the Blue Ensign) have been
the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth
countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British
overseas territories

Economy
United Kingdom

Economy - overview:

The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the
quintet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the
past two decades, the government has greatly reduced public
ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs.
Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by
European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than
2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil
reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of
the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly
banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the
largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in
importance. Since emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy
has enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record; growth has
remained in the 2-3% range since 2004, outpacing most of Europe. The
economy's strength has complicated the Labor government's efforts to
make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary
Union (EMU). Critics point out that the economy is doing well
outside of EMU, and public opinion polls show a majority of Britons
are opposed to the euro. The BROWN government has been speeding up
the improvement of education, health services, and affordable
housing at a cost in higher taxes and a widening public deficit.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$2.13 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$2.773 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3.1% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$35,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 23.4%
services: 75.7% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

30.89 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 18.2%
services: 80.4% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate:

5.3% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

14% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

34 (2005)

Investment (gross fixed):

18.2% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $1.154 trillion
ex