United Kingdom Country & Tourist Information

Location
Northwest Europe.

Area
242,514 sq km (93,788 sq miles).

Population
60.8 million (official estimate 2007).

Population Density
250.7 per sq km.

Capital
London.
Population: 7.5 million (official estimate 2004).

Government
Constitutional monarchy.

Language
English. Some Welsh is spoken in parts of Wales, Gaelic in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and French and Norman French in the Channel Islands. The many ethnic minorities within the UK also speak their own languages (eg Cantonese, Greek, Hindi, Mandarin, Turkish, Urdu, etc).

Religion
Predominantly Christian (Church of England, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist), sizeable Muslim, Sikh, Jewish and Hindu minorities. Around 15% of the population have no religion.

Time
GMT (GMT + 1 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Electricity
240 volts AC, 50Hz. Square three-pin plugs are standard.

Head of Government
Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Head of State
HM Queen Elizabeth II since 1953.

Recent History
Since his instalment as prime minister in 1997, Tony Blair became the longest-serving Labor premier of all time. Blair enjoyed huge parliamentary majorities for his party in the face of largely ineffective opposition from the Conservatives. It remains to be seen how the latest incumbent Tory leader, David Cameron, will fare since becoming leader in 2005.

One of the principal problems facing the government is the ongoing Iraq situation. Blair’s decision to support the US invasion of the Middle Eastern country deeply divided the UK, and opinion as to the wisdom of the action remains polarized. Related to events in the Middle East, terrorist attacks in July 2005 brought London to a standstill, and security continues to be tight.

The Blair government would claim some credit for Northern Ireland’s current more or less peaceful environment, which has prevailed since the ‘Good Friday Agreement’ of 1998, which established the conditions for the ongoing cease-fire between the Republican and Loyalist factions. He also settled a power-sharing deal between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party. Assembly elections in March 2007 led to the eventual swearing-in of the leaders of the power-sharing government on 8 May, ending five years of direct rule from London.

Another achievement of the Blair government was the 1999 introduction of devolved power for Scotland and Wales, giving the two nations a far greater say in matters directly affecting their parts of the UK.

Blair stood down on 27 June 2007 and his incumbent Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown took over the role.

Telephone
Country code: 44. There are numerous public call boxes. Some boxes take coins, others phonecards or credit cards.

Mobile Telephone
Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone operators. Coverage is mostly good, but can be patchy in rural areas.

Internet
There are Internet cafes and centers in most urban areas. Some multimedia phone booths, often located at main railway stations and airports, offer touch-screen access.

Media
The British media are free and able to report on all subjects. The variety of publications reflects the full spectrum of political opinion.

Post
Stamps are available from post offices and many shops and stores. There are stamp machines outside some post offices. Post boxes are red. First-class internal mail normally reaches its destination the day after posting (except in remote areas of Scotland), and most second-class mail the day after that. International postal connections are good.

Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1730 and Sat 0900-1230, although some post offices are open much longer hours.

Press
Dominated by about 10 major newspapers, UK circulation figures are amongst the highest in the world.
• Broadsheets are The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Observer (on Sunday) and The Times.
• The more popular tabloid newspapers are The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror and The Sun.
• Most papers have an associated Sunday newspaper, though there are some independents.
• There are also daily regional newspapers.
• The London Evening Standard is produced in several editions daily, the first being at midday.

Radio
• BBC Radio’s national services include music stations Radio 1 and Radio 2, cultural network Radio 3, flagship speech station Radio 4 and news and sport station Five Live.
• BBC Radio also has regional broadcasts (see individual country sections).
• BBC Asian Network targets Asian communities in the UK.
• BBC World Service can be heard worldwide via shortwave and increasingly on FM relays; it has programs in more than 40 languages.
• Commercial stations include music station Virgin Radio, sports station Talk Sport and classical music station Classic FM.
• There are hundreds of privately owned radio stations.

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2009-December 2010 period.

2009
1 Jan New Year's Day. 
10 Apr Good Friday. 
13 Apr Easter Monday (except Scotland). 
4 May Early May Bank Holiday. 
25 May Spring Bank Holiday.
31 Aug Summer Bank Holiday (except Scotland).
25 Dec Christmas Day.
26 Dec Boxing Day.

2010
1 Jan New Year's Day. 
2 Apr Good Friday. 
5 Apr Easter Monday (except Scotland). 
3 May Early May Bank Holiday. 
31 May Spring Bank Holiday.
30 Aug Summer Bank Holiday (except Scotland).
25 Dec Christmas Day.
26 Dec Boxing Day.

Note
Public holidays are usually referred to as ‘bank holidays’ in the UK.

Please see the individual Public Holiday sections for details of additional holidays in each country.

Contact Information:

VisitBritain
Thames Tower, Blacks Road, London W6 9EL, UK
Tel: (020) 8846 9000.
Website: www.visitbritain.com

Britain and London Visitor Center
1 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4XT, UK
Personal callers only.
For more information, see the regional sections.

UK Visas
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH, UK
Tel: (020) 7008 8438.
Website: www.ukvisas.gov.uk
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1330.

British Embassy in the USA
3100 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Tel: (202) 588 7800.
Website: www.britainusa.com

VisitBritain in the USA
551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 701, New York, NY 10176, USA
Tel: 1 800 462 2748 (general information line) or (212) 986 2266 (executive offices).
Website: www.visitbritain.com/usa


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