s

Land boundaries:
total: 360 km
border country: Ireland 360 km

Coastline: 12,429 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in
accordance with agreed upon boundaries
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: Northern Ireland question with Ireland;
Gibraltar question with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands; Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British
Indian Ocean Territory; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving
Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland (Ireland and the UK have signed a
boundary agreement in the Rockall area); territorial claim in
Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory)

Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over
the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are
overcast

Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling
plains in east and southeast
lowest point: Fenland -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m

Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone,
iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica

Land use:
arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 48%
forest and woodland: 9%
other: 14%

Irrigated land: 1,570 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants
contribute to air pollution; some rivers polluted by agricultural
wastes and coastal waters polluted because of large-scale disposal
of sewage at sea
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air
Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification

Geographic note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35
km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel;
because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125
km from tidal waters

People
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Population: 58,489,975 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 year