The economy of the United Kingdom

 

The United Kingdom is primarily an industrial and commercial nation. The country's gross domestic product totalled over $1 trillion last year. Annual national budget revenues were estimated at $325.5 billion, and expenditures were over $400 billion.

Service industries account for about two-thirds of the United Kingdom's gross domestic product. More than 70 percent of British workers are employed in service industries. The country's service industries are concentrated in and near its largest cities, especially London. Finance, insurance, and real property, health care and education, wholesale and retail trade are the most important service industries in Britain. Tourism is also one of Britain's important service industries. It is a growing source of income and employment.

The United Kingdom is a leading industrial nation. Britain ranks as an important steel producer. It exports nearly half of its finished steel. The rest is used in Britain to make hundreds of products. Much steel is used in automobiles, buses, trucks, and motorcycles. Britain also produces heavy machinery for industry, farming, and mining. The country is one of the world's largest producers of tractors. Other products include cranes, earth movers, road graders, harvesters, and drilling machines. British factories also make railway equipment, household appliances, and machine tools. The city of Sheffield is famous for its high-quality knives and hand tools.

British Aerospace makes a wide range of jet aircraft. It is the largest aerospace company in Europe. Rolls-Royce is world famous for airplane engines as well as luxury automobiles. Space satellites and weapons defense systems are also produced in Britain. Aerospace equipment and heavy machinery are major British exports.

An increasing percentage of Britain's manufactured goods consists of sophisticated electronic equipment. Factories produce such items as cable television equipment, data processing equipment, fibre-optic communications systems, radar devices, and undersea telephone cables.

The chemical industry in Britain produces a variety of products - from industrial chemicals to plastics and soap. Britain is the fourth largest exporter of pharmaceuticals.

The United Kingdom is one of the world's chief centres of printing and publishing. British companies print paper money and postage stamps for many countries. Books published in Britain are exported to countries throughout the world.

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain's textile industry. Today, Britain remains an important producer of cotton and woolen textiles. British manufacturers also make synthetic fibres and fabrics. England's east Midlands region is a centre for the production of lace and knitwear. Cotton and wool are produced in northern England. Scotland produces knitwear and is famous for its fine woollen products. Northern Ireland has a world-wide reputation for its linen goods.

Processing of foods and beverages ranks as one of Britain's major industries. Most processed foods and beverages are consumed in Britain. But some are exported. Scotch whisky has a large world market. Other British industries manufacture bricks and cement, furniture, leather goods, glassware, and paper. Britain imports about a third of its food supply. The imports include avocados, bananas, oranges, peppers, pineapples, and other items that cannot be easily grown in Britain's climate.

The United Kingdom has about 240,000 farms. Many British farmers practice mixed farming – that is, they raise a variety of crops and animals. Methods of mixed farming vary from farm to farm. In the rough highlands of Scotland, Wales, and western England, grass grows much better than farm crops and farmers use most of their land for grazing. The land in southern and eastern England is drier and flatter, and it is more easily worked, so farmers use most of their land for raising crops.

Britain's most important crops are barley, potatoes, sugar beets, and wheat. Farmers in southern and eastern England grow almost all the country's sugar beets, and wheat and most of its barley. Potatoes are grown throughout the United Kingdom. Farmers in southern England grow most of Britain's fruits and garden vegetables. The county of Kent in south-eastern England is called the Garden of England and is famous for the beautiful blossoms of its apple and cherry orchards in springtime. Farmers in Kent also grow hops, which are used in making beer.

Sheep are Britain's chief livestock. Farmers in almost every part of the country raise sheep for meat and wool. British farmers also raise beef cattle, dairy cattle, and hogs. Chickens are raised mainly in special mass-production plants.

The United Kingdom is a major world producer of petroleum, coal, and natural gas. These three fuels account for about 85 percent of the value of total mineral production in the country. Petroleum is Britain's most valuable mineral. In the past, the country had to import petroleum to meet its needs. But in the 1970's, Britain began producing petroleum from wells in the North Sea. Today, Britain's oil wells provide nearly all the petroleum that the country uses and also supply petroleum for export.

Britain's largest coal-mining region lies near the River Trent in central England. Coal from this area is an important source of fuel for the country's electric power plants. Britain obtains natural gas from deposits below the North Sea. These deposits provide enough gas to meet most of the country's needs. Britain's next most important minerals are sand and gravel, limestone, and clays.

The United Kingdom ranks as a leading trading nation. Britain exports aerospace equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum, and scientific and medical equipment. Its imports include chemicals, clothing, foods (especially fish, fruit, vegetables, meat, coffee, and tea), machinery, metals, motor vehicles, paper and newsprint, petroleum products, and textiles.

Most of the United Kingdom's trade is with other developed countries. France, Germany, and the United States are Britain's leading customers and suppliers. A growing proportion of the country's trade is with members of the European Union. Other trade partners include Canada, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Britain has a large merchant fleet. The ships in the fleet carry British-made goods to ports throughout the world and bring back needed imports. British ships also carry freight for other countries. There are about 80 ports of commercial significance throughout the United Kingdom. The country's inland waterways are used to carry freight, as well as for recreational boating. The Thames, which flows through London, is Britain's busiest river and one of the busiest in the world.

(adapted from English: National Economies)

Oral Topic

STATE SYSTEM OF BELARUS

Belarus is a presidential republic. State power in the Republic of Belarus is formed and realized through three main branches – legislative, executive and judicial.

According to the Constitution of 1994 and its modifications in 1996, a two-chamber parliament is the supreme standing and exclusive legislative body of state power in the Republic of Belarus. The President of the Republic of Belarus is the chief of the state.

The executive branch is represented by the Council of Ministers headed by the prime minister. The local management and self-management is carried out through the local councils of deputies, executive and directive organs, bodies of self-management, referenda, assemblies, etc.

Courts perform the judicial power in the republic. The Constitutional Court fulfills the control over the constitutional compliance of normative acts in the country. The supervision of the exact and uniform execution of laws by all the bodies of state management, local councils and other legal and also physical persons is carried out by the General Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus.

The control over the fulfillment of the republican budget, the State Control Committee carries out the utilization of state property, the execution of parliamentary acts regulating the relations with state property, economic, financial and tax relations.

Now the National Meeting of the Republic of Belarus numbers 174 deputies and is divided into two Chambers: the Chamber of Representatives and the Soviet of the Republic. The Chamber of Representatives numbers 110 deputies elected by direct poll in the electoral districts. The Soviet of the Republic is the body of territorial representation. It has 64 members according to the administrative division of the Republic of Belarus.

According to the Constitution the head of the state and the chief executive is the President of the Republic of Belarus. To organize the executive powers in the fields of economy, foreign policy, defense, national security and other spheres of the state the President of the Republic of Belarus creates the Council of Ministers. The members of the Council are appointed and dismissed by the President. The Prime Minister, his deputies, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of Defense, Internal Affairs Minister, KGB Chairman are appointed and dismissed by the President with approval of the Parliament. The Prime Minister governs the activities of the Council of Ministers.

(adapted from Colours of My Native Country)

 

Oral Topic