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The '''United Kingdom''' has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The UK is also an active member of the EU, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. Devolution and constitutional reform have been significant recent issues in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process.<ref name="CIA_GB" />
The '''United Kingdom''' has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of [[NATO]], and of the [[Commonwealth]], the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The UK is also an active member of the EU, although it chose to remain outside the [[Economic and Monetary Union]]. Devolution and constitutional reform have been significant recent issues in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process.<ref name="CIA_GB" />


{{See also|Bank of England}}
{{See also|Bank of England}}

Revision as of 21:21, 2 December 2010

The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The UK is also an active member of the EU, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. Devolution and constitutional reform have been significant recent issues in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process.[1]

See also: Bank of England

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Pound sterling (ISO code: GBP)
  • Central bank discount rate: 0.86% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 4.63% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $NA[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $NA[1]


Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[2] 1 502 560 1 477 580 1 470 890 1 612 060 1 860 810 2 198 090 2 280 180 2 435 710 2 803 460 2 674 060
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[3] 47.484 47.469 42.507 42.528 42.598 44.905 47.300 47.133 47.863 57.523
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[4] 36.560 37.114 37.082 35.498 35.096 35.918 36.985 37.708 37.380 38.408
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[5] 35.652 36.204 36.651 37.633 38.809 39.200 41.222 40.378 40.005 42.827
Debt to revenue (years) 1.299 1.279 1.146 1.198 1.214 1.250 1.279 1.250 1.280 1.498

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named CIA_GB
  2. ↑ World Bank. "United Kingdom: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
  3. ↑ World Bank. "United Kingdom: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
  4. ↑ World Bank. "United Kingdom: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
  5. ↑ World Bank. "United Kingdom: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.

External links

Retrieved from "https://wiki.freecapitalists.org/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&oldid=4955"