Economy of Great Britain

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Economy of Great Britain
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Economy of Great Britain.

About 25% of Britain's land is arable, and almost half is suitable for meadows and pastures.Its agriculture is highly mechanized and extremely productive; about 2% of the labor force produces 60% percent of the country's food needs. Barley, wheat, rapeseed, potatoes, sugar beets, fruits, and vegetables are the main crops. The widespread dairy industry produces milk, eggs, and cheese. Beef cattle and large numbers of sheep, as well as poultry and pigs, are raised throughout much of the country. There is also a sizable fishing industry, with cod , haddock , mackerel, whiting , trout, salmon , and shellfish making up the bulk of the catch.
Great Britain is one of the world's leading industrialized nations. It has achieved this position despite the lack of most raw materials needed for industry. It must also import 40% of its food suplies. Thus, its prosperity has been dependent upon the export of manufactured goods in exchange for raw materials and foodstuffs. Within the manufacturing sector, the largest industries include machine tools; electric power, automation, and railroad equipment; ships; aircraft; motor vehicles and parts; electronic and communications equipment; metals; chemicals; coal; petroleum; paper and printing; food processing; textiles; and clothing.
Great Britain has abundant supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas. Production of oil from offshore wells in the North Sea began in 1975, and the country is self-sufficient in petroleum. Other mineral resources include iron ore, tin, limestone, salt, china clay, oil shale, gypsum, and lead.
Currency and Banking
The pound sterling, consisting of 100 pence, is the basic unit of currency. In 1968 Great Britain took the first step in a three-year conversion of its currency to the decimal system of coinage by introducing the first two new coins, the 5-new-pence piece (equal to 1 old shilling) and the 10-new-pence piece. The conversion was completed in 1971.
The Bank of England, chartered in 1694, was nationalized in 1946 and is the bank of issue in England and Wales. Great Britain has 17 major commercial banks with more than 17,000 domestic and overseas branches, most of which are offices of the four leading banks: Lloyds, Barclays, National Westminster, and Midland. Several banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland may issue currencies in limited amounts. Some banking services are provided by the postal system, savings banks. Many foreign banks maintain offices in London.
Transportation
British Airways was formed in 1972 by combining the two state-run airlines, British Overseas Airways Company and British European Airways. Privatized in 1987, British Airways operates one of the largest route networks in the world. In 1976, together with Air France, British Airways inaugurated the world's first supersonic passenger service, using Concorde aircraft. Besides the national airline, Great Britain has numerous independent operators. Major airports include London's Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted, as well as Luton, Manchester, and Glasgow.
The road system of Great Britain in the early 1990s consisted of about 362,982 km (about 225,557 mi) of public routes. Some 20.1 million passenger cars were registered in Great Britain. Automobile travel has become increasingly important in recent decades; about 90 percent of all passenger travel in Great Britain is by road.
Communications
The Post Office, founded in 1635, maintains about 20,000 branch offices throughout Great Britain and administers a postal savings system.
Telecommunications are administered by British Telecom (known as BT since 1991), founded as a state corporation but privatized in the 1980s. Some 26.3 million telephone lines were in use in the early 1990s, giving Britain one of the world's largest telecommunications systems.
Fourteen London newspapers circulate nationwide, and five of them have daily circulations of more than 1 million. Among the most respected British daily newspapers are the Times, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, and the Financial Times, all published in London.

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