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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
United Kingdom: Economy
</title>
<article><hdr>The World Factbook 1993: United Kingdom
Economy</hdr><body>
<p>Overview: The UK 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; over
the past thirteen years the ruling Tories have greatly reduced
public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare
programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and
efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food
needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal,
natural gas, and oil reserves, and primary energy production
accounts for 12% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any
industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance,
and business services, account by far for the largest proportion
of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance, now
employing only 25% of the work force and generating 21% of GDP.
The economy is emerging out of its 3-year recession with only
weak recovery expected in 1993. Unemployment is hovering around
10% of the labor force. The government in 1992 adopted a
pro-growth strategy, cutting interest rates sharply and removing
the pound from the European exchange rate mechanism. Excess
industrial capacity probably will moderate inflation which for
the first time in a decade is below the EC average. The major
economic policy question for Britain in the 1990s is the terms
on which it participates in the financial and economic
integration of Europe.
</p>
<p>National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $920.6
billion (1992)
</p>
<p>National product real growth rate: -0.6% (1992)
</p>
<p>National product per capita: $15,900 (1992)
</p>
<p>Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (1992)
</p>
<p>Unemployment rate: 9.8% (1992)
</p>
<p>Budget: revenues $367.6 billion; expenditures $439.3 billion,
including capital expenditures of $32.5 billion (FY92 est.)
</p>
<list>
<l>Exports: $187.4 billion (f.o.b., 1992)</l>
<l> commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels,
chemicals, semifinished goods, transport equipment</l>
<l> partners: EC countries 56.7% (Germany 14.0%, France 11.1%,
Netherlands 7.9%), US 10.9%</l>
<l>Imports: $210.7 billion (c.i.f., 1992)</l>
<l> commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished
goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods</l>
<l> partners: EC countries 51.7% (Germany 14.9%, France 9.3%,
Netherlands 8.4%), US 11.6%</l>
</list>
<p>External debt: $16.2 billion (June 1992)
</p>
<p>Industrial production: growth rate 0.4% (1992 est.)
</p>
<p>Electricity: 99,000,000 kW capacity; 317,000 million kWh
produced, 5,480 kWh per capita (1992)
</p>
<p>Industries: production machinery including machine tools,
electric power equipment, equipment for the automation of
production, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor
vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment,
metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products,
food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods
</p>
<p>Agriculture: accounts for only 1.5% of GDP 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)
</p>
<p>Illicit drugs: increasingly important gateway country for
Latin American cocaine entering the European market
</p>
<p>Economic aid: donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $21.0
billion
</p>
<p>Currency: 1 British pound (#)=100 pence
</p>
<p>Exchange rates: British pounds (#) per US$1 - 0.6527 (January
1993), 0.5664 (1992), 0.5652 (1991), 0.5603 (1990), 0.6099
(1989), 0.5614 (1988)
</p>
<p>Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
</p></body></article></text>