total: 360 km
border countries: 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

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

Elevation extremes:
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, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 25%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 10%
other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,080 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - 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

@United Kingdom:People

Population: 59,511,464 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 5,816,313; female 5,519,479)
15-64 years: 65% (male 19,622,152; female 19,228,938)
65 years and over: 16% (male 3,864,612; female 5,459,970) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.25% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 11.76 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 10.38 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05