adines 13, Singapore 9, Slovakia 1, Spain 1, Thailand 2, Tonga
1) (2006)

Ports and terminals:
Hound Point, Immingham, Milford Haven, Liverpool, London,
Southampton, Sullom Voe, Teesport

Military United Kingdom

Military branches:
Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force

Military service age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service; women serve in
military services, but are excluded from ground combat positions and
some naval postings (2004)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 14,607,724
females age 16-49: 14,028,738 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 12,046,268
females age 16-49: 11,555,893 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$42,836.5 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.4% (2003)

Transnational Issues United Kingdom

Disputes - international:
in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to
reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and
Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in
talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves of UK plans to
grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the
Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former
inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagossians reside in
Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship, where some have
since resettled; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed the
UK Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the
islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which
still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
(British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially
overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute
Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends
beyond 200 nm

Illicit drugs:
producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic
precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin
American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@United States

Introduction United States