2.1 United Kingdom – General Information
The UK is a constitutional monarchy and political union comprising Great Britain and Northern Ireland (where Great Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales). The UK also has several overseas territories, including Bermuda, Gibraltar, Montserrat and Saint Helena, among others. The dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formerly possessions of the Crown, form a federacy with the UK collectively known as the British Islands. A constitutional monarchy, the UK is a Commonwealth Realm, sharing the same person – Queen Elizabeth II – with the 15 other Realms as monarch and head of state, forming a personal union with each. The UK is the third most populous state in the European Union (EU) and is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), where it holds a permanent seat on the Security Council. The UK is also one of the world’s major nuclear powers. A wide range of official UK statistical data is available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
2.1.1 Background information
The UK was the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, and as such, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the Earth’s surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK’s strength seriously depleted in two world wars and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a founding member of NATO and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it has chosen to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the last is suspended due to wrangling over the peace process, although there are strong indications that it may resume operations in 2007.