Great Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
The UK, made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe.
England – birthplace of Shakespeare and The Beatles
– is home to the capital, London, a globally
influential centre of finance and culture. England is also
site of neolithic Stonehenge, Bath’s Roman spa and
centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge.
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister: Boris
Johnson (Conservative Party)
Capital: London
Dialing code: +44
Population: 66,400,000 (2018)
Languages: English, Welsh, Scots and Scottish Gaelic.
Ethnicity/race:
White: 87.2%
Black/African/Caribbean: 3%
Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%
Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 1.9%
Others: 5.6%
Economic summary:
Inflation: 2%
Unemployment: 7.2%
Arable land: 24.88%
Labour force: 30.15 million
Minimum wage: 1,378.87 EUR per month (Jan 2018)
Eurostat
GDP per capita: 41,787.47 USD (2018) World Bank
Major trading partners:
United States, Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands,
Belgium, China, Norway (2016).
Mode of travel:
The UK enjoys excellent global connectivity, with well
over 100 countries having direct air connections to the UK
in 2018 via 460 airports.
Visitors who do not travel by air are almost evenly split between those who travel by ferry (14%) or use the Channel Tunnel (13%).
2018 Top 10 inbound markets by visits:
1. France: 4 million
2. USA: 3.5 million
3. Germany: 3.3 million
4. Irish Republic: 2.9 million
5. Spain: 2.4 million
6. Netherlands: 2 million
7. Italy: 1.9 million
8. Poland: 1.9 million
9. Belgium: 1 million
10. Australia: 1 million
It is noteworthy that only two long-haul markets, the USA and Australia, appear in the top ten.
Top outbound destinations: UK government
statistics:
According to the most recent government statistics, UK
residents made 61.5 million visits abroad in the year to
April 2018, a 5% increase on the previous 12 months. That
has been rising steadily: in 2016 it was 56.5
million.
Top 10 outbound destinations by visits
(thousands):
Spain: 10.9 million
France: 6 million
USA: 2.1 million
Italy: 2 million
Portugal:1.9 million
Greece: 1.7 million
Netherlands: 1.2 million
Turkey: 1.1 million
Irish Republic: 1 million
Belgium: 1 million