cellor of the
Exchequer BROWN is committed to preparing the British economy for
eventual membership.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$1.252 trillion (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate: 2.6% (1998 est.)

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$21,200 (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 31.5%
services: 67% (1997)

Population below poverty line: 17%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 24.7% (1986)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (1998)

Labor force: 28.8 million (1998)

Labor force--by occupation: services 68.9%, manufacturing and
construction 17.5%, government 11.3%, energy 1.2%, agriculture 1.1%
(1996)

Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $487.7 billion
expenditures: $492.6 billion, including capital expenditures of
$23.1 billion (1997 est.)

Industries: production machinery including machine tools,
electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment,
shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and
communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper
and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other
consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1998 est.)

Electricity--production: 309.672 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--production by source:
fossil fuel: 72.28%
hydro: 1.28%
nuclear: 26.33%
other: 0.11% (1996)

Electricity--consumption: 326.322 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity--imports: 16.65 billion kWh (1996)

Agriculture--products: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables;
cattle, sheep, poultry; fish

Exports: $271 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports--commodities: manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food,
beverages, tobacco

Exports--partners: EU countries 56% (Germany 12%, France 10%,
Netherlands 8%), US 12% (1997)

Imports: $304 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports--commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels,
foodstuffs

Imports--partners: EU countries 53% (Germany 14%, France 10%,
Netherlands 7%, Ireland 5%), US 13% (1997)

Debt--external: $NA

Economic aid--donor: ODA, $3.4 billion (1996)

Currency: 1 British pound (L) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: British pounds (L) per US$1--0.6057 (January
1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996), 0.6335 (1995),
0.6529 (1994)

Fiscal year: 1 April--