whom live in the Hebrides. Many ethnic minorities speak the languages of their countries of origin.

Education:

Public spending on education was six per cent of GDP in 2010. There are 12 years of compulsory education starting at the age of five. Primary school comprises six years and secondary seven, with cycles of three and four years. The school year starts in September. After the age of 16, when it is no longer compulsory, most young people stay in education, either at school or at further education colleges, and may then go on to higher education institutions. According to the higher education admissions service, UCAS, there are more than 300 institutions providing higher education courses, including universities, colleges of higher education and further education colleges. The female–male ratio for gross enrolment in tertiary education is 1.40:1 (2010). There is virtually no illiteracy among people aged 15–24. The UK hosted the First Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Oxford in 1959 and the 15th Conference in Edinburgh in 2003. Commonwealth Education Ministers meet every three years to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest.