GEOGRAPHY OF UNITED KINGDOM

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- TOTAL AREA: 244,820 sq km (94,525 sq mi); Land area: 241,590 sq km (93,278 sq mi) includes Rockall and Shetland Islands

- COMPARATIVE AREA: slightly smaller than Oregon

- LAND BOUNDARY: 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

- 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 U.K. 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 half of the days are overcast.

- TERRAIN: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast

- NATURAL RESOURCES: coal, crude oil, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica

- LAND USE: arable land 29%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 48%; forest and woodland 9%; other 14%; includes irrigated 1%

- ENVIRONMENT: pollution control measures improving air, water quality; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters

- DEFORESTATION RATE: 0.8 net annual percent

- NOTE: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel

PEOPLE OF UNITED KINGDOM

- POPULATION, YEAR 1992: 57,800,000

- POPULATION, YEAR 2010 (Projected): 59,900,000

- POPULATION, YEAR 2025 (Projected): 61,000,000

- POPULATION DENSITY: 611.5 persons per sq mi

- TOTAL URBAN POPULATION: 52,020,000

- URBAN POPULATION: 90%

- TOTAL POPULATION GROWTH: 173,400

- POPULATION GROWTH: 0.3%

- POPULATION DOUBLING TIME: 257 years

- TOTAL BIRTHS: 809,200

- BIRTH RATE: 14 births per 1000 persons

- TOTAL DEATHS: 635,800

- DEATH RATE: 11 deaths per 1000 persons

- FERTILITY RATE: 1.8 children born per woman

- POPULATION UNDER AGE 15: 10,982,000

- PERCENT UNDER AGE 15: 19%

- POPULATION OVER AGE 65: 9,248,000

- PERCENT OVER AGE 65: 16%

- NET MIGRATION RATE: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

- LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991)

- MARRIAGES: 385,006

- MARRIAGE RATE: 6.7 per 1000 persons

- DIVORCES: 160,274

- DIVORCE RATE: 2.81 per 1000 persons

- NATIONALITY: noun--Briton(s), British (collective pl.); adjective--British

- ETHNIC DIVISIONS: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%

- RELIGION: Anglican 27.0 million, Roman Catholic 5.3 million, Presbyterian 2.0 million, Methodist 760,000, Jewish 410,000

- LANGUAGE: English, Welsh (about 26% of population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

EDUCATION IN UNITED KINGDOM - LITERACY: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1978 est.)

- AGES OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION: 5 to 16

- EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURE: 5% of gnp

- EDUCATIONAL EXPENDITURE: 11.3% of govt. expenditure

- DAILY NEWSPAPERS: 99

- DAILY NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION: 22,730,000

- DAILY CIRCULATION: 421 per 1000 persons

- NEWSPRINT CONSUMPTION: 33,762 kg per 1000 persons

- PUBLIC LIBRARIES: 16,244

- NATIONAL LIBRARIES: 17

HEALTH IN UNITED KINGDOM

- MEDICAL CARE EXPENDITURES: 5.6% of gnp

- ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE: 100% with access

- ACCESS TO SAFE WATER: 100% with access

- ACCESS TO SAFE WATER, URBAN: 100% with access

- ACCESS TO SAFE WATER, RURAL: 100% with access

- CALORIE CONSUMPTION, TOTAL: 3,259 calories per person per day

- CALORIE CONSUMPTION, ANIMAL: 1,109 calories per person per day

- CALORIE CONSUMPTION, VEGETABLE: 2,151 calories per person per day

- PHYSICIANS: 92,172

- PHYSICIANS PER CAPITA: 16.4 per 10,000 persons

- NURSES: 182,897

- NURSES PER CAPITA: 32.5 per 10,000 persons

- PHARMACISTS: 17,589

- PHARMACISTS PER CAPITA: 3.1 per 10,000 persons

- DENTISTS: 17,472

- DENTISTS PER CAPITA: 3.1 per 10,000 persons

- CONTRACEPTION USE: 72% of married women

- MATERNAL DEATHS: 46

- MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE: 5.9 deaths per 100,000 live births

- TOTAL INFANT MORTALITY: 6,392.7

- INFANT MORTALITY RATE: 7.9 deaths per 1000 births

- MEASLES IMMUNIZATION: 71% of immunized under 12 months

- DPT: 67% immunized under 12 months

- AIDS: 3,884 cases reported

GOVERNMENT OF UNITED KINGDOM

- LONG-FORM NAME: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; abbreviated UK

- TYPE: constitutional monarchy

- CAPITAL: London. Visit page:

- ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 47 counties, 7 metropolitan counties, 26 districts, 9 regions, and 3 islands areas; England--39 counties, 7 metropolitan counties*; Avon, Bedford, Berkshire, Buckingham, Cambridge, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucester, Greater London*, Greater Manchester*, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcester, Hertford, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Merseyside*, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham, Oxford, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire*, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear*, Warwick, West Midlands*, West Sussex, West Yorkshire*, Wiltshire; Northern Ireland--26 districts; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane; Scotland--9 regions, 3 islands areas*; Borders, Central, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highland, Lothian, Orkney*, Shetland*, Strathclyde, Tayside, Western Isles*; Wales--8 counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan

- DEPENDENT AREAS: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong (scheduled to become a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997), Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

- INDEPENDENCE: 1 January 1801, United Kingdom established

- CONSTITUTION: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

- LEGAL SYSTEM: common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

- NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June), 10 June 1989

- EXECUTIVE BRANCH: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet

- LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or House of Lords and a lower house or House of Commons

- JUDICIAL BRANCH: House of Lords

- LEADERS: Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the Queen, born 14 November 1948); Head of Government--Prime Minister Tony Blair

- POLITICAL PARTIES AND LEADERS: Conservative and Unionist Party, William Haig; Labor Party, Tony Blair; Liberal Democrat Party (formed from the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party), Charles Kennedy; Scottish National Party, Alex SALMOND; Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd THOMAS; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James MOLYNEAUX; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY; Ulster Popular Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James KILFEDDER; Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Northern Ireland), John HUME; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry ADAMS; Alliance Party (Northern Ireland), John ALDERDICE; Communist Party, Nina TEMPLE

- SUFFRAGE: universal at age 18

- ELECTIONS: House of Commons--Labour won last General Election by a massive landslide against the Conservatives. Many top Conservative ministers in government were washed out by the tidal wave of disapproval over Conservative conduct and the fact that Labour looked ready to govern.

1995 - 346 Local councils contested: Labour's best result for 30 years. Lib Dems take control of West Devon, Guildford, Windsor, Isle of Wight. Turnout about 40%.

sp;            SEATS p;    Old        New     3726        2066     2894        5639     1996        2707     1453        1725      -        -

- OTHER POLITICAL OR PRESSURE GROUPS: Trades Union Congress, Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers' Union, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

- MEMBER OF: AFDB, ESCAP, ADB, CDB, CP, C, CE, CCC, DAC, ECA, ECE, ECLA, OECD, EC, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT, G-8, ICAO, ICES, INTERPOL, IFAD, INTELSAT, IADB, IPU, ICAC, IAEA, ICO, IDA, IEA, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO, IMF, IOOC, IRC, ISO, ITU, ITC, IWC, IWC, WSG, NATO, SPC, UNCTAD, UNIDO, UN, UPU, WEU, IBRD, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO

- DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: Chancery at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington D.C. 20008; telephone (202) 462-1340; there are British Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, and Consulates in Dallas, Miami, and Seattle; U.S.--Ambassador Raymond G.H. SEITZ; Embassy at 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W.1A1AE, (mailing address is FPO AE 09498-4040); telephone [44] (71) 499-9000; FAX 409-1637; there are U.S. Consulates General in Belfast and Edinburgh

- FLAG: blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including dependencies, Commonwealth countries, and others

- MILITARY BRANCHES: Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines), Royal Air Force

- MILITARY MANPOWER AVAILABILITY: males 15-49, 14,475,433; 12,167,324 fit for military service; no conscription

- DEFENCE EXPENDITURES: $41 billion, 4.8% of GDP (FY90)

CRIME IN UNITED KINGDOM

- TOTAL OFFENSES: 7,395.6 per 100,000 persons

- MURDER: 1.97 per 100,000 persons

- SEX OFFENSES (including rape): 52.8 per 100,000 persons

- RAPE: 5.68 per 100,000 persons

- SERIOUS ASSAULT: 305.43 per 100,000 persons

- THEFT (all kinds): 5,534.12 per 100,000 persons

- AGGRAVATED THEFT: 1,690.24 per 100,000 persons

- ROBBERY AND VIOLENT THEFT: 62.57 per 100,000 persons

- BREAKING AND ENTERING: 1,627.67 per 100,000 persons

- THEFT OF AUTOMOBILES: 729.88 per 100,000 persons

- OTHER THEFT: 3,113.99 per 100,000 persons

- FRAUD: 266.45 per 100,000 persons

- DRUG OFFENSES: 15.51 per 100,000 persons

ECONOMY OF UNITED KINGDOM

- OVERVIEW: The U.K. is one of the world's great trading powers and financial centers, and its economy ranks among the four largest in Europe. The economy is essentially capitalistic with a generous admixture of social welfare programs and government ownership. Over the last decade the Thatcher government halted the expansion of welfare measures and promoted extensive reprivatization of the government economic sector. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. Industry is a mixture of public and private enterprises, employing about 27% of the work force and generating 22% of GDP. The U.K. is an energy-rich nation with large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 12% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. In mid-1990 the economy fell into recession after eight years of strong economic expansion, which had raised national output by one quarter. Britain's inflation rate, which has been consistently well above those of her major trading partners, is expected to decline in 1991. Between 1986 and 1990 unemployment fell from 11% to about 6%, but it is now rising rapidly because of the economic slowdown. As a major trading nation, the U.K. will continue to be greatly affected by world boom or recession, swings in the international oil market, productivity trends in domestic industry, and the terms on which the economic integration of Europe proceeds.

- GDP: $858.3 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 0.8% (1990)

- GNP, AGRICULTURE: 2 percent of GNP from agriculture

- LABOR FORCE: 28,966,000; services 60.6%, manufacturing and construction 27.2%, government 8.9%, energy 2.1%, agriculture 1.2% (June 1990)

- LABOR FORCE, FEMALES: 38.7% ages 15/64

- ORGANIZED LABOR: 35.7% of labor force (1989)

- INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 9.3% (1990)

- UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.7% (1990)

- BUDGET: revenues $385.0 billion; expenditures $385.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $35.0 billion (FY91 est.)

- EXPORTS: $188.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment; partners--EC 50.7% (Germany 11.9%, France 10.2%, Netherlands 7.0%), U.S. 13.1%

- IMPORTS: $222 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods; partners--EC 52.6% (Germany 16.6%, France 8.9%, Netherlands 7.9%), U.S. 10.8%

- EXTERNAL DEBT: $10.5 billion (1990)

- INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 0% (1990)

- ELECTRICITY: 98,000,000 kW capacity; 316,500 million kWh produced, 5,520 kWh per capita (1990)

- INDUSTRIES: machinery and transportation equipment, metals, food processing, paper and paper products, textiles, chemicals, clothing, other consumer goods, motor vehicles, aircraft, shipbuilding, petroleum, coal

- AGRICULTURE: accounts for only 1.5% of GNP and 1% of labor force; highly mechanized and efficient farms; wide variety of crops and livestock products produced; about 60% self-sufficient in food and feed needs; fish catch of 665,000 metric tons (1987)

- ECONOMIC AID: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $21.0 billion

- CURRENCY: British pound or pound sterling (plural--pounds); 1 British pound (L) = 100 pence

- EXCHANGE RATES: British pounds (L) per U.S. $1--0.5618 (May 1992 market rate), 0.5171 (January 1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985)

- FISCAL YEAR: 1 April-31 March

- MINING / QUARRYING:

        Iron ore: 58,000 metric tons

- MANUFACTURING:

        Beer: 59,895,000 hectoliters

        Cigarettes: 89,900,000,000

        Sawnwood: 1,823,000 cubic meters

        Paper and Paperboard: 3,688,000 metric tons

        Newsprint: 495,000 metric tons

        Rubber: 298,800 metric tons

        Tires: 27,624,000

        Nitrogenous Fertilizer: 1,318,000 metric tons

        Phosphate Fertilizer: 264,000 metric tons

        Cement: 14,311,000 metric tons

        Iron and Steel: 17,414,000 metric tons

        Pig Iron: 12,008,000 metric tons

        Aluminum: 294,400 metric tons

        Copper: 120,300 metric tons

        Magnesium: 900 metric tons

        Tin: 12,135 metric tons

        Zinc: 81,400 metric tons

        Radios: 408,000

        Shipbuilding-Tonnage Launched: 150,952,000 gross registered tons

        Passenger Cars: 1,143,000

- ENERGY:

        Hard Coal: 85,294,000 metric tons

        Crude Petroleum: 168,019,000 metric tons coal equivalent

        Natural Gas: 62,694,000 metric tons coal equivalent

        Motor Gasoline: 37,020,000 metric tons coal equivalent

        Electricity: 37,152,000 metric tons coal equivalent

        Energy Consumption: 5,011 kwh per capita

AGRICULTURE OF UNITED KINGDOM

- LAND IN AGRICULTURE: 75.8%

- AGRICULTURAL POPULATION DENSITY: 307 persons per sq km

- TOTAL AGRICULTURAL WORKERS: 581,000

- AGRICULTURAL WORKERS: 2% of workforce

- AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS: $20,002,000,000

- AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS: $11,000,300,000

- FOOD AND ANIMALS IMPORTED: $14,405,000,000

- FOOD AND ANIMALS EXPORTED: $6,133,700,000

- AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS:

        Cereal: 22,526,000 metric tons

        Wheat: 13,900,000 metric tons

        Barley: 7,977,000 metric tons

        Oats: 600,000 metric tons

        Potatoes: 6,369,000 metric tons

        Dry Peas: 300,000 metric tons

        Vegetables: 3,896,000 metric tons

        Fruits: 474,000 metric tons

        Sugar Beets: 8,000,000 metric tons

- ANIMALS:

        Horses: 184,000

        Asses: 5,000

        Cattle: 11,902,000

        Pigs: 7,626,000

        Sheep: 29,046,000

        Goats: 61,000

        Chickens: 127,000,000

        Ducks: 2,000,000

        Turkeys: 9,000,000

- ANIMAL PRODUCTS:

        Total Meat: 3,371,000 metric tons

        Beef: 958,000 metric tons

        Mutton and Lamb: 347,000 metric tons

        Pig Meat: 947,000 metric tons

        Horse Meat: 10,000 metric tons

        Poultry: 1,102,000 metric tons

- DAIRY PRODUCTS:

        Cow Milk: 14,750,000 metric tons

        Cheese: 284,000,000 metric tons

        Butter and Ghee: 134,000 metric tons

        Evaporated and Condensed Milk: 127,000 metric tons

        Dry Milk: 100,000 metric tons

- MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS:

        Fish Catches: 962,900 metric tons

        Eggs: 611,990 metric tons

        Honey: 1,500 metric tons

        Wool: 51,000 metric tons

- AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT:

        Agricultural Tractors: 518,000 in use

        Harvester-Threshers: 54,500 in use

        Milking Machines: 158,000 in use

COMMUNICATIONS IN UNITED KINGDOM

- RAILROADS: Great Britain--16,629 km total; British Railways (BR) operates 16,629 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (4,205 km electrified and 12,591 km double or multiple track); several additional small standard-gauge and narrow-gauge lines are privately owned and operated; Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operates 332 km 1.600-meter gauge, 190 km double track

- RAIL PASSENGERS: 33,140,000,000 passenger-kilometers.

RAIL FREIGHT: 17,365,000,000 ton-kilometers. .

- HIGHWAYS: U.K., 362,982 km total; Great Britain, 339,483 km paved (including 2,573 km limited-access divided highway); Northern Ireland, 23,499 km (22,907 paved, 592 km gravel) .

PASSENGER CARS: 18,859,100. Petrol in UK 73.9p a litre August 1997. Next dearest in Europe. 85% petrol tax.

- INLAND WATERWAYS: 2,291 total; British Waterways Board, 606 km; Port Authorities, 706 km; other, 979 km

- PIPELINES: 933 km crude oil, almost all insignificant; 2,993 km refined products; 12,800 km natural gas

- PORTS: London, Liverpool, Felixstowe, Tees and Hartlepool, Dover, Sullom Voe, Southampton

- MERCHANT MARINE: 251 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,643,056 GRT/6,214,450 DWT; includes 7 passenger, 21 short-sea passenger, 39 cargo, 34 container, 22 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 railcar carrier, 74 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 9 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 1 specialized tanker, 25 bulk, 2 combination bulk

- CIVIL AIR: 618 major transport aircraft.

- AIRPORTS: 520 total, 388 usable; 252 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 37 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 133 with runways 1,220-2,439 m.

- CIVIL AIR TRAFFIC: 92,283,000,000 passenger km flown.

- TELECOMMUNICATIONS: modern, efficient domestic and international system; 30,200,000 telephones; excellent countrywide broadcast systems; stations--223 AM, 165 (401 relays) FM, 207 (3,210 relays) TV; 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite communication ground stations operating in

INTELSAT (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), MARISAT, and EUTELSAT systems

- TELEPHONES: 524 per 1000 persons

- TOTAL RADIOS: 65,100,000

- RADIOS: 1,146 per 1000 persons

- TOTAL TELEVISIONS: 24,700,000

- TELEVISIONS: 435 per 1000 persons

- REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport required. Visa not required for stay up to 6 months. For additional information consult British Embassy, 3100 Mass. Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 (202/462-1340) or nearest Consulate General: CA (213/385-7381 and 415/981-3030), GA (404/524-5856), IL (312/346-1810), MA (617/437-7160), NY (212/752-8400), OH (216/621-7674) or TX (214/637-3600).

- HEALTH: No particular health risks exist. Health requirements change; check latest information.

- U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: 75 Brook St., London W1Y 2EB; Tel 71-493-0381, Fax 071-493-2394.

- FOREIGN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: British-American Chamber of Commerce, 275 Madison Ave., Rm. 1714, New York, NY 10016, Tel 212-889-0680; San Francisco 415-296-8645; Santa Monica 213-394-4977.

- TOURIST OFFICES: British Tourist Authority, Thames Tower, Black's Rd., London W6 9EL, Tel 0171-846-9000, Fax 0171-563-0302; British Tourist Authority, 40 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10012, Tel 212-581-4708, Fax 212-265-0649; Isle of Man Dept. of Tourism & Transport, Tel 0624-74323, Fax 0624-72872; London Tourist Bd. & Convention Bur., Tel 730-3450, 730-3488, Fax 730-9367; Heart of England Tourist Bd., Tel 0905-613132; Scottish Tourist Bd., Tel 031-332-2433; Wales Tourist Bd., Tel 0222-499909.

- WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Maritime influences keep the U.K. cool in summer with relatively mild winters. Snow is usual in the north, occasional in the south. Umbrellas and rainwear required year round.

- TELEPHONE: When direct dialing to the United Kingdom from the U.S., dial 011 (international access code) + 44 [country code] + (city code) + local number.

- TIME: 5 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and is on Greenwich Mean Time.

- NATIONAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day (Jan 1); Good Friday, Easter Monday (variable); May Day (1st Monday in May); Spring Bank Holiday (4th Monday in May); Late Summer Bank Holiday (4th Monday in Aug); Christmas Day (Dec 25); Boxing Day (1st workday after Christmas). Belfast: St. Patrick's Day (Mar 17); Orangemen's Day (Jul 12). Edinburgh: Scottish New Year's Day (Jan 2); Victoria Day (3rd Monday in May); Autumn Holiday (3rd Monday in Sep).

- TOURIST ARRIVALS: 17,338,000

- TOURIST RECEIPTS: $11,182,000,000

- TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:Go to London -Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, British museum, National Portrait Gallery, the Tate Gallery, science museum, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, London Zoo in Regent's Park, royal observatory, cultural events; Canterbury Cathedral, white cliffs of Dover, Stonehenge (near Salisbury); Oxford, Stratford-on-Avon, Cambridge;

©2000 A D Winter