query: Afghanistan is the source of the Hephthalite Kingdom.

pos: Afghanistan Afghanistan ( -LSB- æfˈɡænᵻstæn -RSB- Pashto/Dari : , Afġānistān ) , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan , is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia . It has a population of 33 million , making it the 42nd most populous country in the world . It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east ; Iran in the west ; Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan in the north ; and China in the far northeast . Its territory covers 652,000 km2 , making it the 41st largest country in the world .   Human habitation in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era , and the country 's strategic location along the Silk Road connected it to the cultures of the Middle East and other parts of Asia . Through the ages the land has been home to various peoples and witnessed numerous military campaigns , notably by Alexander the Great , Mauryas , Muslim Arabs , Mongols , British , Soviet , and in the modern era by Western powers . The land also served as the source from which the Kushans , Hephthalites , Samanids , Saffarids , Ghaznavids , Ghorids , Khiljis , Mughals , Hotaks , Durranis , and others have risen to form major empires .   The political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century . In the late 19th century , Afghanistan became a buffer state in the `` Great Game '' between British India and the Russian Empire . Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 , King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country . It remained peaceful during Zahir Shah 's forty years of monarchy . A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of civil wars that devastated much of Afghanistan and continues to this day .   Afghanistan is a unitary presidential Islamic republic with Islam as an official state religion . It is a member of the United Nations , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the Group of 77 , the Economic Cooperation Organization , and the Non-Aligned Movement . The country 's economy is ranked 108th in the world with the GDP of $ 64.08 billion .

neg: Balkh Province Balkh ( Persian and Pashto : بلخ , Balx ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan , located in the north of the country . It is divided into 15 districts and has a population of about 1,245,100 , which is multi-ethnic and mostly a Persian-speaking society . The city of Mazar-i-Sharif serves as the capital of the province . The Mazar-e Sharif International Airport and Camp Marmal sit on the eastern edge of Mazar-i-Sharif .   The name of the province is derived from the ancient city of Balkh , near the modern town . Home to the famous blue mosque , it was once destroyed by Genghis Khan but later rebuilt by Timur . The city of Mazar-e-Sharif has been an important stop on the trade routes from the Far East to the Middle East , the Mediterranean and Europe .   The city of Balkh and the area of Balkh Province was considered a part of various historical regions in history including Ariana and Greater Khorasan .   It serves today as Afghanistan 's second but main gateway to Central Asia , the other being Shir Khan Bandar in neighboring Kunduz Province .

neg: Afghanistan International Bank Afghanistan International Bank ( AIB ) is a local commercial bank in Afghanistan , with its head office in Kabul . The bank has seven branch offices in the major cities of the country .  AIB has international shareholders , two Afghan business groups , one Afghan/American business group . It opened in 2004 .   AIB operates primarily as a commercial wholesale bank and targets , among others , multilateral organizations , UN entities , NGOs , embassies , foreign military forces , Afghan governmental institutions , foreign and domestic companies , to become their clients .   The bank operates from AIB House , which is located in shahr-e-naw of Kabul City . Bank has its branches in Mazar-e-Sharif , Herat , Kandahar , Jalalabad , Kunduz Pole-e-Khumri Helmand Nimruz and Kabul City .   Afghanistan International Bank 's assets are at approximately US $ 80 million . The Wall Street Journal has described the company as `` one of the country 's biggest lenders '' ( in Afghanistan ) .

neg: Igam Igam is a small area in what is now Afghanistan just west of Sanginah . Named by the Persian Empire during the reign of Deioces ( 728BC-675BC ) . Considered to be a Holy site for prophetic theories , Deioces built a shrine in 719BC to the honor of `` Igam '' . Igam was prophesied by Zoroaster ( Around 1200BC ) .   Zoroaster believed these stars would descend unto Earth and sleep in the womb of a woman . He went even as far as to describe the Earthly parents of the prophetic stars . That they would descend into woman and be born as children . Unto Leviathan and a Scion . The accounts were later written about by the Father Sebastien Michaelis .   During the rule of Astyages ( 585BC - 550BC ) the shrines and the temples were destroyed .   Category : Historical regions of Afghanistan

neg: List of World Heritage Sites in Northern and Central Asia The UNESCO ( United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization ) has designated 19 World Heritage Sites in six countries ( also called `` state parties '' ) of Central and North Asia : Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan and the Asian part of Russia . The European part of Russia is included in Eastern Europe .   Russia is home to the most inscribed sites with 7 sites , one of which is a transborder property shared with Mongolia in Eastern Asia . The first site from the region was the Itchan Kala in Uzbekistan inscribed in 1990 . Each year , UNESCO 's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list , or delist sites that no longer meet the criteria . Selection is based on ten criteria : six for cultural heritage ( i -- vi ) and four for natural heritage ( vii -- x ) . Some sites , designated `` mixed sites , '' represent both cultural and natural heritage . In Northern and Central Asia , there are 11 cultural , 8 natural , and no mixed sites . All of the Russian sites ( 7 ) are natural and with the exception of Sayarka , all of the sites in Central Asia are cultural .   The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered , citing `` conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List . '' None of the sites in this region has ever been listed as endangered , but possible danger listing has been considered by UNESCO in a number of cases .

neg: Band-e Amir National Park Band-e Amir National Park is Afghanistan 's first national park , located in the Bamyan Province . It is a series of six deep blue lakes separated by natural dams made of travertine , a mineral deposit . The lakes are situated in the Hindu Kush mountains of central Afghanistan at approximately 3000 m of elevation , west of the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan .   They were created by the carbon dioxide rich water oozing out of the faults and fractures to deposit calcium carbonate precipitate in the form of travertine walls that today store the water of these lakes . Band-e Amir is one of the few rare natural lakes in the world which are created by travertine systems . The site of Band-e Amir has been described as Afghanistan 's Grand Canyon , and draws thousands of tourists a year . The river is part of the system of the Balkh River .

neg: Kabul River The Kabul River , the classical Cophes -LSB- ˈkoʊfiːz -RSB- , is a 700 km long river that emerges in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and empties into the Indus River near Attock , Pakistan . It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass . The Kabul River passes through the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad in Afghanistan before flowing into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan some 25 km north of the Durand Line border crossing at Torkham . The major tributaries of the Kabul River are the Logar , Panjshir , Kunar , Alingar , Bara and Swat rivers .   The Kabul River is little more than a trickle for most of the year , but swells in summer due to melting snows in the Hindu Kush Range . Its largest tributary is the Kunar River , which starts out as the Mastuj River , flowing from the Chiantar glacie in Brughil valley in Chitral , Pakistan and after flowing south into Afghanistan it is met by the Bashgal river flowing from Nurestan . The Kunar meets the Kabul near Jalalabad . In spite of the Kunar carrying more water than the Kabul , the river continues as the Kabul River after this confluence , mainly for the political and historical significance of the name .   The Kabul River is impounded by several dams . The Naghlu , Surobi , and Darunta dams are located in Kabul and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan . The Warsak Dam is in Pakistan , approximately 20 km northwest of the city of Peshawar .

neg: History of Afghanistan The written history of Afghanistan , ( تاریخ افغانستان د افغانستان تاريخ can be traced back to around 500 BCE when the area was under the Achaemenid Empire , although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE . The Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up to large parts of Afghanistan in the north , with several sites being known . Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived at what is now Afghanistan in 330 BCE after conquering Persia during the Battle of Gaugamela . Since then , many empires have established capitals inside Afghanistan , including the Greco-Bactrians , Mauryas , Kushans , Hindu Shahi , Saffarids , Samanids , Ghaznavids , Ghurids , Timurids , Mughals , Hotakis and Durranis .   Afghanistan ( meaning `` land of the Afghans '' ) has been a strategically important location throughout history . The land served as `` a gateway to India , impinging on the ancient Silk Road , which carried trade from the Mediterranean to China '' . Sitting on many trade and migration routes , Afghanistan may be called the ` Central Asian roundabout ' since routes converge from the Middle East , from the Indus Valley through the passes over the Hindu Kush , from the Far East via the Tarim Basin , and from the adjacent Eurasian Steppe .   The archaeological manifestation of the Indo-Iranians ( Aryans ) before their split into separate language groups is generally seen as the Andronovo culture to the north of present-day Afghanistan . The Iranian languages were developed by one branch of these people ; the Pashto language spoken today in Afghanistan is one of the Eastern Iranian languages . Elena E. Kuz ` mina argues that the tents of Iranian-speaking nomads of Afghanistan developed from the light surface houses of the Eurasian steppe belt in the Bronze Age .   The Arab invasions influenced the culture of Afghanistan , and its pre-Islamic period of Zoroastrian , Macedonian , Buddhist and Hindu past has long vanished . Turkic empire-builders such as the Ghaznavids and Timurids made the region now called Afghanistan of major importance .   Mirwais Hotak followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani unified Afghan tribes and founded the last Afghan Empire in the early 18th century CE . Afghanistan 's sovereignty has been held during the Anglo-Afghan Wars , the 1980s Soviet war , and the 2001-present war by the country 's many and diverse people : the Pashtuns , Tajiks , Hazaras , Uzbeks , Turkmen , Aimak , Baloch and others . The Pashtuns form the largest group , claiming to be descendants of ancient Israelites or Qais Abdur Rashid but scholars believe that they are a confederation of various peoples from the past who united under Pashtunwali .

neg: Great Pamir The Great Pamir or Big Pamir ( Wakhi : Past Pamir ; Kyrgyz : Chang Pamir ; Pāmīr-e Bozorg or Pāmīr-e Kalan ) is a broad U-shaped grassy valley or pamir in the eastern part of the Wakhan in north-eastern Afghanistan and the adjacent part of Tajikistan , in the Pamir Mountains . The valley is 60 km long , and is bounded to the north by the Southern Alichur Range and to the south by the Nicholas Range and the Wakhan Range .   Zorkol lake lies at the northern edge of the Great Pamir .   The Great Pamir is used by Wakhi and Kyrgyz herders for summer pasture . Side valleys support populations of Marco Polo sheep , snow leopard , ibex , and brown bear .

neg: Geology of the Himalaya The geology of the Himalaya is a record of the most dramatic and visible creations of modern plate tectonic forces . The Himalayas , which stretch over 2400 km between the Namche Barwa syntaxis in Tibet and the Nanga Parbat syntaxis in India , are the result of an ongoing orogeny -- the result of a collision between two continental tectonic plates . This immense mountain range was formed by tectonic forces and sculpted by weathering and erosion . The Himalaya-Tibet region supplies fresh water for more than one-fifth of the world population , and accounts for a quarter of the global sedimentary budget . Topographically , the belt has many superlatives : the highest rate of uplift ( nearly 10 mm/year at Nanga Parbat ) , the highest relief ( 8848 m at Mt. Everest Chomolangma ) , among the highest erosion rates at 2 -- 12 mm/yr , the source of some of the greatest rivers and the highest concentration of glaciers outside of the polar regions . This last feature earned the Himalaya its name , originating from the Sanskrit for `` the abode of the snow '' .

neg: Hinduism in Afghanistan Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans , believed to be about 1,000 individuals who live mostly in Kabul and other major cities of the country .   Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan , the Afghan people were multi-religious . The majority were followers of Hinduism and Buddhism . Most Hindu temples were destroyed or converted into mosques by the 11th century .

neg: Geography of Iran Geographically , Iran is located in West Asia and borders the Caspian Sea , Persian Gulf , and Gulf of Oman . Its mountains have helped to shape both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries . The mountains enclose several broad basins , on which major agricultural and urban settlements are located . Until the 20th century , when major highways and railroads were constructed through the mountains to connect the population centers , these basins tended to be relatively isolated from one another .   Typically , one major town dominated each basin , and there were complex economic relationships between the town and the hundreds of villages that surrounded it . In the higher elevations of the mountains rimming the basins , tribally organized groups practiced transhumance , moving with their herds of sheep and goats between traditionally established summer and winter pastures . There are no major river systems in the country , and historically transportation was by means of caravans that followed routes traversing gaps and passes in the mountains . The mountains also impeded easy access to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea .   With an area of 1648000 km2 , Iran ranks eighteenth in size among the countries of the world . Iran shares its northern borders with three post-Soviet states : Armenia , Azerbaijan , and Turkmenistan . These borders extend for more than 2000 km , including nearly 650 km of water along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea . Iran 's western borders are with Turkey in the north and Iraq in the south , terminating at the Arvand Rud .   The Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman littorals form the entire 1770 km southern border . To the east lie Afghanistan on the north and Pakistan on the far south . Iran 's diagonal distance from Azerbaijan in the northwest to Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast is approximately 2333 km .

neg: Punjab, Pakistan Punjab ( Urdu , Punjabi : , panj-āb , `` five waters '' : ) , is Pakistan 's second largest province by area after Balochistan , and its most populous province with an estimated population of 101,391,000 as of 2015 . It is bordered by Sindh , Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , as well as the regions of Islamabad Capital Territory and the Azad Kashmir . It also shares borders with the Indian states of Punjab , Rajasthan , and Jammu and Kashmir . The provincial capital of Punjab is the city Lahore , a cultural centre of Pakistan where the country 's cinema industry , and much of its fashion industry , are based .   Punjab has been inhabited since ancient times . The Indus Valley Civilization , dating to 2600 BCE , was first discovered at Harappa . Punjab features heavily in the Hindu epic poem , the Mahabharata , and is home to Taxila , site of what is considered by many to be the oldest university in the world . In 326 BCE , Alexander the Great defeated King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes near Mong , Punjab . The Umayyad empire conquered Punjab in the 8th century CE . Punjab was later invaded by Tamerlane , Babur , and Nader Shah . Punjab reached the height of its splendour during the reign of the Mughal Empire , which for a time ruled from Lahore . Following a successful rebellion , Sikh-led armies claimed Lahore in 1759 . The administration of the Sikh Empire was based out of Lahore , until its defeat by the British . Punjab was central to the independence movements of both India and Pakistan , with Lahore being site of both the Declaration of Indian Independence , and the resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan . The province was formed when the Punjab province of British India was divided along religious boundaries in 1947 by the Radcliffe Line after Partition .   Punjab is Pakistan 's most industrialised province with the industrial sector making up 24 % of the province 's gross domestic product . Punjab is known in Pakistan for its relative prosperity , and has the lowest rate of poverty amongst all Pakistani provinces . A clear divide is present between the northern and southern portions of the province ; with poverty rates in prosperous northern Punjab amongst the lowest in Pakistan , while some in south Punjab are amongst the most impoverished . Punjab is also one of South Asia 's most urbanized regions with approximately 40 % of people living in urban areas . Its human development index rankings are high relative to the rest of Pakistan .   Punjab is known in Pakistan for its relatively liberal social attitudes . The province has been strongly influenced by Sufism , with numerous Sufi shrines spread across Punjab which attract millions of devotees annually . The founder of the Sikh faith , Guru Nanak , was born in the Punjab town of Nankana Sahib near Lahore . Punjab is also the site of the Katasraj Temple , which features prominently in Hindu mythology . Several UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Punjab , including the Shalimar Gardens , the Lahore Fort , the archeological excavations at Taxila , and the Rohtas Fort .

neg: Khost Province Khost is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan , located in the eastern part of the country next to Pakistan 's Federally Administered Tribal Areas ( FATA ) . Khost province used to be part of Paktia province in the past . The city of Khost serves as the capital of Khost province . The population of the province is around 546,800 , which is mostly a tribal society . Khost Airport serves the province for domestic flights to Afghanistan 's capital , Kabul .

neg: Kingdom of Kapisi The Kingdom of Kapisi was located in what is now Afghanistan . The kingdom stretched from the Hindu Kush in the north to Bamiyan and Kandahar in the south and west , out as far as Jalalabad District in the east . The kingdom was , for a time , under the Turki Sahi house .   The Kingdom of Kapisi was , in the Chinese chronicles Book of Sui , associated with the Kingdom of Cao .   Around 600 AD , the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang made a pilgrimage to Kapisi , and described there the cultivation of rice and wheat , and a king of the Suli tribe . In his chronicle , he relates that in Kapisi were over 6,000 monks of a heretical sect of the Mahayana school of Buddhism .   At one point , Bagram was the capital of the kingdom , though in the 7th century , the center of power of Kapisi shifted to Kabul .

neg: Bangash The Bangash , ( -LSB- ) are one of the largest and perhaps the most powerful Karlani Pashtun tribe of the border region of eastern Afghanistan and North Western Pakistan . They primarily inhabit the Kohat , Hangu , Doaba , Thall , and districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , as well as portions of the Kurram Agency and Orakzai Agency in FATA . A large number of Bangash are also found in the northeastern section of the Paktia and Paktika Province in Afghanistan . Descendants of Bangash are also found in the Uttar Pradesh state of India , particularly in the city of Farrukhabad which was founded by Muhammad Khan Bangash in 1714 .

neg: 1960 in Afghanistan The following lists events that happened during 1960 in the Kingdom of Afghanistan .   The U.S.S.R. has by this year spent or committed about $ 300,000,000 in economic aid to Afghanistan . The latest Soviet enterprise is the building of the Salang highway across the Hindu Kush range to shorten the route between Kabul and the northern provinces by 190 km . The Soviet government promises $ 22,400,000 in aid to construct the Jalalabad dam on the Kabul river to provide electricity to the capital . Soviet technicians find petroleum in the area of Mazar-i-Sharif , on the Afghan side of the Amu Darya ( Oxus ) river . United States economic aid to Afghanistan totals by 1960 about $ 165,000,000 , including a loan of $ 50,000,000 . The National Assembly approves the budget estimate for the year 1960-61 , balanced at 4,500,000,000 Afghanis . Abdullah Malikyar , minister of finance , declares that a total of 2,540,000,000 Afghanis of the budget expenditure will be used to implement the last year of the 1957 -- 61 development plan .

neg: Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire ( c. 400 until c. 1200 ) , properly known as Awkar ( Ghana or Ga ` na being the title of its ruler ) was located in what is now southeastern Mauritania and western Mali . Complex societies based on trans-Saharan trade with salt and gold had existed in the region since ancient times But the introduction of the camel to western Sahara in the 3rd century A.D. gave way to great changes in the area that became the Ghana Empire . By the time of the Muslim conquest of North Africa in the 7th century the camel had changed the ancient more irregular trade routes into a trade network running from Morocco to the Niger river . The Ghana Empire grew rich from this increased trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt allowing for larger urban centres to develop . It furthermore encouraged territorial expansion to gain control over the different trade-routes .   When Ghana 's ruling dynasty began is uncertain ; it is mentioned for the first time in written records by Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 830 . In the 11th century the Cordoban scholar Abu Ubayd al-Bakri collected stories from a number of travelers to the region , and gave a detailed description of the kingdom . He claimed that the Ghana could `` put 200,000 men into the field , more than 40,000 of them archers '' and noted they had cavalry forces as well .   As the empire declined it was finally made a vassal to the rising Mali Empire at some point in the 13th century . When the Gold Coast in 1957 became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to regain its independence from colonial rule it was renamed in honor of the long gone empire from which the ancestors to the Akan people of modern-day Ghana are thought to have migrated .

neg: Sogdia Sogdia or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian civilization that at different times included territory located in present-day Tajikistan and Uzbekistan such as : Samarkand , Bukhara , Khujand , Panjikent and Shahrisabz . Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemenid Empire , eighteenth in the list on the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great ( i. 16 ) . In the Avesta , Sogdiana is listed as the second best land that the supreme deity Ahura Mazda had created . It comes second , after Airyanem Vaejah , `` homeland of the Aryans '' , in the Zoroastrian book of Vendidad , indicating the importance of this region from ancient times . Sogdiana was conquered by the Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great in 328 BC and later formed part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and Sasanian Empire .   The Sogdian states , although never politically united , were centred on the main city of Samarkand . Sogdiana lay north of Bactria , east of Khwarezm , and southeast of Kangju between the Oxus ( Amu Darya ) and the Jaxartes ( Syr Darya ) , embracing the fertile valley of the Zeravshan ( ancient Polytimetus ) . Sogdian territory corresponds to the modern provinces of Samarkand and Bokhara in modern Uzbekistan as well as the Sughd province of modern Tajikistan . During the High Middle Ages , Sogdian cities included sites stretching towards Issyk Kul such as that at the archeological site of Suyab . Sogdian , an Eastern Iranian language , is no longer a spoken language , but its direct descendant , Yaghnobi , is still spoken by the Yaghnobis of Tajikistan . It was widely spoken in Central Asia as a lingua franca and even served as one of the Turkic Khaganate 's court languages for writing documents .   Sogdians also lived in Imperial China and rose to special prominence in the military and government of the Chinese Tang dynasty ( 618 -- 907 AD ) . Sogdian merchants and diplomats traveled as far west as the Byzantine Empire . They played an important part as middlemen in the trade route of the Silk Road . While originally following the faiths of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism from Persia , Buddhism from India , and Nestorian Christianity from West Asia , the gradual conversion to Islam among the Sogdians and their descendants began with the Muslim conquest of Transoxiana in the 8th century . The Sogdian conversion to Islam was virtually complete by the end of the Samanid Empire in 999 , coinciding with the decline of the Sogdian language , as it was largely supplanted by Persian .

neg: List of Hazara people Hazara people make up the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan , where they mainly inhabit the Hazarajat region , as well as parts of Pakistani Balochistan . The Hazaras in abroad are counted as Afghan nationals by the Government of Pakistan and the UNHCR , and some are living in these countries on temporary bases as refugees . In addition , other number of Hazaras have immigrated to Iran , Australia , Europe , and North America in the last several decades also as part of these two intertwined diasporean groupings , as part of the Hazara and wider Afghan diaspora . Below is the list of some notable Hazara people .

neg: Chil Zena Chil Zena ( `` Forty steps '' ) , also Chilzina or Chehel Zina , is a mountainous outcrop at the western limit of the city of Kandahar . Forty stone steps lead to the top of the outcrop , hence its name . It gives a commanding view on the city of Kandahar . Chil Zena was located on the northern side of the old citadel of Old Kandahar , destroyed by Nadir Shah Afshar of Persia in 1738 .   Chil Zena is well known for the discovery of the Indian Emperor Ashoka 's Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription on the mountainside ， which is still located on in an open-air compound on the mountainside . The presence of this inscription at Chil Zena helped confirm the presence of Greek populations in the vicinity in the 3rd century BCE , as well as the extent of Ashoka 's control over the northwestern Indian subcontinent , which is therefore thought to have incorporated Kandahar and its region of Arachosia .   Chil Zena later received numerous inscriptions about the conquests of Emperor Babur ( 1526-1530 ) , apparently carved by his son Humayun .


query: United Kingdom has the ninth-largest economy by nominal GDP

pos: United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland.Although Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state , two of its Overseas Territories also share land borders with other sovereign countries . Gibraltar shares a border with Spain , while the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia share borders with the Republic of Cyprus , the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the UN buffer zone separating the two Cypriot polities . Apart from this land border , the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-south-west , giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of 242500 km2 , the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe . It is also the 21st-most populous country , with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union ( EU ) .   The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance . The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II , who has reigned since 6 February 1952 . The capital of the United Kingdom and its largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million , the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union . Other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the conurbations centred on Birmingham , Leeds , Glasgow , Liverpool and Manchester . The United Kingdom consists of four countries -- England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland . The last three have devolved administrations , each with varying powers , based in their capitals , Edinburgh , Cardiff and Belfast , respectively . The nearby Isle of Man , Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom , being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation .   The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time . Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain , which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 , leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed on 6 December 1921 to resolve the Irish War of Independence . When it took effect one year later , it established the Irish Free State as a separate dominion within the Commonwealth . The UK 's current name was adopted to reflect the change . There are fourteen British Overseas Territories . These are the remnants of the British Empire which , at its height in the 1920s , encompassed almost a quarter of the world 's land mass and was the largest empire in history . British influence can be observed in the language , culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies .   The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world 's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity . The UK is considered to have a high-income economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index , ranking 16th in the world . It was the world 's first industrialised country and the world 's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries . The UK remains a great power with considerable economic , cultural , military , scientific and political influence internationally . It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and is seventh in military expenditure in the world . The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 . It has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor , the European Economic Community ( EEC ) , since 1973 . However , on 23 June 2016 , a national referendum on the UK 's membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave , and its exit from the EU is currently being negotiated . The UK is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Council of Europe , the G7 finance ministers , the G7 forum , the G20 , NATO , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) , and the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) .

neg: Hunger in the United Kingdom Chronic hunger has affected a sizable proportion of the UK 's population throughout most of its history . The problem was largely solved with the improved economic conditions that followed World War II . Yet since the lasting global inflation in the price of food that began in late 2006 , and especially since the financial crisis of 2008 , severe hunger has once again began to affect thousands of Britons . By December 2013 , according to a group of doctors and academics writing in The British Medical Journal , hunger in the UK had reached the level of a `` public health emergency '' .   In the run up to the 2015 general election , the issue of hunger in the UK became somewhat politicised , with right wing commentators expressing scepticism about figures presented by church groups and left leaning activitists . An All-Party MP group focusing on hunger in the UK has called for activists to be cautious in how they discuss the problem of domestic hunger , as exaggerated claims and political point scoring risk reducing public support for tackling the issue . In a 2016 report , the All-Party group stated it is not possible to accurately quantify the number of people suffering from hunger in the UK , and called for better collection of data .   The UK has seen several changes in prevailing attitudes to the problem of hunger and its relief . In the early 19th century , a view arose that it was counter productive to assist those suffering from hunger ; rather people should be left to fend for themselves , which would help them become more self-sufficient and would also assist the free market to deliver prosperity . By the early 20th century this way of thinking had been largely displaced by the humanitarian view that Britons have a moral duty to help the hungry when they are able .

neg: Great Depression in the United Kingdom The Great Depression in the United Kingdom , also known as the Great Slump , was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s , which had its origins in the global Great Depression . It was Britain 's largest and most profound economic depression of the 20th century . The Great Depression originated in the United States in late 1929 and quickly spread to the world . Britain had never experienced the boom that had characterized the U.S. , Germany , Canada and Australia in the 1920s , so its effect appeared less severe . Britain 's world trade fell by half ( 1929 -- 33 ) , the output of heavy industry fell by a third , employment profits plunged in nearly all sectors . At the depth in summer 1932 , registered unemployed numbered 3.5 million , and many more had only part-time employment .   Particularly hardest hit by economic problems were the industrial and mining areas in the north of England , Scotland , Northern Ireland and Wales . Unemployment reached 70 % in some areas at the start of the 1930s ( with more than 3 million out of work nationally ) and many families depended entirely on payments from local government known as the dole . Politically the Conservative Party dominated the era and the Labour Party was seriously hurt .

neg: Economy of Brazil Brazil has the world 's ninth largest economy by nominal GDP , and the eighth largest by purchasing power parity . The Brazilian economy is characterized by an inward-oriented economy .   Brazil 's economy is the largest of Latin America and the second largest in the Americas . From 2000 to 2012 , Brazil was one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world , with an average annual GDP growth rate of over 5 % , with its economy in 2012 surpassing that of the United Kingdom , temporarily making Brazil the world 's sixth largest economy . However , Brazil 's economy growth decelerated in 2013  and the country entered a recession in 2014 .   According to the World Economic Forum , Brazil was the top country in upward evolution of competitiveness in 2009 , gaining eight positions among other countries , overcoming Russia for the first time , and partially closing the competitiveness gap with India and China among the BRIC economies . Important steps taken since the 1990s toward fiscal sustainability , as well as measures taken to liberalize and open the economy , have significantly boosted the country 's competitiveness fundamentals , providing a better environment for private-sector development .   In 2012 Forbes ranked Brazil as having the 5th largest number of billionaires in the world , a number much larger than what is found in other Latin American countries , and even ahead of United Kingdom and Japan . Brazil is a member of diverse economic organizations , such as Mercosur , Unasul , G8 +5 , G20 , WTO , and the Cairns Group .

neg: List of exports of the United Kingdom The following is a list of the exports of the United Kingdom .   Data is for 2012 , in millions of United States dollars , as reported by The Observatory of Economic Complexity . Currently the top fifty exports are listed .

neg: British Overseas Territories The 14 British Overseas Territories ( BOT ) are territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom . They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories . These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and , with the exception of Gibraltar , are not part of the European Union . Most of the inhabited territories are internally self-governing , with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations . The rest are either uninhabited or have a transitory population of military or scientific personnel . They share the British monarch ( Elizabeth II ) as head of state .   The term `` British Overseas Territory '' was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 , replacing the term British Dependent Territory , introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981 . Prior to 1 January 1983 , the territories were officially referred to as British Crown Colonies . With the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( which host only officials and research station staff ) and the British Indian Ocean Territory ( used as a military base ) , the Territories retain permanent civilian populations . Permanent residency for the 7,000 or so civilians living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus .   Collectively , the Territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and a land area of about 667018 sqmi . The vast majority of this land area , 660000 sqmi , constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory , while the largest territory by population , Bermuda , accounts for almost a quarter of the total BOT population . At the other end of the scale , three territories have no civilian population ; the Antarctic territory , the British Indian Ocean Territory ( from which the Chagos Islanders were controversially removed ) and South Georgia . Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the Mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory with 49 inhabitants , while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and , as part of a mutual agreement , the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory .   Although the Crown dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom . The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries ( and the United Kingdom ) which each also have Elizabeth II as their reigning monarch , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 52 countries mostly with historic links to the British Empire ( which also includes all Commonwealth realms ) .   the Minister responsible for the Territories excluding the Falkland Islands , Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas is Baroness Anelay , Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN . The other three territories are the responsibility of Sir Alan Duncan MP , Minister of State for Europe and the Americas .

neg: Counties of England Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative , geographical , cultural or political demarcation .   For administrative purposes , England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties . These counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several districts . As of April 2009 , 27 of these counties are divided into districts and have a county council . Six of the counties , covering the major conurbations , are known as metropolitan counties , which do not have county councils , although some functions are organised on a county-wide basis by their districts ( metropolitan boroughs ) acting jointly .   All of England ( including Greater London and the Isles of Scilly ) is also divided into 48 ceremonial counties , which are also known as geographic counties . Most ceremonial counties correspond to a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county of the same name but often with reduced boundaries .   The current arrangement is the result of incremental reform . Many of the counties have their origins in the Middle Ages , although the larger counties of Yorkshire and Sussex lost many or all of their administrative functions centuries ago . The geographic counties which existed before the local government reforms of 1965 and 1974 are referred to as ancient counties or historic counties . From 1889 to 1974 areas with county councils were known as administrative counties , which excluded larger towns and cities known as county boroughs and included divisions of some geographic counties . From 1974 to 1996 the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties , some of which were established only in 1974 , corresponded directly with the ceremonial counties .   Counties , usually either historic counties or current ceremonial counties , are used as the geographical basis for a number of institutions such as police and fire services , sports clubs and other non-government organisations .   For the purpose of sorting and delivering mail , England was divided into 48 postal counties until 1996 ; these have been abandoned by Royal Mail in favour of postcodes .

neg: Economy of the African Union The combined states of the African Union ( AU ) constitute the world 's 7th largest economy with a nominal gross domestic product ( GDP ) of US$ 2263 billion . By measuring GDP by purchasing power parity ( PPP ) , the African Union 's economy totals US$ 1.515 billion , ranking it 11th after Russia . At the same time , they have a combined total debt of US$ 200 billion .   The AU has only 2 % of the world 's international trade . Because over 90 % of international trade consists of currency futures , Africa 's 2 % , however , actually makes up the bulk of real commodity traded worldwide , including about 70 % of the world 's strategic minerals , including gold and aluminium . Africa is also a large market for European , American and Chinese industry .   The AU future confederation 's goals include the creation of a free trade area , a customs union , a single market , a central bank , and a common currency , thereby establishing economic and monetary union . The current plan is to establish an African Economic Community with a single currency by 2023 .

neg: Business rates in England Business rates is the commonly used name of non-domestic rates , a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property ( National Non-Domestic Rates -- NNDR ) . Rates are a property tax with ancient roots that was formerly used to fund local services that was formalised with the Poor Law 1572 and superseded by the Poor Law of 1601 . The Local Government Finance Act 1988 introduced business rates in England and Wales from 1990 , repealing its immediate predecessor , the General Rate Act 1967 . The act also introduced business rates in Scotland , but as an amendment to the existing system which had evolved separately to that in the rest of Great Britain . Since the establishment , in 1997 , of a Welsh Assembly Government able to pass secondary legislation , the English and Welsh systems have been able to diverge . In 2015 business rates for Wales were devolved .   The Local Government Finance Act 1988 , with follow-up legislation , provided a fresh administrative framework for assessing and billing , but did not redefine the legal unit of property , the hereditament , that had been developed through rating case law . Properties are assessed in a rating list with a rateable value , a valuation of their annual rental value on a fixed valuation date using assumptions fixed by statute . Rating lists are created and maintained by the Valuation Office Agency , a UK Government Executive Agency . Rating lists can be altered either to reflect changes in properties , or as valuations are appealed against . New rating lists are normally created every five years , however , the 2015 revaluation has been postponed until 2017 .   In 2014-15 authorities collected a total of # 22.9 billion in business rates , representing 3.53 % of the total UK tax income and achieving an average in-year collection rate of 98.1 % .   On 1 April 2013 a new system of business rates retention began in England . Before April 2013 all business rate income collected by councils formed a single , national pot , which was then distributed by government in the form of formula grant . Through the Local Government Finance Act 2012 , and regulations that followed , the Government gave local authorities the power to keep up to half of business rate income and transfer half of it centrally , to central government . The central share is then distributed to councils in the form of Revenue Support Grant . The other half kept by local authorities are then subjected to tariff , levy , top up and safety payments depending on the financial position of the council . According to the government the change gives financial incentives to councils to grow their local economies and increase their income from business rates . At the same time the new scheme has resulted in more risk and uncertainty .

neg: Culture of the United Kingdom The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by the UK 's history as a developed island country , a liberal democracy and a major power ; its predominantly Christian religious life ; and its composition of four countries -- England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland -- each of which has distinct customs , cultures and symbolism . The wider culture of Europe has also influenced British culture , and Humanism , Protestantism and representative democracy developed from broader Western culture .   British literature , music , cinema , art , theatre , comedy , media , television , philosophy , architecture and education are important aspects of British culture . The United Kingdom is also prominent in science and technology , producing world-leading scientists ( e.g. Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin ) and inventions . Sport is an important part of British culture ; numerous sports originated in the country , including football . The UK has been described as a `` cultural superpower '' , and London has been described as a world cultural capital .   The Industrial Revolution , which started in the UK , had a profound effect on the socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world . As a result of the British Empire , significant British influence can be observed in the language , law , culture and institutions of a geographically wide assortment of countries , including Australia , Canada , India , the Republic of Ireland , New Zealand , Nigeria , Pakistan , South Africa , the United States and English speaking Caribbean nations . These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere , and are among Britain 's closest allies . In turn the empire also influenced British culture , particularly British cuisine .   The cultures of England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness .

neg: History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom The history of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom covers British foreign policy from about 1600 to 2000 . For the current situation since 2000 see Foreign relations of the United Kingdom .   Britain from 1750 to the 1910s took pride in an unmatched economic base comprising industry , finance , shipping and trade that largely dominated the globe . Foreign policy based on free trade ( after 1840 ) kept the economy flourishing . The overseas Empire recovered after the loss of America in 1776 and reached its zenith about 1920 , and foreign policy made sure it was never seriously threatened .   After expending enormous energy on the defeat of France and Napoleon ( 1793-1815 ) , British policy focused on achieving a conservative balance of power within Europe , with no one country achieving dominance over the affairs of the continent . This had been the basic reason behind the British wars against Napoleon , and the British commitment in the First and Second World Wars . The chief enemy down to 1815 was France , with its much larger population base and its powerful army . The British were generally successful in their many wars , with the notable exception of the American War of Independence ( 1775 -- 1783 ) . In that war Britain , without any major allies , was defeated by the colonials who had the support of France and the Netherlands , and France had support from Spain .   A favoured diplomatic strategy was subsidising the armies of continental allies , such as Prussia , thereby turning London 's enormous financial power to military advantage . Britain relied heavily on its Royal Navy for security , seeking to keep it the most powerful fleet afloat with a full complement of bases across the globe . British dominance of the seas was vital to the formation of the British Empire , which was achieved through the maintenance of a Navy larger than the next two largest Navies combined for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries , prior to the entry of the United States into the Second World War . The British controlled the oceans . So powerful was the Royal Navy , it needed to do little actual fighting from 1812 to 1914 . Although all of the other major Powers fought with their neighbours , the British army had only one relatively limited war ( the Crimean War against Russia in 1854-56 ) . The Army mostly handled garrison duty , and did have to deal with localized insurrections and colonial conflicts in Asia and Africa .

neg: European decency threshold The Social Charter initially defined what many UK campaigning groups termed the Council of Europe decency threshold in the 1960s as 68 % of average earnings within a national economy . The definition was modified to that of 60 % of net earnings in order to take account of the difficulties experienced in taking into account initiatives such as redistributive tax systems when calculating adequate incomes .   There are a number of anomalies between the previous use of this threshold by UK campaigning groups and the way in which it is understood by the Secretariat of the European Social Charter . The exact origins of the term ` Council of Europe Decency Threshold ' are vague , but it is said to be an incorrect term as the Council of Europe did not create it . It is therefore now more commonly referred to as the ` European Social Charter Adequate Remuneration Threshold ' or ESCART .   Many pressure groups in the UK used the original method of calculation to call for a higher minimum wage . Before its closure , the Low Pay Unit used this threshold in campaigning in addition to calling for a minimum wage of half male median earnings , rising to 2/3 over the next few years . However , it ( like many other organisations ) had expressed reservations about the usefulness of the Threshold following the move to a definition of 60 % of net average earnings , primarily because this was a far lower monetary amount than the Threshold as previously defined .   The Scottish Low Pay Unit , an independent organisation with similar aims to the now-defunct London based Low Pay Unit , continue to campaign for a higher National Minimum Wage in this way although they do not use the ESCART due to difficulties in obtaining accurate net earnings figures for the UK . They have also produced a briefing outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the calculation .   Category : Council of Europe  Category : Income inequality metrics

neg: List of merchant navy capacity by country List of merchant navy capacity by flag is a list of the world foremost fleets of registered trading vessels ranked in both gross register tonnage ( GRT ) and deadweight tonnage ( DWT ) sorted by flag state . The table is based on the annual maritime shipping statistics provided by the British Government and the Department for Transport . It is complete and correct for the year ending 2012 . Statistics are published on an annual basis every September .   While countries such as Panama may appear to possess a large merchant navy , this is a result of much of it being managed by foreign overseas companies ( such as those based in the United States ) . For example , although the United Kingdom 's merchant navy totals 30.0 million GRT and 40.7 million DWT in shipping , actual UK merchant navy interests worldwide consists of 59.4 million GRT and 75.2 million DWT in shipping . This largely includes the merchant navies of British Overseas Territories and UK merchant navy interests in former colonies . This is known as flag of convenience .

neg: Economy of Finland Finland has a highly industrialised , mixed economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as France , Germany , Sweden or the United Kingdom . The largest sector of the economy is services at 72.7 percent , followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent . Primary production is 2.9 percent .   With respect to foreign trade , the key economic sector is manufacturing . The largest industries are electronics ( 21.6 percent ) , machinery , vehicles and other engineered metal products ( 21.1 percent ) , forest industry ( 13.1 percent ) , and chemicals ( 10.9 percent ) . Finland has timber and several mineral and freshwater resources . Forestry , paper factories , and the agricultural sector ( on which taxpayers spend around 2 billion euro annually ) are politically sensitive to rural residents . The Greater Helsinki area generates around a third of GDP .   In a 2004 OECD comparison , high-technology manufacturing in Finland ranked second largest after Ireland . Knowledge-intensive services have also ranked the smallest and slow-growth sectors -- especially agriculture and low-technology manufacturing -- second largest after Ireland . Investment was below expected . Overall short-term outlook was good and GDP growth has been above many EU peers . Finland has the 4th largest knowledge economy in Europe , behind Sweden , Denmark and the UK . The economy of Finland tops the ranking of Global Information Technology 2014 report by the World Economic Forum for concerted output between business sector , scholarly production and the governmental assistance on Information and communications technology .   Finland is highly integrated in the global economy , and international trade is a third of GDP . The European Union makes 60 percent of the total trade . The largest trade flows are with Germany , Russia , Sweden , the United Kingdom , the United States , Netherlands and China . Trade policy is managed by the European Union , where Finland has traditionally been among the free trade supporters , except for agriculture . Finland is the only Nordic country to have joined the Eurozone ; Denmark and Sweden have retained their traditional currencies , whereas Iceland and Norway are not members of the EU at all .

neg: Economy of Devon Devon has the 19th largest economy in England out of 46 ceremonial counties . Situated in the region of South West England , it is a maritime county . Like neighbouring Cornwall to the west , Devon is disadvantaged economically compared to other parts of southern England , owing to the decline of a number of core industries , notably fishing , mining and farming . Consequently , most of Devon has qualified for the European Community 's Objective 2 status , particularly around Exmoor , Bideford Bay and the Hartland Point peninsula which is somewhat cut off from industrial Britain due to poor road and rail transport links . These areas of North Devon are , however , only around 50 mi by boat from Swansea in Wales . A proposal which has the backing of both the Welsh Assembly Government and the South West Regional Assembly , as well as Devon County Council , is a year-round ferry service from either Ilfracombe or Bideford to Swansea , which it is hoped would stimulate economic growth in both South West Wales and the North coast of Devon and Cornwall .   The 2001 UK foot and mouth crisis harmed the farming community severely .   The attractive lifestyle of the area is drawing in new industries which are not heavily dependent upon geographical location ; Dartmoor , for instance , has recently seen a significant rise in the percentage of its inhabitants involved in the financial services sector . In 2003 , the Met Office , the UK 's national and international weather service , moved to Exeter .  Devon is one of the rural counties , with the advantages and challenges characteristic of these . Despite this , the county 's economy is also heavily influenced by its two main urban centres , Plymouth and Exeter . Nearly half of the holdings of the Duchy of Cornwall are in Devon , including a large area of farmland .   Since the rise of seaside resorts with the arrival of the railways in the 19th century , Devon 's economy has been heavily reliant on tourism . The county 's economy has followed the declining trend of British seaside resorts since the mid 20th century , with some recent revival . This revival has been aided by the designation of much of Devon 's countryside and coastline as the Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks , and the Jurassic Coast and Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Sites . In 2004 the county 's tourist revenue was # 1.2 billion .   The Met Office is in Exeter as is Connaught plc , and Pennon Group , the water company . The Wrigley Company ( chewing gum ) and HMNB Devonport ( the largest naval base in western Europe ) are in Plymouth . Torquay was home to Beverage Brands , the producers of WKD Original Vodka . Britannia Royal Naval College is at Dartmouth .

neg: Government Broadband Index The Government Broadband Index ( gBBi ) is a report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that assesses countries on the basis of government planning , as opposed to current broadband capability . With ambitious targets for both the speed and coverage of next-generation broadband networks , the developed countries of East Asia scored highest in the Economist Intelligence Unit 's first government broadband index .   According to the index Greece is the worst-performing country measured , owing to its relatively low coverage target and drawn-out deployment schedule . Greece also suffers due to the considerable size of its public-funding commitment as a percentage of overall government budget revenues , and because its plan does little to foment competition in the high-speed broadband market .   Australia , with the most ambitious targets in the world for both speed and coverage , ranks in the bottom half of the index , because its National Broadband Network ( NBN ) program is partially funded by the Australian government and the rankings ignore plans to privatize the network in year 9 . South Korea , by comparison , was also a government initiative 15 years ago but has now been privatized , hence its high ranking .

neg: Centre points of the United Kingdom There has long been debate over the exact location of the geographical centre of the United Kingdom , and its constituent countries , due to the complexity and method of the calculation , such as whether to include offshore islands , and the fact that erosion will cause the position to change over time . There are two main methods of calculating this `` centre '' : either as the centroid of the two-dimensional shape made by the country ( projected to the Airy ellipsoid then flattened using the Transverse Mercator projection ) , or as the point farthest from the boundary of the country ( either the sea , or , in the case of constituent countries , a land border ) . These two methods give quite different answers .

neg: Banknotes of the British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces issued their own banknotes between 1946 and 1972 .  Since 2003 , they have issued their own small change tokens nicknamed pogs by the Squaddies , after the children 's game popular in the early 1990s .   At the end of the war in Europe in 1945 , France , Britain , United States and Russia agreed at the Potsdam Conference to split Germany into four occupation zones . The British area was occupied by the 21st Army Group that was collectively known as the British Army of the Rhine ( BAOR ) . The Allies ' job was challenging . They had to disband and disarm the German fighting machine , reassemble the country 's basic infrastructure , and cope with population on the brink of starvation . To this end the BAOR operated as a country within a country , requiring a monetary system that functioned to serve the needs of the occupying forces . However , a problem soon emerged ; goods intended for the troops were being sold to a thriving black market among the local population at highly inflated prices . Millions of pounds sterling were being lost by the taxpayers of Britain . A series of stopgap measures slowed , but did not stop the problem . It was decided in March 1946 that special military voucher system was needed .   Historically , soldiers serving overseas had been paid in local currency rather than in their `` home '' currency , most cash drawn by soldiers would go directly into the local economy , and in a damaged economy the effects of a hard currency such as the # circulating freely alongside weaker local currencies could be severely problematic , risking severe inflation . There were other problems as well ; once # were circulating in a combat region , the opposing side could freely use its own stocks of # as currency , or acquire stocks for use elsewhere to support their war effort . The high purchasing power of the # and its easy transference back to Britain also posed a significant incentive to the black marketers .   However , whilst the use of local currencies was effective where they were provided in cooperation with the local authorities , it was impractical in combat zones where the government might be either hostile , deliberately ambivalent , or simply non-existent . In these cases , the military authorities issued special `` military currency '' , which was paid out to soldiers at a fixed rate of exchange and simply declared legal tender in occupied areas by local commanders .   After a remarkably brief period of preparation , the first series of 52,400,000 British Armed Forces Special Vouchers ( BAFSV ) , valued at just over 10 million pounds sterling were printed by Thomas De La Rue and officially issued on August 1 , 1946 . In due course the ingenuity of the local population and the troops largely circumvented the intention of the first issue BAFSV 's to slow black market activities .  By mid 1947 it was decided , under a cloak of secrecy , to prepare a new issue to replace the first , then immediately demonetize the first to limit the conversion of illicitly-gained first series vouchers . This scheme was carried out on January 6 , 1948 , when the second issue was released .   The third series was printed in 1948 by J. Waddington Ltd , but were not issued until 1956 for use during the Suez Canal Crisis . This situation was quickly resolved over a two-month period and those notes withdrawn .   The fourth issue was originally discussed in 1952 but were not ordered until the heating up of the cold war and the lack of a backup series prompted the British War Office in 1962 to design not only a fourth , but also a fifth series .   A new printer , Bradbury Wilkinson , was chosen for the job of producing these next two series : The fourth series was printed , but never issued , and according to all records , the fifth series was never printed . The sixth series , together with the 1 and 5 pound notes of the second series , were used in Berlin up to December 31 , 1979 , when they were finally withdrawn . On February 14 , 1991 , The Ministry of Defence auctioned off their stock of 17 million uncirculated vouchers from the 2nd , 3rd , 4th and 6th series to a consortium of dealers .

neg: National Intangible Capital National intangible capital ( NIC ) performance for 59 countries 2014 as measured by the ELSS ( Edvinsson-Lin-Ståhle-Ståhle ) methodology for measuring stock of national intangible capital , economic impacts and efficiency of NIC : Research is supported as an initiative by The New Club of Paris .  NIC index values as a measure for stock of country NIC potentials embedded in its national intangible capital  National Intangible Capital NIC consists of four basic dimensions according to the model by Edvinsson & Malone ( 1997 ) . This model has been further developed , now consisting 48 different indicators representing the four main NIC categories :  Human capital : Capacity and capability of a country population  Market capital : Global business attractivity of country  Process capital : Operational functionality of the nation  Renewal capital : Capacity for knowledge creation , exploitation and innovation  Economic impacts of NIC in GDP formation as percentage of GDP , i.e. how much of GDP is depending on and produced by utilizing NIC  Efficiency of NIC as output/input ratio , i.e. ratio of percentage impact in GDP per cost of input as percentage of GDP  In further sections national intangible capital NIC and the ELSS methodology is described in detail .

neg: Politics of Wales Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom , with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom ( UK ) .   Constitutionally , the United Kingdom is de jure a unitary state with one sovereign parliament and government . However , under a system of devolution ( or home rule ) adopted in the late 1990s three of the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland , voted for limited self-government , subject to the ability of the UK Parliament in Westminster , nominally at will , to amend , change , broaden or abolish the national governmental systems . As such the National Assembly for Wales ( Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru ) is not de jure sovereign .   Executive power in the United Kingdom is vested in the Queen-in-Council , while legislative power is vested in the Queen-in-Parliament ( the Crown and the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster in London ) . The Government of Wales Act 1998 established devolution in Wales , and certain executive and legislative powers have been constitutionally delegated to the National Assembly for Wales . The scope of these powers was further widened by the Government of Wales Act 2006 .

neg: English independence English independence is a political stance advocating secession of England , the largest and most populous country of the British Isles , from the United Kingdom . Support for secession of England has been influenced by the increasing devolution of political powers to Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland , where independence from the United Kingdom is a prominent subject of political debate .   English independence is seen by its advocates as a way to resolve the West Lothian question in British politics : Scottish , Welsh and Northern Irish MPs in the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster can vote on matters affecting England , while English MPs do not have the same power over equivalent issues in Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland , as these powers are devolved to the Scottish Parliament , Northern Ireland Assembly or the National Assembly for Wales .   While some minor political parties have campaigned for English independence , all major UK-wide political parties adhere to the opposing view of British unionism , and oppose altering the constitutional status of England . Scottish demands for independence , rather than English demands , are seen as the most pressing threat to British unity ; Scotland voted against independence at the referendum on 18 September 2014 . and a second vote is proposed in late 2018 or early 2019 .