United Kingdom

Geography

The United Kingdom is an island state in western Europe, separated from the mainland by the English Channel. The land has a total area of 243,610 km² (94,058 mi²) and a total coastline of 12,429 km (7,723.0 mi). This land area is approximately 60% of the area of California. The United Kingdom is thus one of the largest countries in Europe and the 80th biggest in the world. An exceptionally high proportion of residents (84%) belongs to the urban population. Around one in nine residents lives in London alone.

The United Kingdom is comparatively low at an average elevation of 162 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Ben Nevis) is at 1,345 meters. In addition to the main island, around 1,000 other small islands still belong to the country. Ireland ist the only directly neighboring country of the United Kingdom. The distance between New York City and the Capital London is about 5,570 km (3,461 mi).

The climate in the United Kingdom

Probably the best-known peculiarity of the British weather is the high amount of rainfall, which is distributed throughout the year. It’s caused by the exposed location on the Atlantic Ocean with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream combining with the cold arctic air in the north. Most of the rain falls in the northwest of England. The weather changes frequently, but the temperature fluctuations between summer and winter are comparatively small. While the crisp frosty nights that are common in northern Europe are often absent, even in winter, temperatures in summer rarely exceed 30 degrees. Basically, it gets cooler in the northern parts of the country, and rainier in the western ones.

• Detailed climate data for the United Kingdom and 4 individual regions
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
English	97.3 %
Kymri	0.9 %
Gaelic	0.1 %
other	1.7 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Anglicans	63.0%
other Christs	4.0%
Hinduists	1.3%
Muslims	4.4%
Jews	0.4%
nondenominational	25.7%
Sikhs	0.4%
other	0.8%

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Economy

GDP:	3,131.38 bn $
Exportations:	859.70 bn $
Importations:	899.63 bn $
Budget deficit:	65,320 M $
› Tourism receipts:	48.52 bn $
› Debt rate:	103.79 %
› Unemployment rate:	3.6 %
› Inflation rate:	7.92 %
› Corruption index:	73 (good)
› Energy consumption:	289.7 bn kWh

With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.929, the United Kingdom counts as one of the high developed economies by UN definition. The IMF also shares this classification.

Considering the purchasing power parity, the United Kingdom is among the 30 richest countries in the world and, with an average annual income of 44,480 USD is one of the high-income countries.

Land use

24% Urban areas:	58,699 km²
71% Agricultural areas:	172,573 km²
13% Forest:	32,132 km²
1% Water areas:	1,680 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	394,428 km
Railways:	16,837 km
Waterways:	3,200 km
Commercial harbors:	1,249
› Airports:	51