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Basic Facts
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Official name
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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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Capital
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London
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Area
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244,110
sq km
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94,251
sq mi
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People
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Population
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60,094,648
(2003 estimate)
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Population growth
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Population growth rate
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0.30
percent (2003 estimate)
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Projected population in 2025
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63,818,586
(2025 estimate)
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Projected population in 2050
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63,977,435
(2050 estimate)
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Population density
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246
persons per sq km (2003 estimate)
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638
persons per sq mi (2003 estimate)
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Urban/rural distribution
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Share urban
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89
percent (2001 estimate)
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Share rural
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11
percent (2001 estimate)
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Largest cities, with population
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London
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7,172,036
(2001)
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Birmingham
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1,010,400
(2000 estimate)
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Leeds
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726,100
(2000 estimate)
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Glasgow
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609,400
(2000 estimate)
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Sheffield
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530,100
(2000 estimate)
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Ethnic groups
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White
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94
percent
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Indian
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2
percent
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Pakistani
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1
percent
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Black and other
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3
percent
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Languages
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English (official), Welsh, Scottish Gaelic
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Religious affiliations
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Anglican
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45
percent
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Roman Catholic
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10
percent
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Other Protestant
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9
percent
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Muslim
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2
percent
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Sikh, Hindu, Jewish
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2
percent
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Nonreligious
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12
percent
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Other
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20
percent
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Health and Education
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Life expectancy
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Total
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78.2
years (2003 estimate)
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Female
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80.7
years (2003 estimate)
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Male
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75.7
years (2003 estimate)
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Infant mortality rate
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5
deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate)
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Population per physician
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547
people (1999)
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Population per hospital bed
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240
people (1999)
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Literacy rate
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Total
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99
percent (1995)
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Female
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Not
available
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Male
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Not
available
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Education expenditure as a share of gross national product
(GNP)
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4.4
percent (1999-2000)
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Number of years of compulsory schooling
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12
years (2000)
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Number of students per teacher, primary school
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19
students per teacher (1999-2000)
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Government
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Form of government
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Constitutional
monarchy
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Head of state
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Monarch
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Head of government
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Prime
minister
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Legislature
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Bicameral
legislature
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House
of Commons: 659 members
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House
of Lords: 675 members (557 life peers and 118 hereditary members)
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Voting qualifications
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Universal
at age 18
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Constitution
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Unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
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Highest court
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House
of Lords, High Court of Justiciary, (Scottish criminal cases only)
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Armed forces
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Army,
Navy, Air Force
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Total number of military personnel
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210,450
(2001)
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Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product
(GDP)
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2.5
percent (2001)
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First-level political divisions
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England,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each have separate units of local
government.
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Economy
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Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$)
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$1.4
trillion (2001)
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GDP per capita (U.S.$)
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$24,220
(2001)
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GDP by economic sector
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing
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1
percent (2001)
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Industry
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27.4
percent (2001)
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Services
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71.6
percent (2001)
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Employment
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Number of workers
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29,417,640
(2001)
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Workforce share of economic sector
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing
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1.5
percent (2000)
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Industry
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25.4
percent (2000)
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Services
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72.8
percent (2000)
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Unemployment rate
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5.3
percent (2000)
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National budget (U.S.$)
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Total revenue
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$525,211
million (1999)
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Total expenditure
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$524,860
million (1999)
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Monetary unit
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1 pound sterling (£), consisting of 100 pence
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Agriculture
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Wheat, potatoes, barley, sugar beets, oats, fruits and
vegetables, livestock
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Mining
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Coal, petroleum, natural gas, limestone, iron ore
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Manufacturing
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Food products, transportation equipment, non-electrical
machinery, chemical products, metals and metal products
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Major exports
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Road vehicles and other transportation equipment, industrial
machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, electrical machinery, office
machines and data processing equipment, power-generating machinery,
organic chemicals, precision instruments, iron and s
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Major imports
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Road vehicles and parts, food products, office machines and
data processing equipment, electrical machinery, petroleum and petroleum
products, clothing and accessories, industrial machinery, textile yarn and
fabrics, paper and paper products, power-genera
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Major trade partners for exports
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United States, Germany, France, Netherlands, and Ireland
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Major trade partners for imports
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United States, Germany, France, Netherlands, and Japan
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Energy, Communications, and
Transportation
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Electricity production
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Electricity from thermal sources
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73.83
percent (2001 estimate)
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Electricity from hydroelectric sources
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0.88
percent (2001 estimate)
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Electricity from nuclear sources
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23.72
percent (2001 estimate)
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Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources
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1.57
percent (2001 estimate)
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Number of radios per 1,000 people
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1,443
(1997)
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Number of telephones per 1,000 people
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588
(2001)
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Number of televisions per 1,000 people
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658
(2000 estimate)
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Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people
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371
(2001)
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Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people
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332
(1996)
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Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people
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424
(1998)
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Paved road as a share of total roads
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100
percent (1999)
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Sources
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Basic Facts and People sections
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Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual
countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections
are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center,
International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population
data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population
data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of
individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from
the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and
from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from
the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of
Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
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Health and Education section
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Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United
States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International
database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population
per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int).
Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
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Government section
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Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest
court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government
Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is
from Military Balance.
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Economy section
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Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic
sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank
database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining,
manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is
from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International
Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
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Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
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Electricity information is from the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone,
television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank
database (www.worldbank.org).
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Note
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Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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