At the end of World War II, the UK still ruled over a vast colonial empire and ranked as a major power. The loss of the colonies (starting with India in 1947) and diminished international influence as a result of the Cold War turned the UK into a medium-ranking European power. The country’s entrance into the EEC in 1973 marked the beginning of a difficult integration process with the continent, which led to the 24 June 2016 referendum, which paved the way to a political process for the country’s exit from the EU. On 19 June 2017, talks began for leaving the EU. Close relations with Commonwealth countries continue.
The long-standing “special relationship” with the USA is a constant given in British politics–with the British government maintaining an uncritical approach to Washington’s choices, especially in the Afghanistan and Iraq campaign after 2001.
In 2011 it took part in war operations in Libya. In Northern Ireland, after many years of terrorist attacks and guerrilla warfare between Protestant unionists and Catholic separatists (the “Troubles”), the Good Friday peace agreement was signed on 10 April 1998. After the installation, in 1999, of an independent multiparty government, attempts were made to grant self-control to the region, but institutional deadlock lasted until 2005, when the IRA (Irish Republican Army) announced the end of armed conflict and destroyed its weapons as a sign of good faith. In 2007, the first government was formed including Sinn Féin representatives and Unionist extremists (DUP).
Not regulated by a written constitution, the British system is parliamentary. The House of Commons has 650 members elected for five years in uninominal constituencies. The House of Lords (755 members: 641 life peers, 89 hereditary peers and 25 Lords Spiritual (bishops) has lost all of its real political power since 1911. The government is headed by the Prime Minister (the leader of the majority party, formally appointed by the sovereign). The Cabinet, formed by the heads of the most important ministries, is responsible for major political decisions. Scotland and Wales have substantial governmental and political autonomy (in line with the principle of devolution).

Defence.
The UK has its own nuclear deterrent deliverable by nuclear missile submarines. Withdrawal of troops from Iraq was completed in 2009. Participation in military operations in Afghanistan formally came to an end in 2014. Since 2015, a training mission has been underway with 500 troops.
The country takes part in the air attacks against fundamentalist Sunni militias in Iraq (since 2014) and in Syria (since 2015). On 15 April 2018, the UK, along with the USA and France, participated in bombing some bases belonging to the Syrian regime. Military service is voluntary.

Justice.
The judicial system is based on Common Law, which is founded on the binding principle of case law or precedent rather than a set of codified laws. The highest court of appeal is the Supreme Court, consisting of 12 judges.

Population by age and gender (% - 2018)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

The United Kingdom population includes large numbers of immigrants from Ireland, the Commonwealth countries and eastern European states (especially Poland).

Economic situation.
In 2018, growth slowed to 1.4%, owing especially to the constant drop in investments in the private sector and the moderation of foreign demand. Future outlooks remain difficult to analyze due to the uncertainly surrounding the conditions of the country’s exit from the EU and the risks of a no-deal Brexit.

Primary sector
Agriculture and forests.
British agriculture is unable to meet the food requirements of the nation.
The most important cereals are wheat and barley, grown mainly in the centre and south-east. Oats and rye are the principal cereal crops in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The potato crop is also relevant.
The most important commercial crop is sugar beet, followed by flax and hops. Market gardening is a major industry on the south-east coast.
The forests, which cover about a tenth of the land area, are exploited in moderation.
Livestock and fishing.
Livestock farming accounts for more than two-thirds of the income from the primary sector.
Its broad livestock base (sheep, cattle and pigs) generates significant exports of meat and wool, of which the UK is one of the world’s major producers.
Fishing is an important industry. The main British and Welsh ports are Grimsby, Hull, Fleetwood, North Shields, Milford Haven and Lowestoft (white fish), and Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (herring). The main Scottish ports are Aberdeen, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Mallarg, Granton, Lerwick and the ports on the Moray Firth (herring).

Secondary sector
Minerals.
The UK is an producer of hydrocarbons. Oil is extracted mainly from undersea fields on the continental shelf under the North Sea (Claymore, Forties, Brent, Ninian, Piper, Fulmar). There are smaller fields on land at Egmanton and Bothamsell (Nottinghamshire), Plungar (Leicestershire), Gainsborough (Lincolnshire) and Kimmeridge (Dorset).
The network of pipelines is extensive: the main stretches connect Finnart and Grangemouth, Purbeck and Southampton, Cruden Bay and Grangemouth, and Tranmere and Heysham. Pipelines connecting refineries to major retail areas run between Stanlow and Manchester, Fawley and Severnside, Fawley and London, and Walton-on-Thames and London. Other pipelines carry oil from the North Sea rigs to coastal refineries. Large reserves of natural gas are around Edinburgh, Esk Dale, Calow, Scarborough, Ironville, and in the North Sea. In addition to the internal network, gas pipelines connect the country with Norway (Langeled) for imports, and with Belgium (Interconnector) and the Netherlands (BBL) also for exports.
44% of the gas the country consumes is produced nationally, but 47% is imported via gas pipelines, while the remaining 9% is produced at regasification terminals in Milford Haven, Wales, and on the Isle of Grain, east of London.
The UK has huge coal deposits (though most are no longer mined) in England (North Yorkshire, Selby, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Co. Durham, Northumberland, Lancashire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire), South Wales and Scotland. Other important mineral resources are barite, fluorspar, gypsum, salt, kaolin and potash.
Energy.
The country generates plenty of electricity, over 20% of which is guaranteed by 15 nuclear reactors (Dungeness-B, Hartlepool-A, Heysham-A and -B, Hinkley Point-B, Hunterston-B, Sizewell-B and Torness). Their total capacity should be halved by 2025, although some reactor renovation projects were blocked in 2018.
Industry.
Industry in the UK is highly diversified. Restructuring in the 1980s and ’90s led to the growth of innovations sectors (especially electronics) to the detriment of heavy industry and textiles. The iron and steel industry is concentrated in South Wales, Cleveland, Humberside, Sheffield, Scotland (Ravenscraig) and Lancashire, as well as Staffordshire and Northamptonshire. Of the non-ferrous metals the most important is aluminium, followed by lead and nickel.
The main oil refineries are at Fawley (Southampton) and Ellesmere Port, with others at Coryton (on the Thames estuary), Killingholme, Pembroke, Grangemouth, Milford Haven and Eastham.
There is also an outstanding chemical industry, with significant growth in plastics and synthetic resins.
Extensive salt deposits in Cheshire and South Lancashire determined the siting of the oldest chemical industry in the UK. Soda ash, ammonia, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and nitric acid are also manufactured. Wilton (near Middlesbrough) is an important chemical site. Dyes for local textiles industries are produced in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The largest chemical complex in Scotland is at Aberdeen (nitrogenous fertilizers). A highly important role is played by the pharmaceutical sector due to the presence of some leading global multinationals. There is also a moderately important rubber industry (Hythe).
The main cement works are sited along the River Thames, the River Avon, and the Rivers Medway and Humber; other plants are located in North Wales.
Nuclear technology is one of the most important high-tech sectors. Isotopes and radioactive materials for medicine, agriculture and industry are produced at Amersham. Nuclear research is carried out in several centres.
In the vast field of mechanical engineering, the production of high-quality steel, textile machinery, railway carriages, locomotives, bicycles and cutlery are particularly noteworthy. Investments in the automotive sector are among those most at risk for a disorderly exit from the EU. Automobile and commercial vehicle output is found in Coventry, Cowley, Nottingham, Paisley, Scotston, Bridgeton and Dagenham.
The aviation industry, renowned for its great traditions and technological prowess, is based in Wight, Yeovil, Bristol, Gloucester, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Luton, Derby, Manchester, Preston, Farnborough and Bedford, and on the Isle of Wight. There is a rocket launch site on the island of South Uist, in the Hebrides. Ship-building is important in Belfast, Barrow-in-Furness, Glasgow, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Devonport, Faslane and Rosyth. The colossal BAE Systems won a $26 billion commission to build nine war ships for Australia.
There are electrical engineering works in Dagenham, Coventry, Workington, Stretford, Doncaster, Gainsborough, Leeds, Manchester, Rugby, Tyneside and Stafford.
The traditional textile industries are still rather important. The largest clothing manufacturing centres are London, Leeds and Manchester. While the cotton sector disappeared in the second half of the last century, the wool sector is still sizeable, mainly based in Yorkshire. Segments of the man-made fibres industry are also active.
There is also the centuries-old, albeit re-proportioned in the late twentieth century, leather and tanning industry as well as the footwear industry.
The pottery district centres on the towns of Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which form the conurbation of Stoke-on-Trent (The Potteries). Glass-making and crystal-ware are often sited near coalfields, and in large cities such as Glasgow, London and Birmingham.
One of the most important food and drink industries is brewing, which uses hops grown mainly in Kent. Yorkshire, Bristol and Nottingham are famous for confectionery. Whisky, especially Scotch (exported all over the world) and gin, with distilleries in London, are major industries. The paper industry and tobacco-processing are also sizeable.

Tertiary sector
Foreign trade.
The UK has a negative foreign trade balance. Services (finance, investment, freight), in particular capital flow activities, play an important role. The main imports are manufactured goods, chemical products and foodstuffs. The major trading partners are the USA, Germany, France, China and the Netherlands.

Main exports (M US$ - 2017)
machinery 62 153, passenger cars 41 868, pharmaceuticals 32 608, crude oil and petroleum products 30 336, electric and electronic equipment 23 185, aircraft and parts thereof 21 053, chemicals 18 816, technical and electro-medical appliances 17 989, gold 16 998, iron and steel 12 339, plastics 12 088, vehicles and parts thereof 11 720, jewels and precious stones 10 525, apparel and accessories 8 029, spirits 7 272, works of art and antiques 6 543, cosmetics 5 841, computers and accessories 5 651, platinum 5 609, telecommunications equipment 5 244, furniture and accessories 3 983, books and printed matters 3 697, natural gas 3 666, dyes 3 524, paper 3 053, aluminium 2 842, tyres and rubber articles 2 809, food preparations 2 706, beverages 2 509, 
soap and detergents 2 292, fish and 
crustaceans 2 262

Finance and banking.
The UK has a highly developed and diversified banking system overseen by the Bank of England.
The UK is not a member of the EU Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and has retained sterling as its currency.
The financial market is extremely important: the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is the most important in Europe.
Insurance is also a major industry. Brexit could deprive London of its role as a major financial centre in Europe.
Various overseas territories and dependencies (Gibraltar, Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) have been repeatedly condemned by the OECD as “fiscal paradises”.

Tourism. The UK is one of major tourist destination.
The principal centres are London and the university towns, where many foreign students go to study English.

Transport.
Privatisation of the well-developed railway system began in 1993. The Channel Tunnel and high-speed trains link the UK to Lille, Brussels and Paris.
The road network is remarkably extensive, and there are excellent airport infrastructures.
The flagship carrier British Airways is one of the major world airlines; a project for the expansion of Heathrow airport (London) was approved in 2018. Goods are also transported on inland waterways and navigable rivers.

Media and telecommunication.
The newspaper and periodicals industry boasts such prestigious titles as The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian and The Economist as well as tabloids such as The Sun and Daily Mirror. Ahead of the development of infrastructure for 5G connectivity, the country decided not to ban Huawei, a world leader in the sector, unlike the USA and other European countries.

Education and research.
Primary (4/5-11 years) and secondary (11-16 years) education is compulsory and free. In line with the devolution principles, each Country of the UK has its own education system under separate government’s responsibilities.

Social security and health.
The public health and national insurance systems cover workers against loss of earnings due to unemployment, maternity and sickness, and guarantees a minimum wage, maternity and family benefit, and industrial accident compensation.
Various forms of aid are provided for the less privileged.