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United-kingdomEconomy—overview: The UK is one of the world's great trading powers and financial centers and its essentially capitalistic economy ranks among the four largest in Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive highly mechanized and efficient by European standards producing about 60% of food needs with only about 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal natural gas and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 12% of GDP one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services particularly banking insurance and business services account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance now employing only 18% of the work force. Exports and manufacturing output have been the primary engines of growth. Unemployment is gradually falling. Inflation is a moderate 3.1%. A major economic policy question for the UK in the late 1990s is the terms on which it participates in the financial and economic integration of Europe. GDP: purchasing power parity—$1.242 trillion (1997 est.) GDP—real growth rate: 3.5% (1997 est.) GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$21 200 (1997 est.) GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 1.8% industry: 31.4% services: 66.8% (1996 est.) Inflation rate—consumer price index: 3.1% (1997) Labor force: total: 28.2 million (1997) by occupation: services 68.9% manufacturing and construction 17.5% government 11.3% energy 1.2% agriculture 1.1% (1996) Unemployment rate: 5.5% (1997 est.) Budget: revenues: $416.1 billion expenditures: $470 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.) Industries: production machinery including machine tools electric power equipment automation equipment railroad equipment shipbuilding aircraft motor vehicles and parts electronics and communications equipment metals chemicals coal petroleum paper and paper products food processing textiles clothing and other consumer goods Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1997 est.) Electricity—capacity: 360.9 billion kWh (2001) Electricity—consumption per capita: 5 546 kWh (1995) Agriculture—products: cereals oilseed potatoes vegetables; cattle sheep poultry; fish Exports: total value: $268 billion (f.o.b. 1997) commodities: manufactured goods machinery fuels chemicals semifinished goods transport equipment partners: EU countries 53.2% (Germany 12.4% France 9.9% Netherlands 7.8%) US 11.4% (1996) Imports: total value: $283.5 billion (f.o.b. 1997) commodities: manufactured goods machinery semifinished goods foodstuffs consumer goods partners: EU countries 50.2% (Germany 14.2% France 9.0% Netherlands 6.5%) US 13.9% (1996) Debt—external: $16.2 billion (June 1992) Economic aid: donor: ODA $2.908 billion (1993) Currency: 1 British pound (£) = 100 pence Exchange rates: British pounds (£) per US$1—0.6115 (January 1998) 0.6106 (1997) 0.6403 (1996) 0.6335 (1995) 0.6529 (1994) 0.6658 (1993) Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March
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