ues

Disputes - international: location and status of boundary with Saudi
Arabia is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; no
defined boundary with most of Oman, but Administrative Line in far
north; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran: Lesser
Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e
Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in
Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); claims
island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (called Abu
Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) -
over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since
1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the
island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the
region in protesting these Iranian actions

Illicit drugs: growing role as heroin transshipment and
money-laundering center due to its proximity to southwest Asian
producing countries and the bustling free trade zone in Dubai

______________________________________________________________________

UNITED KINGDOM

@United Kingdom:Introduction

Background: Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power
of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary
democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, 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. The second half witnessed the dismantling
of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and
prosperous European nation. The UK currently is weighing the degree of
its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose
to remain outside of the EMU for the time being. Constitutional reform
is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with
varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern
Ireland in 1999.

@United Kingdom:Geography

Location: Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of
the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North
Sea, northwest of France

Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 244,820 sq km
land: 241,590 sq km
water: 3,230 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries: