ÿþ<html> <head> <title> United Kingdom Introduction 2012, CIA World Factbook </title> <META NAME="Description" CONTENT="United Kingdom Introduction 2012, CIA World Factbook"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="United Kingdom, Introduction, 2012, CIA, World, Factbook"> <script language="JavaScript"> function AddToFaves_hp(){ var is_4up = parseInt(navigator.appVersion); var is_mac = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("mac")!=-1; var is_ie = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("msie")!=-1; var thePage = location.href; if (thePage.lastIndexOf('#')!=-1) thePage = thePage.substring(0,thePage.lastIndexOf('#')); if (is_ie && is_4up && !is_mac) window.external.AddFavorite(thePage,document.title); else if (is_ie || document.images) booker_hp = window.open(thePage,'booker_','menubar,width=325,height=100,left=140,top=60'); //booker_hp.focus(); } //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })(); </script> <style type="text/css"> A:link { text-decoration: none; color:#000066; } A:visited { text-decoration: none; color:#000066; } A:active { text-decoration: none; color:#000066; } A:hover { text-decoration: none; color:#990033; } a { text-decoration: none} </style> </head> <body topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" bgcolor="white"> <div id="fb-root"></div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1&appId=183601415082146"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script> <table background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/drugsbgr.gif" width="972" align="top"><tr><td colspan="2" width="972"> <font face="arial"> | <a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb" target="_blank">COUNTRIES</a> | <a href="http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names" target="_blank">GEOGRAPHIC NAMES</a> | <a href="http://www.theodora.com/geology" target="_blank">GEOLOGY</a> | <a href="http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/" target="_blank">USA STATS</a> | <a href="http://www.allcountries.org/china_statistics/" target="_blank">CHINA STATS</a> | <a href="http://www.geographic.org/countries/county_codes.html" target="_blank">COUNTRY CODES</a> | <a href="http://www.photius.com/wfb2001/airport_codes.html" target="_blank">AIRPORTS</a> | <a href="http://www.photius.com/religion" target="_blank">RELIGION</a> | <a href="http://www.occupationalinfo.org" target="_blank">JOBS</a> | </font></td></tr> </table> <table border="0" bgcolor="white" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="972" align="top" valign="top" hspace="0" vspace="0" units="pixels"> <tr><td colspan="2" width="972"><img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line2.gif"></td></tr><tr height="90" align="left" valign="top"><td align="left" valign="top" width="244" nowrap><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb"><img border="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/countries_of_the_world_banner.gif"></a></td> <td align="left" valign="top" width="728" nowrap> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; /* WFB Leaderboard */ google_ad_slot = "7548094546"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 90; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </td></tr> <tr height="3" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="white" nowrap units="pixels"><td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" height="3" width="972" nowrap bgcolor="white" nowrap> <img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line1.gif"></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="2" align="middle" background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif" width="972"> <font size="-2"> <br></font> <font face="arial" size="5"><b>United Kingdom</b> Introduction 2012</font> <br> <font size = "-2"> http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html </font> <br> <font size="-2"><B>SOURCE: 2012 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES</B></FONT></td></tr> <tr height="3" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="white" nowrap units="pixels"> <td colspan="2" align="left" valign="top" height="3" width="972" nowrap bgcolor="white" nowrap> <img src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/line13.gif"></td></tr></table> <table border="0" bgcolor="#FFCC99" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="972" align="left" valign="top" hspace="0" vspace="0" units="pixels"> <tr><td background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif" width="200" valign="top"> <font face="arial"> <br><br> <center> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; /* WFB Wide Skyscraper */ google_ad_slot = "0340963386"; google_ad_width = 160; google_ad_height = 600; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br><br><br><br> <br> <a href="http://www.theodora.com/dot.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/dot_ad.gif" valign="top"></a> <hr> <br><br><br><br><br> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; /* WFB Link Unit */ google_ad_slot = "3506820389"; google_ad_width = 200; google_ad_height = 90; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br><br><br><br> </center> </td> <td bgcolor="white" width="14"></td> <td bgcolor="white" width="558" valign="top"> <font face="arial"><br> <table><tr><td width="350"> <a href="http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/united_kingdom/" target="_blank"><b>GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES</b></a> </td><td width="300"> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=es&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/spanish_translate.gif" alt="Spanish"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=zh-CN&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/chinese_translate.gif" alt="Simplified Chinese"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=fr&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/french_translate.gif" alt="French"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/german_translate.gif" alt="German"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=ru&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/russian_translate.gif" alt="Russian"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=hi&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/hindi_translate.gif" alt="Hindi"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=ar&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/arabic_translate.gif" alt="Arabic"></a> <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html&sl=en&tl=pt&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8" target="_blank"><img border ="0" src="http://www.theodora.com/images/portuguese_translate.gif" alt="Portuguese"></a> </td></tr></table> <HR> <br> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "ca-pub-7437757543052749"; /* WFB Large Rectangle */ google_ad_slot = "8137512903"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <br> Page last updated on February 23, <p><b><a href = "http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html#background">Background:</a></b><br> 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. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999. The latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process, but devolution was fully completed in March 2010. </font> <p> <p> <BR> <P> <font size = "-2"><B> NOTE: The information regarding United Kingdom on this page is re-published from the 2012 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of United Kingdom Introduction 2012 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about United Kingdom Introduction 2012 should be addressed to the CIA. </B></font> </P> <br> <hr> <a href="#" onClick="AddToFaves_hp()"><img src="http://www.theodora.com/images/bookmark_banner.gif" align="left" width="176" height="52" border="0"></a><font color=brown> - Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites). <br> - If you wish to <b>link</b> to this page, you can do so by referring to the URL address below this line.</font> <hr> http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_introduction.html <br><br> This page was last modified 06-Mar-12 <br> Copyright &copy 1995-2012 <a href="http://www.theodora.com/ita.html">ITA</a> all rights reserved. <br> </td> <td width=200 valign="top" align="left" background="http://www.theodora.com/wfb2008/images/light_blue.gif"> <!-- SiteSearch Google --> <br> <form action="http://www.google.com/cse" id="cse-search-box"> <div> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-7437757543052749:i8v5yg-obf2" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="text" name="q" size="26" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> </div> </form> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/cse/brand?form=cse-search-box&lang=en"></script> <!-- End SiteSearch Google --> <font size="2" face="arial"> <b> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb">|Main INDEX|</a> <li><a href="../index.html">2012 INDEX</a> <li><a href="http://www.photius.com/rankings/index.html">Country Ranks</a> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb/wfb2000/definitions.html">DEFINITIONS</a> <br><br> <a href="index.html">United Kingdom Index 2012</a> <br><br> <a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/united_kingdom/index.html">United Kingdom Main Index</a> <li><a href="united_kingdom_introduction.html">Introduction</a> <li><a href="http://workmall.com/wfb2001/united_kingdom/united_kingdom_history_index.html">History</a> <li><a href="united_kingdom_geography.html">Geography</a> <li>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theodora.com/maps">Maps</a><br> <li><a href="united_kingdom_people.html">People</a><br> </b> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.photius.com/religion">Religion</a> <b><li><a href="united_kingdom_government.html">Government</a><br></B> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="united_kingdom_chiefs.html"> Gov. Leaders</a> <br>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theodora.com/flags">Flags</a> <b><br> <li><a href="united_kingdom_economy.html">Economy</a> <li><a href="united_kingdom_communications.html">Communications</a> <li><a href="united_kingdom_transportation.html">Transportation</a> <br></B> &nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.photius.com/wfb2001/airport_codes_alpha.html">Airport Codes</a> <b> <li><a href="united_kingdom_military.html">Military</a> <li><a href="united_kingdom_issues.html">Transnational Issues</a> <li><a href="http://www.theodora.com/wfb/photos/">Photos</a> </ul> <ul><A href="http://www.theodora.com/wwwads.html" target="_blank">Advertise Here</a></ul> <ul> . <A href="http://www.theodora.com/theodora_feedback.html">Feedback</a> <br><br> <div class="fb-like" data-send="false" data-layout="button_count" data-width="80" data-show-faces="false"></div> <br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="none">Tweet</a> <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script> <br><br> <g:plusone size="medium" annotation="none"></g:plusone> <br> </ul> </b> </font> </td></tr></table> </body> </html>