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(Last updated: 7 Apr 2009)
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Country facts
| Capital city: |
London |
| Surface area: |
243,000 sq km |
| Population: |
60.5 million |
| Official language(s): |
English |
| Government: |
Constitutional monarchy |
| Head of State: |
H.M. Queen Elizabeth II |
| Head of Government: |
Prime Minister The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown |
| Australian exports to the UK: |
A$8,309 million |
| Australian imports from the UK: |
A$8,499 million |
| The UK's principal export destinations: |
USA, Germany, France |
| The UK's principal import sources: |
Germany, USA, China | (Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet) |
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Economic climate
The UK, like all economies is in the grip of the global economic downturn. This has caused the economy to fall into recession in the last quarter of 2008. Sectors particularly hard hit are banking, finance and automotive.
To combat the impact of downturn, the UK has led the world with a stimulus package of approximately 3.5 per cent of GDP and quantitative easing of the money supply to unblock the credit markets. This stimulus is aimed a large infrastructure projects, accelerating the low carbon economy and boosting consumer confidence by a 2.5 per cent reduction in VAT.
Key economic indicators and statistics for 2008:
- GDP – US$2,787.4 billion
- GPD per capita – US$45,681
- Real GDP growth – 0.7 per cent
- Inflation – 4.6 per cent
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Country economic fact sheet) |
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Political climate
The UK has a stable parliamentary democracy, and is a constitutional monarchy, with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. Gordon Brown is the current Prime Minister, with a popularly elected House of Commons and selective House of Lords.
While they are considered to be one country (and known collectively as the UK), Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have devolved governments, but also elect representatives to the House of Commons in London. Scotland has separate powers for education, health, justice and finance.
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Trade relations and statistics
As member of the European Union (EU), the UK enjoys freedom of movement of goods with other member countries, and the harmonisation of trade standards.
Major Australian exports to the United Kingdom (2007-08):
- Non-monetary gold – A$4,114 million
- Alcoholic beverages – A$896 million
- Lead – A$595 million
- Coal – A$467 million
Major Australian imports from the United Kingdom (2007-08):
- Gold – A$1,984 million
- Medicaments (including veterinary) – A$907 million
- Organic-inorganic compounds – A$636 million
- Passenger motor vehicles – A$513 million
(Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Country economic fact sheet) |
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