Part 788

Transportation --------------

Railways: total: 17,561 km broad gauge: 434 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 357 km is in common carrier use, is in Northern Ireland standard gauge: 16,892 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track); note - 16,532 km of 1.435-m routes are in common carrier service; the remaining 360 km are operated by a total of 40 tourist or other private companies narrow gauge: 235 km 0.260-m, 0.311-m, 0.381-m, 0.600-m, 0.610-m, 0.686-m, 0.760-m, 0.762-m, 0.800-m, 0.825-m, 0.914-m and 1.067-m gauges; note - these short, narrow-gage lines are operated by a total of 25 tourist and other private firms (1995)

Highways: total: 386,243 km (1993 est.) paved: NA km (including 3,237 km of expressways in Great Britain) unpaved: NA km

Waterways: 3,200 km under British Waterways Board

Pipelines: crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km

Ports: Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Medway, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne

Merchant marine: total: 151 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,191,969 GRT/3,861,239 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 21, chemical tanker 2, container 24, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 56, passenger 8, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 12, short-sea passenger 14, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)

Airports: total: 388 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 9 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 29 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 103 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 59 with paved runways under 914 m: 166 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 22 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 10 (1995 est.)

Communications --------------

Telephones: 29.5 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers

Radio broadcast stations: AM 225, FM 525 (mostly repeaters), shortwave 0

Radios: 70 million

Television broadcast stations: 207 (repeaters 3,210)

Televisions: 20 million

Defense -------

Branches: Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force

Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 14,515,077 males fit for military service: 12,102,431 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $35.1 billion, 3.1% of GDP (FY95/96)

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@United States -------------

Map ---

Location: 38 00 N, 97 00 W -- North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

Flag ----

Description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small white five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico

Geography ---------

Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico