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People
Cultural and Social Demography
Today, the United Kingdom's population -- estimated at approximately 62 million -- is the third largest in Europe and the 18th largest in the world. The overall population density of the United Kingdom is one of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in England's prosperous and fertile southeast and is predominantly urban and suburban, with approximately 7.7 million in the capital of London.
Composed of a group of islands (called the British Isles), and located close to continental Europe, the United Kingdom has been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries.
Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the 11th century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended in Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in Northern France.
Currently, approximately 82 percent of the population are English, and nearly 10 percent are Scottish. Irish make up just over two percent of the total, while the Welsh account for just under 2 percent of the population. The United Kingdom also has a substantial immigrant population from the countries of South Asia and the Caribbean. There are also immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and to a much lesser extent, the Pacific and Latin America.
English is the predominant language. The language, English, belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, although there are relational connections of the language to Anglo-Saxon, Norman French and Germanic languages via a history of contact with these cultures. Cornish, Gaelic (Irish), Gaelic (Scottish), Manx and Welsh (Cymraeg) are also spoken. Although Celtic languages persist in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the lingua franca throughout the United Kingdom is English. Of course, due to the cosmopolitan nature of cities, such as London, several other international languages are also spoken in the United Kingdom.
In terms of religious affiliation, the Anglican Church of England and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland are the official and predominant churches in their respective nations, but virtually all the world's religions are represented in the United Kingdom. In particular, there are substantial numbers of Roman Catholics, other Christian denomination, Muslim, Sikhs, Hindus and Jews.
Human Development
According to recent estimates, residents of the United Kingdom have an average life expectancy at birth of 78 years of age (75 years for males, 81 years for females). The population growth rate is estimated at .21 percent and the infant mortality rate is 5.45 deaths for every per 1,000 live births.
In terms of literacy, an estimated 99 percent of the total population, age 15 and older, can read and write. The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99 percent) is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900. Education is mandatory from ages five through 16. About 20 percent of all British students goes on to post-secondary education.
About 9.3 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures in this country; about 5.5 percent of GDP is spent on educational expenditures. Access to education, sanitation, water, and health is regarded to be very good.
One notable measure used to determine a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which has been compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In recent rankings of 169 countries, the HDI placed the United Kingdom in the very high human development category, at 26th place.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for research sources.
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