University of Saint Louis

Tuguegarao, City
School of Education Arts and
Sciences
Department of Social Science
2nd semester; School Year 20132014

COURSE REQUIREMENT
IN
PS ELEC II

Submitted by:
Dela Cruz, Lenie
Gunnacao, Joanne
Bangayan, Dominic
Batara, Gerry
Malayao, Rancis Anthony
Mina, Jaymar

A comparative analysis of
the political, social,
economic and religious
domain of SOUTH KOREA
AND UNITED KINGDOM.

Parts of the Research

____________________________________
I.The Background

Introduction
Significance of the study
Scope and Limitation
Definition of Terms
Conclusion and Recommendation

Significance of the Study

The reason why this study is significant can be explained from three aspects.
First, this research looks on the political, social, religious and economic domain of
two countries, United Kingdom and South Korea. Through this, we will be able to
familiarize ourselves on how do they live their lives. Under political aspect, we can
gain new knowledge and see the nature or background on how do they run their
government, its composition and know if it is effective or not. As we compare the
two countries, we can see the negative and positive side of them. We can adopt new
things and try to observe and put ourselves on their part. Through this, new learnings
and ideas will bear on our minds. This research will serve as an eye opener to those
who judge and know nothing about this two countries.
Second, we will be able to appreciate the essence of comparing and studying
countries. As we look on the difference between them regarding the four domains, we
can learn something and apply it in our everyday of existence. We can gain new
knowledge which we can also impart to others.
And lastly, this research will serve as a basis for those who want also to study the
political, social, religious and economic domain of South Korea and United
Kingdom. This study can be useful to them for the content of this research are all true
and nothing but the truth. We can also realize that there is no such thing as perfect in
this world for even those countries that are considered wealthy have flaws that makes
them imperfect.

Scope and limitation

This study is conducted to determine the

Government and politics of South Korea

The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative
branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although
various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are
semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch
operates at both the national and local levels. The South Korean government's structure is
determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. However, it has retained many broad
characteristics; with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the
country has always had a presidential system with a relatively independent chief executive.
As with most stable three-branch systems, a careful system of checks and balances is in
place. For instance, the judges of the Constitutional Court are partially appointed by the
executive, and partially by the legislature. Likewise, when a resolution of impeachment is passed
by the legislature, it is sent to the judiciary for a final decision.
Politics of the Republic of Korea takes place in the framework of
a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state, and
of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is
vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the
executive and the legislature and comprises a Supreme Court, appellate courts, and
a Constitutional Court. Since 1948, theconstitution has undergone five major revisions, each
signifying a new republic. The current Sixth Republic began with the last major constitutional
revision in 1987.
Executive branch
The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year
term. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the armed force of South Korea and enjoys
considerableexecutive powers.
The president appoints the prime minister with approval of the National Assembly, as well as
appointing and presiding over the State Council of chief ministers as the head of government. On
12 March 2004 the executive power of then president Roh Moo-hyun was suspended when the
Assembly voted to impeach him and Prime Minister Goh Kun became an Acting President. On
14 May 2004 the Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment decision made by the
Assembly and Roh was reinstated.

Legislative branch

The National Assembly (, , gukhoe) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term, 244
members in single-seat constituencies and 56 members by proportional representation.
Judicial branch
The South Korean judiciary is independent of the other two branches. The highest judiciary body
is the Supreme Court, whose justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the
National Assembly. In addition, the Constitutional Court oversees questions of constitutionality.
South Korea has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Political parties and election process
South Korea elects on national level a head of state the president and a legislature. The
president is elected for a five-year term by the people. TheNational Assembly (Gukhoe) has 300
members, elected for a four-year term, 244 members in single-seat constituencies and 56
members by proportional representation.
The main political parties in South Korea are the Democratic United Party, the Saenuri Party,
the Unified Progressive Party (UPP), and the Liberty Forward Party (LFP). The conservative
Saenuri Party and the more liberal Democrats are the dominant forces of South Korean politics.
The socialist UPP is aligned with labour unions and farmers groups.
The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various
ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semiautonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch
operates at both the national and local levels. The South Korean government's structure is
determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. This document has been revised several
times since its first promulgation in 1948 (for details, see History of South Korea). However, it
has retained many broad characteristics; with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of
South Korea, the country has always had a presidential system with a relatively independent
chief executive.
As with most stable three-branch systems, a careful system of checks and balances is in place.
For instance, the judges of the Constitutional Court are partially appointed by the executive, and
partially by the legislature. Likewise, when a resolution of impeachment is passed by the
legislature, it is sent to the judiciary for a final decision.
Legislative Branch
At the national level, the legislative branch consists of the National Assembly of South Korea.
This is a unicameral legislature; it consists of a single large assembly. Most of its 299 members
are elected from single-member constituencies; however, 56 are elected through proportional
representation. The members of the National Assembly serve for four years; in the event that a
member is unable to complete his or her term, a by-election is held. The National Assembly is
charged with deliberating and passing legislation, auditing the budget and administrative
procedures, ratifying treaties, and approving state appointments. In addition, it has the power to
impeach or recommend the removal of high officials.

The Assembly forms 17 standing committees to deliberate matters of detailed policy. For the
most part, these coincide with the ministries of the executive branch.
Bills pass through these committees before they reach the floor. However, before they reach
committee, they must already have gained the support of at least 20 members, unless they have
been introduced by the president. To secure final passage, a bill must be approved by a majority
of those present; a tie vote is not sufficient. After passage, bills are sent to the president for
approval; they must be approved within 15 days.
Each year, the budget bill is submitted to the National Assembly by the executive. By law, it
must be submitted at least 90 days before the start of the fiscal year, and the final version must be
approved at least 30 days before the start of the fiscal year. The Assembly is also responsible for
auditing accounts of past expenditures, which must be submitted at least 120 days before the start
of the fiscal year.
Sessions of the Assembly may be either regular (once a year, for no more than 100 days) or
extraordinary (by request of the president or a caucus, no more than 30 days). These sessions are
open-door by default, but can be closed to the public by majority vote or by decree of the
Speaker. In order for laws to be passed in any session, a quorum of half the members must be
present.
Currently, four political parties are represented in the National Assembly.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The executive branch is headed by the president. The president is elected directly by the people,
and is the only elected member of the national executive. The president serves for one five-year
term; additional terms are not permitted. The president is head of government, head of state,
and commander in chief of the South Korean armed forces. The president is vested with the
power to declare war, and can also propose legislation to the National Assembly. He or she can
also declare a state of emergency or martial law, subject to the Assembly's subsequent
approval. The President can veto bills, subject to a two-thirds majority veto override by the
National Assembly. However, the president does not have the power to dissolve the National
Assembly. This safeguard reflects the experience of totalitarian governments under
the First, Third, andFourth Republics.
In the event that they are suspected of serious wrongdoing, the president and cabinet-level
officials are subject to impeachment by the National Assembly. Once the National Assembly
votes in favor of the impeachment the Constitutional Court should either confirm or reject
theimpeachment resolution, once again reflecting the system of checks and balances between the
three branches of the government.
The Cabinet (, ) is the highest body for policy deliberation and resolution in
the executive branch of the Republic of Korea. The Constitution of the Republic of Korea
mandates that the Cabinet be composed of between 15 and 30 members including the
Chairperson, and currently the Cabinet includes the President, the Prime Minister, the Vice Prime
Minister (the Minister of Strategy and Finance), and the cabinet-level ministers of the 17
ministries. By Constitution the President is the chairperson of the Cabinet, and the Prime
Minister the vice chairperson. Nevertheless the Prime Minister frequently holds the meetings
without the presence of the President as the meeting can be lawfully held as long as the majority
of the Cabinet members are present at the meeting. Also, as many government agencies have

recently been moved out of Seoul into other parts of the country the need to hold Cabinet
meetings without having to convene in one place at the same time has been growing, and
therefore the law has been amended to allow Cabinet meetings in a visual teleconference
format Although not the official members of the Cabinet, the Presidential Chief of Staff (
, ), the Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination
(, ), the Minister of Government Legislation (,
), the Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (, ), the Minister
of Food and Drug Safety (, ), the Chairperson of
Korea Fair Trade Commission (, ), the Chairperson of
Financial Services Commission (, ), the Mayor of Seoul Special City
(, ), and other officials designated by law or deemed necessary by
the Chairperson of the Cabinet can also attend the Cabinet meetings and speak in front of the
Cabinet without the right to vote on the matters discussed in the meetings . The Mayor of Seoul,
although being the head of a local autonomous region in South Korea and not directly related to
the central executive branch, has been allowed to attend the Cabinet meeting considering the
special status of Seoul (Special City) and its mayor (the only cabinet-level mayor in Korea).
It has to be noted that the Cabinet of the Republic of Korea performs somewhat different roles
than those of many other nations with similar forms. As the Korean political system is basically a
presidential system yet with certain aspects of parliamentary cabinet system combined, the
Cabinet of the Republic of Korea also is a combination of both systems. More specifically, the
Korean Cabinet performs policy resolutions as well as policy consultations to the President.
Reflecting that the Republic of Korea is basically a presidential republic the Cabinet resolutions
cannot bind the president's decision, and in this regard the Korean Cabinet is similar to those
advisory counsels in strict presidential republics. At the same time, however, the Constitution of
the Republic of Korea specifies in details 17 categories including budgetary and military matters,
which necessitates the resolution of the Cabinet in addition to the President's approval, and in
this regard the Korean Cabinet is similar to those cabinets in strict parliamentary cabinet
systems.
The official residence and office of the President of the Republic of Korea is Cheongwadae (
, ), located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The name "Cheongwadae" literally means "the
house with blue-tiled roof" and is named as such due to its appearance. The president is assisted
in his/her duties by the Prime Minister of South Korea as well as the Office of the President (
, ). In addition to the Office of the President, Cheongwadae (,
) also houses the Office of National Security (, ) and the
Presidential Security Service (, ) to assist the President. The Prime
Minister is appointed by the president upon the approval of the National Assembly, and has the
power to recommend the appointment or dismissal of the Cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister
is assisted in his/her duties by the Prime Minister's Office which houses both the Office for
Government Policy Coordination (, ) and the Office of the Prime
Minister (, ), the former of which is headed by a cabinet-level
minister and the latter by a vice minister-level chief of staff. In the event that the president is
unable to fulfill his duties, the Prime Minister assumes the president's powers and takes control
of the state until the President can once again fulfill his/her duties or until a new president is
elected.

Currently 17 ministries exist in the South Korean government. The 17 ministers are appointed by
the President and report to the Prime Minister. Also, some ministries have affiliated agencies
(listed below), which report both to the Prime Minister and to the minister of the affiliated
ministry. Each affiliated agency is headed by a vice-minister-level commissioner except
Prosecution Service which is led by a minister-level Prosecutor General.
Judicial branch
The judicial branch includes the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, regional appellate
courts, and local district, branch, municipal, and specialized courts. All courts are under the
jurisdiction of the national judiciary; independent local courts are not permitted. Judges
throughout the system are required to have passed a rigorous training system including a twoyear program and two-year apprenticeship. All judicial training is provided through the Judicial
Research and Training Institute, and is limited to those who have already passed the National
Judicial Examination.
The Constitutional Court is the head of the judicial branch of government. The Constitutional
Court is charged purely with constitutional review and with deciding cases of impeachment.
Other judicial matters are overseen by the Supreme Court. This system was newly established in
the Sixth Republic, to help guard against the excesses shown by past regimes. The Constitutional
Court consists of nine justices. Of these, three are recommended by the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, three by the National Assembly, and three by the president; however, all must be
appointed by the president. The President of the Constitutional Court is appointed by the national
president, subject to the approval of the National Assembly. The members of the court serve for
six-year renewable terms, and cannot be older than 65 (except for the President of the court, who
may be as old as 70).
The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for all cases in South Korean law. The Supreme
Court, seated in Seoul, consists of fourteen Justices, including one Chief Justice. The Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court has the power over all court administration, and can recommend
court-related legislation to the National Assembly. The Justices must be at least 40 years old, and
have at least 15 years of experience practicing law. They serve for six-year terms; the Chief
Justice cannot be reappointed, but the other justices can.
Below the Supreme Court come appellate courts, stationed in five of the country's major cities.
Appellate courts typically consist of a panel of three judges. Below these are district courts,
which exist in most of the large cities of South Korea. Below these are branch and municipal
courts, positioned all over the country and limited to small claims and petty offenses. Specialized
courts also exist for family, administrative, and patent cases.
Because the Constitution of the Republic of Korea defines the territory of South Korea as
"the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands," the courts of South Korea have allowed
representatives of North Koreans to appear in South Korean courts with respect to inheritance in
cases of deceased South Koreans with North Korean heirs. Funds are held in trust and dispersed
only with government approval.
Local Government
Local autonomy was established as a constitutional principle of South Korea beginning with
the First Republic. However, for much of the 20th century this principle was not honored. From
1965 to 1995, local governments were run directly by provincial governments, which were run

directly by the national government. However, since the elections of 1995, a degree of local
autonomy has been restored. Local magistrates and assemblies are elected in each of the primary
and secondary administrative divisions of South Korea, that is, in every province, metropolitan
or special city, and district. Officials at lower levels, such as eup and dong, are appointed by the
city or county government.
As noted above, local autonomy does not extend to the judicial branch. It also does not yet
extend to many other areas, including fire protection and education, which are managed by
independent national agencies. Local governments also have very limited policy-making
authority; generally, the most that they can do is decide how national policies will be
implemented. However, there is some political pressure for the scope of local autonomy to be
extended.
Although the chief executive of each district is locally elected, deputy executives are still
appointed by the central government. It is these deputy officials who have detailed authority over
most administrative matters.
Civil Service
The South Korean civil service is large, and remains a largely closed system, although efforts at
openness and reform are ongoing. In order to gain a position in civil service, it is usually
necessary to pass one or more difficult examinations. Positions have traditionally been handed
out based on seniority, in a complex graded system; however, this system was substantially
reformed in 1998.
There are more than 800,000 civil servants in South Korea today. More than half of these are
employed by the central government; only about 300,000 are employed by local governments. In
addition, only a few thousand each are employed by the national legislative and judicial
branches; the overwhelming majority are employed in the various ministries of the executive
branch. The size of the civil service increased steadily from the 1950s to the late 1990s, but has
dropped slightly since 1995.
The civil service, not including political appointees and elected officials, is composed of career
civil servants and contract civil servants. Contract servants are typically paid higher wages and
hired for specific jobs. Career civil servants make up the bulk of the civil service, and are
arranged in a nine-tiered system in which grade 1 is occupied by assistant ministers and grade 9
by the newest and lowest-level employees. Promotions are decided by a combination of
seniority, training, and performance review. Civil servants' base salary makes up less than half of
their annual pay; the remainder is supplied in a complex system of bonuses. Contract civil
servants are paid on the basis of the competitive rates of pay in the private sector.

Elections
Elections in South Korea are held on national level to select the President and the National
Assembly. South Korea has a multi-party system, with two dominant parties and numerous third
parties. Elections are overseen by the National Election Commission (Republic of Korea). The
most recent presidential election was held on 19 December 2012.

The president is directly elected for a single five-year term by plurality vote. The National
Assembly has 300 members elected for a four-year term, 245 in single-seat constituencies and 54
members by proportional representation. Each individual party willing to represent its policies in
the National Assembly must be qualified on the legislative (general) election that: i) if the
national party-vote reaches over 3.00% on proportional contest or ii) if more than 5 members of
their party that has been elected in each of their first-past-the-post election constituencies.

Politics of United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is a unitary democracy governed within the framework of a constitutional
monarchy, in which the Monarch is the state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is
the head of government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majesty's Government, on behalf
of and by the consent of the Monarch, as well as by the devolved Governments
of Scotland and Wales, and the Northern Ireland Executive. Legislative poweris vested in the two
chambers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the House of Commons and the House of
Lords, as well as in the Scottish parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies.
The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The highest national court is
the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The UK political system is a multi-party system. Since the 1920s, the two largest political parties
have been the Conservative Party and the Labor Party. Before the Labour Party rose in British
politics, the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives.
Though coalition and minority governments have been an occasional feature of parliamentary
politics, the first-past-the-post electoral system used for general elections tends to maintain the
dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a third party such
as the Liberal Democrats to deliver a working majority in Parliament. The current ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition government is the first coalition since 1945.[1]
With the partition of Ireland, Northern Ireland received home rule in 1920, though civil
unrest meant direct rule was restored in 1972. Support for nationalist parties in Scotland and
Wales led to proposals for devolution in the 1970s though only in the 1990s did devolution
actually happen. Today, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and
executive, with devolution in Northern Ireland being conditional on participation in certain allIreland institutions. The United Kingdom remains responsible for non-devolved matters and, in
the case of Northern Ireland, co-operates with the Republic of Ireland.
It is a matter of dispute as to whether increased autonomy and devolution of executive and
legislative powers has contributed to a reduction in support for independence. The principal proindependence party, the Scottish National Party, won an overall majority of MSPs at the 2011
Scottish parliament elections and now forms the Scottish Government administration, with plans
to hold a referendum on negotiating for independence. In Northern Ireland, the largest ProBelfast Agreement party, Sinn Fin, not only advocates Northern Ireland's unification with the
Republic of Ireland, but also abstains from taking their elected seats in the Westminster
government, as this would entail taking a pledge of allegiance to the British monarch.

The constitution of the United Kingdom is un codified, being made up of constitutional

conventions, statutes and other elements such as EU law. This system of government, known as
the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly
parts of the British Empire.
The United Kingdom is also responsible for several dependencies, which fall into two categories:
the Crown dependencies, in the immediate vicinity of the UK, and British Overseas Territories,
which originated as colonies of the British Empire.
The Crown
The British Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the Chief of State of the United Kingdom.
Though she takes little direct part in government, the Crown remains the fount in which ultimate
executive power over Government lies. These powers are known as Royal Prerogative and can
be used for a vast amount of things, such as the issue or withdrawal of passports, to the dismissal
of the Prime Minister or even the Declaration of War. The powers are delegated from the
Monarch personally, in the name of the Crown, and can be handed to various ministers, or other
Officers of the Crown, and can purposely bypass the consent of Parliament.
The head of Her Majesty's Government; the Prime Minister, also has weekly meetings with the
sovereign, where she may express her feelings, warn, or advise the Prime Minister in the
Government's work.
According to the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, the monarch has the following
powers:
Domestic Powers

The power to dismiss and appoint a Prime Minister

The power to dismiss and appoint other ministers

The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament

The power to grant or refuse Royal Assent to bills (making them valid and law)

The power to commission officers in the Armed Forces

The power to command the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom

The power to appoint members to the Queen's Council

The power to issue and withdraw passports

The power to grant Prerogative of mercy (though Capital Punishment is abolished, this
power is still used to remedy errors in sentence calculation)

The power to grant honours

The power to create corporations via Royal Charter

Foreign Powers

The power to ratify and make treaties

The power to declare War and Peace

The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas

The power to recognize states

The power to credit and receive diplomats

Executive
Executive power in the United Kingdom is exercised by the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II,
via Her Majesty's Government and the devolved national authorities - the Scottish Government,
the Welsh and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The United Kingdom Government
The monarch appoints a Prime Minister as the head of Her Majesty's Government in the United
Kingdom, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the
House of Commons most likely to be able to form a Government with the support of that House.
In practice, this means that the leader of the political party with an absolute majority of seats in
the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. If no party has an absolute majority,
the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime
Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government and act as political
heads of the various Government Departments. About twenty of the most senior government
ministers make up the Cabinet and approximately 100 ministers in total comprise the
government. In accordance with constitutional convention, all ministers within the government
are either Members of Parliament or peers in the House of Lords.
As in some other parliamentary systems of government (especially those based upon
the Westminster System), the executive (called "the government") is drawn from and is
answerable to Parliament - a successful vote of no confidence will force the government either to
resign or to seek a parliamentary dissolution and a general election. In practice, members of
parliament of all major parties are strictly controlled by whips who try to ensure they vote

according to party policy. If the government has a large majority, then they are very unlikely to
lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation.
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-15)
The Prime Minister is the most senior minister in the Cabinet. She/he is responsible for chairing
Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers (and all other positions in Her Majesty 's
government), and formulating government policy. The Prime Minister is the de facto leader of
the UK government, since s/he exercises executive functions that are nominally vested in the
sovereign (by way of the Royal Prerogatives). Historically, the British monarch was the sole
source of executive powers in the government. However, following the rule of the Hanoverian
monarchs, an arrangement of a "Prime Minister" chairing and leading the Cabinet began to
emerge. Over time, this arrangement became the effective executive branch of government, as it
assumed the day-to-day functioning of the British government away from the sovereign.
Theoretically, the Prime Minister is primus inter pares (, i.e. Latin for "first among equals")
among his/her Cabinet colleagues. While the Prime Minister is the senior Cabinet Minister, s/he
is theoretically bound to make executive decisions in a collective fashion with the other Cabinet
ministers. The Cabinet, along with the PM, consists of Secretaries of State from the various
government departments, the Lord High Chancellor, the Lord Privy Seal, the President of the
Board of Trade, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Ministers without portfolio.
Cabinet meetings are typically held weekly, while Parliament is in session.
Government departments and the Civil Service
The Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of ministries known mainly, though
not exclusively as departments, e.g., Department for Education. These are politically led by
a Government Minister who is often a Secretary of State and member of the Cabinet. He or she
may also be supported by a number of junior Ministers. In practice, several government
departments and Ministers have responsibilities that cover England alone, with devolved bodies
having responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, (for example - the Department of
Health), or responsibilities that mainly focus on England (such as the Department for Education).
Implementation of the Minister's decisions is carried out by a permanent politically neutral
organization known as the civil service. Its constitutional role is to support the Government of
the day regardless of which political party is in power. Unlike some other democracies, senior
civil servants remain in post upon a change of Government. Administrative management of the
Department is led by a head civil servant known in most Departments as a Permanent Secretary.
The majority of the civil service staff in fact work in executive agencies, which are separate
operational organizations reporting to Departments of State.

"Whitehall" is often used as a metonym for the central core of the Civil Service. This is because
most Government Departments have headquarters in and around the former Royal Palace
Whitehall.

The Scottish Government is responsible for all issues that are not explicitly reserved to
the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster, by the Scotland Act; including NHS
Scotland, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. It manages an annual budget of more
than 25 billion.[4] The government is led by the First Minister, assisted by various Ministers
with individual portfolios and remits. The Scottish Parliament nominates a Member to be
appointed as First Minister by the Queen. The First Minister then appoints his Ministers (now
known as Cabinet Secretaries) and junior Ministers, subject to approval by the Parliament. The
First Minister, the Ministers (but not junior ministers), the Lord Advocate and Solicitor
General are the Members of the 'Scottish Executive', as set out in the Scotland Act 1998. They
are collectively known as "the Scottish Ministers".
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have more limited powers than
those devolved to Scotland, although following the passing of the Government of Wales Act
2006 and the Welsh devolution referendum, 2011, the Assembly can now legislate in some areas
through an Act. Following the 2011 election, Welsh Labor held exactly half of the seats in the
Assembly, falling just short of an overall majority. A Welsh Labor Government was subsequently
formed headed by Carwyn Jones.
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have powers closer to those already devolved to
Scotland. The Northern Ireland Executive is led by a diarchy, currently First Minister Peter
Robinson(Democratic Unionist Party) and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fin).

Legislature
The UK Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom (i.e., there
is parliamentary sovereignty), and Government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament
is bicameral, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There is also a
devolved Scottish Parliament and devolved Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, with
varying degrees of legislative authority.

UK Parliament
The Countries of the United Kingdom are divided into parliamentary constituencies of broadly
equal population by the four Boundary Commissions. Each constituency elects a Member of
Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons at General Elections and, if required, at by-elections.
As of 2010 there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's general election. Of
the 650 MPs, all but one - Lady Sylvia Hermon - belong to a political party.
In modern times, all Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition have been drawn from the
Commons, not the Lords. Alec Douglas-Home resigned from his peerages days after becoming
Prime Minister in 1963, and the last Prime Minister before him from the Lords left in 1902
(the Marquess of Salisbury).
One party usually has a majority in Parliament, because of the use of the First Past the Post
electoral system, which has been conducive in creating the current two party system. The
monarch normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it
can survive in the House of Commons, something which majority governments are expected to
be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the monarch asks someone to 'form a
government' with a parliamentary minority which in the event of no party having a majority
requires the formation of a coalition government. This option is only ever taken at a time of
national emergency, such as war-time. It was given in 1916 to Andrew Bonar Law, and when he
declined, to David Lloyd George and in 1940 to Winston Churchill. A government is not formed
by a vote of the House of Commons, it is a commission from the monarch. The House of
Commons gets its first chance to indicate confidence in the new government when it votes on
the Speech from the Throne (the legislative programme proposed by the new government).
House of Lords

The House of Lords was previously a largely hereditary aristocratic chamber, although
including life peers, and Lords Spiritual. It is currently mid-way through extensive reforms, the
most recent of these being enacted in the House of Lords Act 1999. The house consists of two
very different types of member, the Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. Lords Temporal include
appointed members (life peers with no hereditary right for their descendants to sit in the house)
and ninety-two remaining hereditary peers, elected from among, and by, the holders of titles
which previously gave a seat in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual represent the
established Church of England and number twenty-six: the Five Ancient Sees (Canterbury, York,
London, Winchester and Durham), and the 21 next-most senior bishops.
The House of Lords currently acts to review legislation initiated by the House of Commons, with
the power to propose amendments, and can exercise a suspensive veto. This allows it to delay
legislation if it does not approve it for twelve months. However, the use of vetoes is limited by
convention and by the operation of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: the Lords may not veto
the "money bills" or major manifesto promises (see Salisbury convention). Persistent use of the

veto can also be overturned by the Commons, under a provision of the Parliament Act 1911.
Often governments will accept changes in legislation in order to avoid both the time delay, and
the negative publicity of being seen to clash with the Lords. However the Lords still retain a full
veto in acts which would extend the life of Parliament beyond the 5 year term limit introduced
by the Parliament Act 1911.
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 outlined plans for a Supreme Court of the United
Kingdom to replace the role of the Law Lords.
The House of Lords was replaced as the final court of appeal on civil cases within the United
Kingdom on 1 October 2009, by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Devolved national legislatures
Though the UK parliament remains the sovereign parliament, Scotland has a parliament
and Wales and Northern Ireland have assemblies. De jure, each could have its powers broadened,
narrowed or changed by an Act of the UK Parliament. However, Scotland has a tradition of
popular sovereignty as opposed to parliamentary sovereignty and the fact that the Scottish
parliament was established following a referendum would make it politically difficult to
significantly alter its powers without popular consent. The UK is therefore a unitary state with a
devolved system of government. This contrasts with a federal system, in which sub-parliaments
or state parliaments and assemblies have a clearly defined constitutional right to exist and
a right to exercise certain constitutionally guaranteed and defined functions and cannot be
unilaterally abolished by Acts of the central parliament.
All three devolved institutions are elected by proportional representation: the Additional Member
System is used in Scotland and Wales, and Single Transferable Vote is used in Northern Ireland.
England, therefore, is the only country in the UK not to have a devolved English parliament.
However, senior politicians of all main parties have voiced concerns in regard to the West
Lothian Question, which is raised where certain policies for England are set by MPs from all
four constituent nations whereas similar policies for Scotland or Wales might be decided in the
devolved assemblies by legislators from those countries alone. Alternative proposals for
English regional government have stalled, following a poorly received referendum on devolved
government for the North, which had hitherto been considered the region most in favor of the
idea, with the exception of Cornwall, where there is widespread support for a Cornish Assembly,
including all five Cornish MPs. England is therefore governed according to the balance of parties
across the whole of the United Kingdom.
The government has no plans to establish an English parliament or assembly although several
pressure groups are calling for one. One of their main arguments is that MPs (and thus voters)
from different parts of the UK have inconsistent powers. Currently an MP from Scotland can
vote on legislation which affects only England but MPs from England (or indeed Scotland)
cannot vote on matters devolved to the Scottish parliament. Indeed, the former Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, who is an MP for a Scottish constituency, introduced some laws that

only affect England and not his own constituency. This anomaly is known as the West Lothian
question.
The policy of the UK Government in England was to establish elected regional assemblies with
no legislative powers. The London Assembly was the first of these, established in 2000,
following referendum in 1998, but further plans were abandoned following rejection of a
proposal for an elected assembly in North East England in a referendum in 2004. Unelected
regional assemblies remain in place in eight regions of England.
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in
the Holyrood area of the capital Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as
"Holyrood" (cf. "Westminster"), is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members who
are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament, or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year
terms under the mixed member proportional representation system. As a result, 73 MSPs
represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality ("first past the post")
system, with a further 56 returned from eight additional member regions, each electing seven
MSPs.
The current Scottish Parliament was established by the Scotland Act 1998 and its first meeting as
a devolved legislature was on 12 May 1999. The parliament has the power to pass laws and has
limited tax-varying capability. Another of its roles is to hold the Scottish Government to account.
The "devolved matters" over which it has responsibility include education, health, agriculture,
and justice. A degree of domestic authority, and all foreign policy, remains with the UK
Parliament in Westminster.
The public take part in Parliament in a way that is not the case at Westminster through CrossParty Groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of
alongside Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).
The resurgence in Celtic language and identity, as well as 'regional' politics and development, has
contributed to forces pulling against the unity of the state. This was clearly demonstrated when although some argue it was influenced by general public dillusionment with Labour - the
Scottish (SNP) became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament by one seat.
Alex Salmond (leader of SNP) has since made history by becoming the first First Minister of
Scotland from a party other than Labour. The SNP govern as a minority administration at
Holyrood. Nevertheless, recent opinion polls have suggested that nationalism (i.e., a desire to
break up the UK) is rising within Scotland and England. However, the polls have been known to
be inaccurate in the past (for example, in the run up to the 1992 General Election). Moreover,
polls carried out in the 1970s and the 1990s showed similar results, only to be debunked at
elections. While support for breaking up the UK was strongest in Scotland, there was still a clear
lead for unionism over nationalism. However, an opinion poll in May 2012 showed support for
independence at only 31%, a record low, showing the chance of independence being very low.

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is the devolved assembly with power to make legislation
in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs
(Welsh: Aelod y Cynulliad). Members are elected for four-year terms under an additional
members system, where 40 AMs represent geographical constituencies elected by
the plurality system, and 20 AMs from five electoral regions using the d'Hondt
method of proportional representation.
The Assembly was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, which followed
a referendum in 1997. On its creation, most of the powers of the Welsh Office and Secretary of
State for Wales were transferred to it. The Assembly had no powers to initiate primary
legislation until limited law-making powers were gained through the Government of Wales Act
2006. Its primary law-making powers were enhanced following a Yes vote in the referendum on
3 March 2011, making it possible for it to legislate without having to consult the UK parliament,
nor the Secretary of State for Wales in the 20 areas that are devolved.
Northern Ireland Assembly
The government of Northern Ireland was established as a result of the 1998 Good Friday
Agreement. This created the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly is a unicameral body
consisting of 108 members elected under the Single Transferable Vote form of proportional
representation. The Assembly is based on the principle of power-sharing, in order to ensure that
both communities in Northern Ireland, unionist and nationalist, participate in governing the
region. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas and to elect the Northern Ireland
Executive (cabinet). It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
The Assembly has authority to legislate in a field of competences known as "transferred matters".
These matters are not explicitly enumerated in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 but instead include
any competence not explicitly retained by the Parliament at Westminster. Powers reserved by
Westminster are divided into "excepted matters", which it retains indefinitely, and "reserved
matters", which may be transferred to the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly at a
future date. Health, criminal law and education are "transferred" while royal relations are all
"accepted".
While the Assembly was in suspension, due to issues involving the main parties and
the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), its legislative powers were exercised by the UK
government, which effectively had power to legislate by decree. Laws that would normally be
within the competence of the Assembly were passed by the UK government in the form
of Orders-in-Council rather than legislative acts.
There has been a significant decrease in violence over the last twenty years, though the situation
remains tense, with the more hardline parties such as Sinn Fin and the Democratic Unionist
Party now holding the most parliamentary seats (see Demographics and politics of Northern
Ireland).

Judiciary
The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system due to it being created by the political
union of previously independent countries with the terms of the Treaty of Union guaranteeing the
continued existence of Scotland's separate legal system. Today the UK has three distinct systems
of law: English law, Northern Ireland law and Scots law. Recent constitutional changes saw a
new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 that took on the
appeal functions of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.The Judicial Committee of
the Privy Council, comprising the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of
appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the
British crown dependencies.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Both English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law are based
on common-law principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by judges sitting in
courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent (stare decisis) to the facts
before them. The Courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior Courts of England and
Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and
the Crown Court (for criminal cases). The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest
court in the land for both criminal and civil cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and
any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the hierarchy.
Scotland
Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles, applies
in Scotland. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of
Justiciary, for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest
court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal
cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known that as Sheriff solemn Court, or
with a Sheriff and no jury, known as (Sheriff Summary Court). The Sheriff courts provide a local
court service with 49 Sheriff Courts organized across six Sheriffdoms.
Electoral System

The first-past-the-post system is used for general elections to the House of Commons,
and also for some local government elections in England and Wales.

The plurality-at-large voting (the bloc vote) is also used for some local government
elections in England and Wales.

The Additional Member System is used for elections to the Scottish Parliament,
the National Assembly for Wales (Welsh Assembly) and London Assembly. The system is
implemented differently in each of the three locations.

The single transferable vote system is used in Northern Ireland to elect the Northern
Ireland Assembly, local councils, and Members of the European Parliament, and in Scotland
to elect local councils.
The Alternative Vote system is used for by-elections in Scottish local councils.

The party-list proportional representation system is used for European

Parliament elections in England, Scotland and Wales.

The supplementary vote is used to elect directly-elected mayors in England, including

the mayor of London.

The use of the first-past-the-post to elect members of Parliament is unusual

among European nations. The use of the system means that MPs are sometimes elected from
individual constituencies with a plurality (receiving more votes than any other candidate, but not
an absolute majority of 50 percent plus one vote), due to three or more candidates receiving a
significant share of the vote.
Elections and political parties in the United Kingdom are affected by Duverger's law,
the political science principle which states that plurality voting systems, such as first-past-thepost, tend to lead to the development of two-party systems. The UK, like several other states, has
sometimes been called a "two-and-a-half" party system, because parliamentary politics is
dominated by the Labour Party and Conservative Party, with the Liberal Democrats holding a
significant number of seats (but still substantially less than Labour and the Conservatives), and
several small parties (some of them regional or nationalist) trailing far behind in number of seats.
In the last few general elections, voter mandates for Westminster in the 40% ranges have been
swung into 60% parliamentary majorities. No single party has won a majority of the popular vote
since the Third National Government of Stanley Baldwin in 1935. On two occasions since World
War II - 1951 and February 1974 - a party that came in second in the popular vote actually came
out with the larger number of seats.
Electoral reform for parliamentary elections have been proposed many times. The Jenkins
Commission report in October 1998 suggested implementing the Alternative Vote Top-up (also
called Alternative Vote Plus or AV+) in parliamentary elections. Under this proposal, most MPs
would be directly elected from constituencies by the alternative vote, with a number of members
elected from "top-up lists." However, no action was taken by the Labor government and the time.
There are a number of groups in the UK campaigning for electoral reform, including
the Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Count Coalition and Fair share.
The 2010 general election resulted in a hung parliament (no single party being able to command
a majority in the House of Commons). This was only the second general election since World
War II to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election. The Conservatives

gained the most seats (ending 13 years of Labour government) and the largest percentage of the
popular vote, but fell 20 seats short of a majority.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats entered into a new coalition government, headed by
David Cameron. Under the terms of the coalition agreement the government committed itself to
hold a referendum in May 2011 on whether to change parliamentary elections from first-past-thepost to AV. Electoral reform was a majority priority for the Liberal Democrats, who
favor proportional representation but were able to negotiate only a referendum on AV with the
Conservatives. The coalition partners plan to campaign on opposite sides, with the Liberal
Democrats supporting AV and the Conservatives opposing it.
Political Parties
There are two main parties in the United Kingdom: the Conservative Party, and the Labour Party.
There is also a significant third party, the Liberal Democrats.
The modern Conservative Party was founded in 1834 and is an outgrowth of the Tory movement
or party, which began in 1678. Today it is still colloquially referred to as the Tory Party and its
members as Tories. The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988 by a merger of the Party and
the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a Labour breakaway formed in 1981. The Liberals and SDP
had contested elections together as the SDPLiberal Alliance for seven years before. The modern
Liberal Party had been founded in 1859 as an outgrowth of the Whig movement or party (which
began at the same time as the Tory party and was its historical rival) as well as
the Radical and Peelite tendencies.
The Liberal Party was one of the two dominant parties (along with the Conservatives) from its
founding until the 1920s, when it rapidly declined and was supplanted on the left by the Labour
Party, which was founded in 1900 and formed its first government in 1924. Since that time, the
Labour and Conservatives parties have been dominant, with the Liberal Democrats also holding
a significant number of seats and increasing their share of the vote in parliamentary general
elections in the four elections 1992.
Minor parties also hold seats in parliament:

The Scottish National Party, founded in 1934, advocates for Scottish independence and
has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1967. The SNP currently leads
a majority government in the Scottish Parliament.

Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, has had continuous representation in Parliament
since 1974. Plaid has the third-largest number of seats in the National Assembly for Wales,
afterWelsh Labour and the Welsh Conservative & Unionist Party, and participated with the
former in the coalition agreement in the Assembly before the 2011 election.

In Northern Ireland, all 18 MPs are from parties that only contest elections in Northern
Ireland (except for Sinn Fin, which contests elections in both Northern Ireland and

the Republic of Ireland). The unionist Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the republican Sinn
Fin, the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and the
nonsectarian Alliance Party of Northern Ireland all gained seats in Parliament in the 2010
election, the Alliance Party for the first time. Sinn Fin has a policy of abstentionism and so
its MPs refuse to take their seats in Parliament. DUP, Sinn Fin, the Ulster Unionist
Party (UUP), and the SDLP are considered the four major parties in Northern Ireland,
holding the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In the most recent general election in 2010, the result amounted to a hung parliament, and after
several days of negotiations, the Labour Party left the government with the Conservatives and
the Liberal Democrats operating a coalition government.

The social structure of England

The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the
concept of social class, with the concept still affecting British society in the early-21st century.
British society, like its European neighbors and most societies in world history, was traditionally
(before the Industrial Revolution) divided into a caste system called the estates, with all of the
most notable features of a caste system: endogamy (marriage only within the same group), and
the hereditary transmission of occupation, social status and political influence. Since the advent
of industrialization, this system has been in a constant state of revision, and new factors other
than birth (for example, education) are now a greater part of creating identity in Britain.
Although definitions of social class in the United Kingdom vary and are highly controversial,
most are influenced by factors of wealth, occupation and education. Until recently the Parliament
of the United Kingdom was organized on a class basis, with the House of Lords representing the
hereditary upper class and the House of Commons representing everyone else, and the British
monarch is often viewed as being at the top of the social class structure.
British society has experienced significant change since the Second World War, including an
expansion of higher education and home-ownership, a shift towards a services-dominated
economy, mass immigration, a changing role for women and a more individualistic culture, and
these changes have had a considerable impact on the social landscape. However, claims that the
UK has become a classless society have frequently been met with skepticism. Research has
shown that social status in the United Kingdom is influenced by, although separate from, social
class.

Terminology

Prior to the eighteenth century, one did not speak of class or classes. Older terms like estates,
rank, and orders were predominant. This change in terminology corresponded to a general
decrease in significance ascribed to hereditary characteristics, and increase in the significance of
wealth and income as indicators of position in the social hierarchy.
The "class system" in the United Kingdom is widely studied in academia but no definition of the
word class is universally agreed to. Some scholars may adopt the Marxist view of class where
persons are classified by their relationship to means of production, as owners or as workers,
which is the most important factor in that person's social rank. Alternatively, Max
Weber developed a three under which "a persons power can be shown in the social order
through their status, in the economic order through their class, and in the political order through
their party. Besides these academic models, there are myriad popular explanations of class in
Britain. In the work Class, Jilly Cooper quotes a shopkeeper on the subject of bacon: "When a
woman asks for back I call her 'madam'; when she asks for streaky I call her 'dear'.
History
The United Kingdom never experienced the sudden dispossession of the estates of the nobility,
which occurred in much of Europe after the French Revolution or in the early 20th century, and
the British nobility, in so far as it existed as a distinct social class, integrated itself with those
with new wealth derived from commercial and industrial sources more comfortably than in most
of Europe. Opportunities resulting from consistent economic growth and the expanding British
Empire also enabled some from much poorer backgrounds (generally men who had managed to
acquire some education) to rise through the class system.
The historian David Cannadine sees the period around 1880 as a peak after which the position of
the old powerful families declined rapidly, from a number of causes, reaching a nadir in the years
after World War II, symbolized by the widespread destruction of country houses. However their
wealth, if not their political power, has rebounded strongly since the 1980s, benefiting from
greatly increased values of the land and fine art which many owned in quantity.
Meanwhile the complex British middle-classes had also been enjoying a long period of growth
and increasing prosperity, and achieving political power at the national level to a degree unusual
in Europe. They avoided the strict stratification of many Continental middle-classes, and formed
a large and amorphous group closely connected at their edges with both the gentry and
aristocracy and the labouring classes. In particular the great financial centre of the City of
London was open to outsiders to an unusual degree, and continually expanding and creating new
employment.
The British working class, on the other hand, was not notable in Europe for prosperity,[14] and
Early Modern British travelers often remarked on the high standard of living of the farm-workers
and artisans of the Netherlands, though the peasantry in other countries such as France were
remarked on as poorer than their English equivalents. Living standards certainly improved
greatly over the period, more so in England than other parts of the United Kingdom, but

the Industrial Revolution was marked by extremely harsh working conditions and poor housing
until about the middle of the 19th century.
Archaic
At the time of the formation of Great Britain in 1707, England and Scotland had similar class
based social structures. Some basic categories covering most of the population of the UK around
this time are as follows:

Class

Characteristics

Cottagers and laborers

Cottagers were a step below husbandmen, in that they had to work for
others for wages. Lowest order of the working castes; perhaps vagabonds,
drifters, criminals or other outcasts would be lower.

Husbandman (or other

tradesmen)

A tradesman or farmer who either rented a home or owned very little land
was a husbandman. In ancient feudal times, this person likely would have
been a serf, and paid a large portion of his work or produce to the landholding lord.

Yeoman

The yeoman class generally included small farmers who held a reasonable
amount of land and were able to protect themselves from neighboring lords
et cetera. They played a military role as longbow men. Sometimes
merchant citizens are placed between yeoman and gentry in early modern
social hierarchy.

Gentry/gentleman

The gentry by definition held enough assets to live on rents without

working, and so could be well educated. If they worked it was in law, as
priests, in politics, or in other educated pursuits without manual labor. The
term Esquire was used for landowners who were not knighted. Many
gentry families were armigerous and of ancient lineage possessing great
wealth and large estates.

Knight

The definition of a knight depends upon the century in which the term was
applied. In very early medieval times a knight was a common soldier; later
as cavalry became more important the knight's role became more
associated with wealth. By the seventeenth century a knight was a senior
member of the gentry, and the military role would be one of sheriff of a

county, or organising a larger body of military forces, or in civil service

exercising judicial authority. He was a large land owner, and his younger
sons would often be lawyers, priests, or officials of some sort.

Baronet(hereditary, non peer)

A baronet held a hereditary style of knighthood, giving the highest rank

below a peerage.

Peer(Noble/Archbishop)

The peers were generally large land holders, living solely off assets, sat in
the House of Lords and either held court or played a role in court
depending upon the time frame referenced.

Royal

A member of the royal family, a prince, a close relative of the queen or

king.

Great British Class Survey

On 2 April 2013 analysis of the results of a survey conducted by the BBC in 2011 and developed
in collaboration with academic experts and slated to be published in the journal Sociology was
published online. The results released were based on a survey of 160,000 residents of the United
Kingdom most of whom lived in England and described themselves as "white." Class was
defined and measured according to the amount and kind of economic, cultural, and social
resources, "capitals", reported. Economic capital was defined as income and assets; cultural
capital as amount and type of cultural interests and activities, and social capital as the quantity
and social status of their friends, family and personal and business contacts. This theoretical
framework was developed by Pierre Bourdieu who first published his theory of social
distinction in 1979.
In this new model, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge would be considered middle class despite
being second-in-line to the throne, as he is a junior army officer and not a general. This may
seem to indicate the model is really a set of subdivisions of the middle classes, rather than an allencompassing model.
Results
Analysis of the survey revealed seven classes: a wealthy "elite;" a prosperous salaried "middle
class" consisting of professionals and managers; a class of technical experts; a class of new
affluent workers, and at the lower levels of the class structure, in addition to an ageing
traditional working class, a precariat characterised by very low levels of capital, and a group of
emergent service workers. The fracturing of the middle sectors of the social structure into

distinguishable factions separated by generational, economic, cultural, and social characteristics

was considered notable by the authors of the research.
Elite
Members of the elite class are the top 6% of British society with very high economic capital
(particularly savings), high social capital, and very high highbrow cultural capital. Occupations
such as chief, IT and telecommunications directors, marketing and sales directors;
functional managers and directors, barristers and judges, financial managers, higher education
teachers, dentists, and advertising and public relations directors were strongly represented.
Established middle class
Members of the established middle class, about 25% of British society, reported high economic
capital, high status of mean social contacts, and both high highbrow and high emerging cultural
capital. Well-represented occupations included electrical engineers, occupational
therapists, midwives, environmental professionals, police officers, quality assurance and
regulatory professionals, town planning officials, and special needs teaching professionals.
Technical middle class
The technical middle class, about 6% of British society, shows high economic capital, very high
status of social contacts, but relatively few contacts reported, and moderate cultural capital.
Occupations represented include medical radiographers, aircraft pilots, pharmacists, natural and
social science professionals and physical scientists, and business, research, and administrative
positions.
New affluent workers
New affluent workers, about 15% of British society, show moderately good economic capital,
relatively poor status of social contacts, though highly varied, and moderate highbrow but good
emerging cultural capital. Occupations include electricians and electrical fitters; postal workers;
retail cashiers and checkout operatives; plumbers and heating and ventilation engineers; sales
and retail assistants; housing officers; kitchen and catering assistants; quality assurance
technicians.
Traditional working class
The traditional working class, about 14% of British society, shows relatively poor economic
capital, but some housing assets, few social contacts, and low highbrow and emerging cultural
capital. Typical occupations include electrical and electronics technicians; care
workers; cleaners; van drivers; electricians; residential, day, and domiciliary care

Emergent service sector

The emergent service sector, about 19% of British society, shows relatively poor economic
capital, but reasonable household income, moderate social contacts, high emerging (but low
highbrow) cultural capital. Typical occupations include bar staff, chefs, nursing auxiliaries and
assistants, assemblers and routine operatives, care workers, elementary storage occupations,
customer service occupations, musicians.
Precariat
The precariat, about 15% of British society, shows poor economic capital, and the lowest scores
on every other criterion. Typical occupations include cleaners, van drivers, workers,
carpenters and joiners, caretakers, leisure and travel service occupations, shopkeepers and
proprietors, and retail cashiers.
Informal classifications and stereotypes
Underclass
The term 'underclass' is used to refer to those people who are "chronically unemployed", and in
many instances have been for generations.
Typical characteristics are:

Long term unemployment, sometimes for generations.

Living in council housing.

Children and teenagers of the underclass are generally associated with 'chav' culture, and the
underclass have also been blamed for the 2011 England riots.
Working class
Unskilled and semi-skilled working class
Traditionally, these people would work as Industrial or Manual labourers. They would typically
have left school as soon as legally permissible and not have been able to take part in higher
education. Many would go on to work semi-skilled and unskilled jobs on the assembly lines and
machine shops of Britain's major car factories, steel mills, coal mines, foundries and textile
mills in the highly industrialized cities in the West Midlands, North of England, South Wales and
the Scottish Lowlands.
However, since the mid-1970s and early-1980s de-industrialization has shattered many of these
communities, resulting in a complete deterioration in quality of life and a reversal in rising living
standards for the industrial working class. Many either dropped in status to the working poor or

fell into permanent reliance on welfare dependence. Some dropped out altogether and joined the
black, while a limited few did manage to climb up to the lower middle class.
Some examples of Mosaic geodemographic groups for these people would be Coronation
Street or Rustbelt Resilience. Fictional stereotypes include Andy Capp and Albert Steptoe, who
is not only inspirational himself but crushes the aspirations of his son Harold. They are the
mainstay of the trade unions and Labour Party vote, but there are also working class
conservatives, particularly in the South East of England in the Medway towns of Kent and the
east London border areas of suburban Essex, as exemplified by the fictional character Alf
Garnett.
It has been argued that with the decline in manufacturing and increase in the service sector,
lower-paid office workers are effectively working class. Call centres in particular, have sprung
up in former centres of industry.
During the postwar era, white working class Britons witnessed a big rise in their standard of
living. As noted by Denys Blakeway:
"The white working class have prospered hugely since the war. They have experienced
unparalleled growth in disposable income and today they are now richer than their parents and
grandparents could ever have imagined. There are shared values in white working-class culture
but I think it is incredibly difficult to put your finger on exactly what it is that defines 'white
working class' because a lot of them are shared by the middle class, such as football and the pub.
Skilled working class
This class of people would be in skilled industrial jobs or tradesmen, traditionally in the
construction and manufacturing industry, but in recent decades showing entrepreneurial
development as the stereotypical white van man, or self-employed contractors. These people
would speak in local accents and have craft apprenticeships rather than university education.
Typical Mosaic types for this group include White Van Culture or Affluent Blue Collar.
Trade union membership and Labour Party support is high, but some elements, particularly the
demographic known as Essex Man located in the South East of England and the Midlands are
slightly more likely to vote Conservative than the unskilled working class.

Middle class
Lower middle class
The British lower middle class primarily consists of office workers and their families living in
less affluent suburbs. They are typically employed in relatively unskilled service industry jobs
such as retail sales, travel agents, factory and other industrial building owners and low level civil
service jobs in local and regional government. Prior to the expansion in higher education from
the 1960s onwards, members of this class generally did not have a university education.

Members of the lower middle class typically speak in local accents, although relatively mild.
Typical Mosaic Geodemographic types for this group include Sprawling Subtopia or for
successful British Asians Asian Enterprise. Votes in this area are split and minority parties will
have a stronger proportion. The comedy character Hyacinth Bucket is a satirical stereotype for
this social group.
Middle Class
The middle class in Britain often consists of people with tertiary education. They speak in
accents which could range from Received Pronunciation, to provincial as well as Estuary
English. They may have been educated in either state or private schools.
Typical jobs include accountants, architects, solicitors, social workers, managers, specialist IT
workers, engineers, doctors or civil servants. Displays of conspicuous consumption are
considered vulgar by them; instead they prefer to channel excess income into investments,
especially property.
Members of the middle class are often politically and socially engaged and might be regular
churchgoers, sit on local committees and governing boards or stand for political office.
Education is greatly valued by the middle classes: they will make every effort to ensure their
children get a university education; although they are sometimes unable to afford private
schooling, they may go to great lengths to get their children into good state or selective grammar
schools, such as moving house into the catchment area.
They also value culture and make up a significant proportion of the book-buying and theatregoing public. They typically read broadsheet newspapers rather than tabloids. Typical Mosaic
geodemographic types would include Provincial Privilege. The comedy character Margo Lead
better is a satirical stereotype for this group, as is Jilly Cooper's Howard Weybridge.
Upper middle class
The upper middle class in Britain broadly consists of people who were born into families which
have traditionally possessed high incomes, although this group is defined more by family
background than by job or income. This stratum, in England, traditionally uses the Received
Pronunciation dialect natively.
The upper middle class are traditionally educated at independent schools, preferably one of the
'major' or 'minor' "public schools" which themselves often have pedigrees going back for
hundreds of years and charge fees of at least 33,000 per year per pupil (as of 2013).
Many upper-middle-class families may have previous ancestry that often directly relates to
the upper classes. Although not necessarily of the landowning classes - as a result, perhaps, of
lack of a male heir - many families' titles/styles have not been inherited and therefore many
families' past status became dissolved.

Although such categorizations are not precise, popular contemporary examples of upper-middleclass people may include Boris Johnson, David Cameron (politicians), Helena Bonham
Carter (actress), and Matthew Pinsent.
Upper class
The British "upper class" is statistically very small and consists of the peerage, gentry, and
hereditary landowners. The majority of aristocratic families originated in the merchant class, and
were ennobled between the 14th and the late 19th century. Those in possession of a hereditary
peerage (but not a life peerage) for example a Dukedom, a Marquessate, an Earldom,
a Viscounty or a Barony are typically members of the upper class.
Traditionally, upper class children were brought up at home by a nanny for the first few years of
life, and then schooled at home by private tutors. From the late 19th century, it became
increasingly popular for upper-class families to mimic the middle-classes in sending their
children to public schools, which had been predominantly founded to serve the educational needs
of the middle class. Nowadays, when children are old enough, they may attend a prep or prepreparatory school. Moving into secondary education, it is still commonplace for upper-class
children to attend a public school, although it is not unheard of for certain families to send their
children to state schools. Continuing education goals can vary from family to family; it may, in
part, be based on the educational history of the family. In the past, both the British
Army and Royal Navy have been the institutions of choice. Equally, the clergy, as well
as academia, particularly within the arts and humanities divisions of Britain's oldest and most
prestigious universities(Oxbridge), have been traditional career paths amongst the upper class.

South Koreas social structure

Rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization have caused a profound
transformation in the class structure of South Korean society since the end of the Korean War.
One of the most important changes has been the emergence of a "new" middle class consisting of
civil servants, salaried white-collar workers in large private companies, and professionals with
specialized training, such as engineers, health care professionals, university professors,
architects, and journalists. The number of factory workers also has grown impressively.
According to figures provided by Kim Kyong-Dong, a sociologist at Seoul National University,
the portion of the population that can be labeled "new middle class" (excluding self-employed
professionals) grew from 6.6 percent to 17.7 percent between 1960 and 1980. The proportion of
industrial workers expanded from 8.9 percent to 22.6 percent of the labor force during the same
period. Independent farmers and members of the rural lower class, including agricultural
laborers, experienced corresponding declines in percentage: together, they accounted for 64
percent of the population in 1960 but only 31.3 percent in 1980.
The urban lower class, consisting to a great extent of recent arrivals from rural parts of the
country living in squatter areas, composed an estimated 6.6 percent of the population in 1960 and
5.9 percent in 1980. An "old" middle class consisting of shopkeepers and small business
proprietors in urban and rural areas, self-employed professionals, and self-employed craftsmen

grew modestly from 13 percent to 20.8 percent of the population between 1960 and 1980. Kim's
figures also include what he euphemistically calls an "upper-middle" class--the country's
economic and social elites, whose numbers grew from 0.9 percent to 1.8 percent of the
population between 1960 and 1980.
Another way of viewing contemporary South Korean society is to consider the sources of social
inequality. In a 1988 article, Korea specialist David I. Steinberg focused on several of these
sources, which include the disparity in living standards between urban and rural areas--the main
motivation behind sustained urban migration. Although the Saemaul Movement was successful
in narrowing the gap between rural and urban incomes during the mid1970s , disparities
subsequently reemerged. Steinberg also noted that despite the land reform of the late 1940s,
tenancy has grown, and that by 1981 as many as 46 percent of all farmers were "full or partial
tenants."
Discrimination on both the community and individual levels against the people of North Cholla
and South Cholla provinces remains a second important source of inequality. Disparities in per
capita income between Seoul and the provinces of North and South Kyongsang had virtually
disappeared by the early 1980s, but per capita incomes in the capital were still 1.8 times those in
the Cholla region in 1983. As in most other Asian (and most Western) countries, gender
differences remain another source of major inequalities (see Changing Role of Women , this ch.).
Government control of the financial system has created substantial inequalities between the
favored chaebol, which at least until the late 1980s had access to credit at low rates, and capitalstarved smaller businesses that had to rely on nonbank sources of credit. Official support of
the chaebol as the engines of South Korean economic growth and industrialization was clearly
reflected in the differences between salaries and working conditions of employees in large and
small enterprises. Also, the Park and Chun regimes' hostile policies toward labor unions kept
workers' wages low--and internationally competitive. In Steinberg's words, "the Korean worker
has been asked to suffer for the good of society as a whole . . . ." Activists who tried to organize
independent unions were harassed, arrested, imprisoned, and frequently tortured by the
authorities. During the liberalization that began in 1987, however, the government permitted the
establishment of independent labor unions and assumed a new attitude, at times approaching
neutrality in labor-management disputes (see Interest Groups , ch. 4).
Education remained the single most important factor affecting social mobility in the 1990s. With
the exception of the military, whose top echelons were educated at the Korea Military Academy,
the postwar elites of South Korea shared one characteristic: they were graduates of the most
prestigious universities. There was a well-defined hierarchy of such schools, starting with Seoul
National University at the top and followed by Yonse University and Korea University (known
as Koryo in Korean). Ehwa Woman's University was the top institution for women
(see Education , this ch.).
A survey conducted in the mid-1970s by the Korea Development Institute, a research
organization funded by the government but having considerable operational independence,
revealed that 25 percent of a sample of entrepreneurs and 35 percent of a sample of higher civil
servants had attended Seoul National University. The university's control of entry into the

government and business elites is comparable to that exercised by the University of Tokyo in
Japan. One major difference, however, is that for a Japanese student an extended period of study
or residence abroad is not considered advisable because it interrupts one's career "track" within a
single bureaucracy or corporation; many prominent South Koreans, however, obtain advanced
degrees at universities in the United States and in Western Europe.
The social importance of education is one of the major continuities between traditional and
contemporary Korea. People at the top require blue-ribbon educational backgrounds, not only
because education gives them the cultural sophistication and technical expertise needed to
manage large, complex organizations, but also because subordinates will not work diligently for
an uneducated person--especially if subordinates are educated themselves. "Old school ties" are
also increasingly necessary for advancement in a highly competitive society. At the bottom of the
steep higher-education pyramid are low-prestige "diploma mills" whose graduates have little
chance of breaking into elite circles. Yet graduation even from these institutions confers a sort of
middle-class status.
Despite impressive increases in university enrollments, the central importance of education
credentials for social advancement has tended to widen the gap between the middle and lower
classes. Income distribution is more unequal than in Japan or Taiwan, with pronounced
disparities between college and secondary-school graduates. Many workers know that their
comparatively low wages make it virtually impossible for them to give their children a college
education, a heavy financial burden even for middle-class families.
In the workplace, men and women with a middle-school or secondary-school education are often
treated with open contempt by university graduate managers. The latter address them with rude
or abrupt words whose impact is amplified by the statussensitive nature of the Korean language
(see The Korean Language , this ch.). The result has been bitter resentment and increasing labor
militancy bordering on political opposition to the status quo.
During the 1980s, the concept of minjung (the masses) became prominent in the thinking and
rhetoric of radical students, militant labor unionists, activists identified with the Christian
churches, and progressive but generally non-Marxist intellectuals. Although its meaning is
vague, minjung encompasses not only the urban proletariat in the Marxist sense but also the
groups, including farmers, small bourgeoisie, students, and skilled craftsmen, who allegedly have
been exploited by the country's numerically small ruling class (the military elite, top bureaucrats,
and big business). National elites were viewed as collaborating with foreign (particularly United
States and Japanese) capitalists in order to create a situation of permanent dependence on foreign
capital. The emphasis on neocolonialist themes by minjung spokespeople drew deeply on South
Korean populist, nationalist, and xenophobic sentiments to place the origin of social evils outside
the Korean race.

Economy of South Korea and United Kingdom

Rank

15th (nominal) / 12th (PPP)

Currency

South Korean Won (KRW)

Fiscal year

Fiscal year

Trade organisations

APEC, WTO, OECD, G-20

GDP

Nominal: $1.130 trillion (2012),

PPP: $1.554 trillion (2012)

GDP growth

2.1% (2012)

GDP per capita

$32,020 (PPP, 2012 est.)

GDP by sector

Agriculture: 2.6%, industry: 39.2%, services: 58.2% (2010)

Inflation (CPI)

4.2% (2011 est.)

Population
below povertyline

15% (2006 est.)

Gini coefficient

31.0 (2010)

Labour force

25.18 million (2012 est.)

Labour force by
occupation

Agriculture: 6.4%, industry: 24.2%, services: 69.4% (2011 est.)

Unemployment

3.8% (2012 est.)

Main industries

Electronics, telecommunications,automobile production, chemi

cals,shipbuilding, steel

Ease of doing business

rank

8th

Exports

$548.2 billion (7th; 2012 est.)

Export goods

semiconductors, wirelesstelecommunications equipment, motor

vehicles, computers, steel, ships,petrochemicals

Main export partners

China 24.4%

United States 10.1%

(2011 est.)

Japan 7.1%

Imports

$520.5 billion (8th; 2012 est.)

Import goods

machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil,

steel, transportequipment, organic chemicals, plastics

Main import partners

China 16.5%
Japan 13.0%
United States 8.5%
Saudi Arabia 7.1%
Australia 5.0% (2011 est.)

FDI stock

abroad: $190.4 billion (31 December 2011)

Gross external debt

$397.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Public debt

33.7% of GDP (2012 est.)

Revenues

$271.9 billion (2012 est.)

Expenses

$249.2 billion (2012 est.)

Economic aid

ODA, $900 million (donor) (2009)aid to North Korea excluded

Credit rating

Foreign reserves

Standard & Poor's AA- (Domestic) A+ (Foreign)

AA (T&C Assessment)Outlook: Stable Moody's:
Aa3 Outlook: Stable Fitch: AA- Outlook: Stable

$306.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Main data source: CIA World Fact BookAll values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

Following the Korean War South Korea remained one of the poorest countries in the
world for over a decade. In 1960 its gross domestic product per capita was $79, lower than most
Latin American and some sub-Saharan African countries. The growth of the industrial sector was
the principal stimulus to economic development. In 1986, manufacturing industries accounted
for approximately 30 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 25 percent of the work
force. Benefiting from strong domestic encouragement and foreign aid, Seoul's industrialists
introduced modern technologies into outmoded or newly built facilities at a rapid pace, increased
the production of commoditiesespecially those for sale in foreign marketsand plowed the
proceeds back into further industrial expansion. As a result, industry altered the country's
landscape, drawing millions of laborers to urban manufacturing centers.
A downturn in the South Korean economy in 1989 spurred by a sharp decrease in exports
and foreign orders caused deep concern in the industrial sector. Ministry of Trade and Industry
analysts stated that poor export performance resulted from structural problems embedded in the
nation's economy, including an overly strong won, increased wages and high labor costs,
frequent strikes, and high interest rates. The result was an increase in inventories and severe
cutbacks in production at a number of electronics, automobile, and textile manufacturers, as well
as at the smaller firms that supplied the parts. Factory automation systems were introduced to
reduce dependence on labor, to boost productivity with a much smaller work force, and to
improve competitiveness. It was estimated that over two-thirds of South Korea's manufacturers
spent over half of the funds available for facility investments on automation. Now, Korea is
a developed country with a Developed market.
At present, South Korea has a market economy that ranks 15th in the world by nominal
GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity (PPP), identifying it as one of the G-20 major
economies. It is a developed country, with a developed market and high-income economy, and is
a member of OECD. South Korea is one of the Asian Tigers, and is the only developed country
so far to have been included in the group of Next Eleven countries. South Korea had one of the
world's fastest growing economies from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and South Korea is

still one of the fastest growing developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong
Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, the other three Asian Tigers. South Koreans refer to this growth as
the Miracle on the Han River.
Having almost no natural resources and always suffering from overpopulation in its small
territory, which deterred continued population growth and the formation of a large internal
consumer market, South Korea adapted an export-oriented economic strategy to fuel its
economy, and in 2012, South Korea was the sixth largest exporter and seventh largest importer in
the world. Bank of Korea and Korea Development Institute periodically release major economic
indicators and economic trends of the economy of South Korea.
In the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the South Korean economy suffered a liquidity
crisis and relied on the bailout by the IMF that re-structured and modernized the South Korean
economy with successive DJ nomics policy by President Kim Dae Jung, including the resultant
of the national development of the ICT industry. Despite the South Korean economy's high
growth potential and apparent structural stability, South Korea suffers perpetual damage to its
credit rating in the stock market due to the belligerence of North Korea in times of deep military
crises, which has an adverse effect on the financial markets of the South Korean economy.
However, renowned financial organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, also
compliment the resilience of the South Korean economy against various economic crises, citing
low state debt, and high fiscal reserves that can quickly be mobilized to address any expected
financial emergencies. Other financial organizations like the World Bank describe Korea as one
of the fastest-growing major economies of the next generation along with BRIC and
Indonesia.] South Korea was one of the few developed countries that was able to avoid
a recession during the global financial crisis and its economic growth rate will reach 6.1% in
2010, a sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009 when the
global financial crisis hit.
South Korea was a historical recipient of official development assistance (ODA) from
OECD. Throughout the 1980s until the mid-1990s, South Korea's economic prosperity as
measured in GDP by PPP per capita was still only a fraction of industrialized nations. In 1980,
the South Korean GDP per capita was $2,300, about one-third of nearby developed Asian
economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Since then, South Korea has advanced
into a developed economy to eventually attain a GDP per capita of $30,000 in 2010, almost
thirteen times the figure thirty years ago. The whole country's GDP increased from $88 billion to
$1,460 billion in the same time frame. In 2009, South Korea officially became the first major
recipient of ODA to have ascended to the status of a major donor of ODA. Between 2008 and
2009, South Korea donated economic aid of $1.7 billion to countries other than North Korea.
South Korea's separate annual economic aid to North Korea has historically been more than
twice its ODA. On June 23, 2012, South Korea is landmarked to become the 7th member of the
20-50 club (with the population surpassing 50 million and maintaining per capita income of
US$20,000), chronologically, after Japan, United States of
America, France, Italy, Germany and United Kingdom. Free trade agreement between the United
States of America and the Republic of Korea was concluded on April 1, 2007. European Union
South Korea Free Trade Agreement was signed on 15 October 2009. South Korean economy is
heavily dependent on the energy imports and the related refinery technologies in association with

Ministry of Knowledge Economy of Republic of Korea and in cooperation with the South Korea
- Australia Free Trade Agreement. The economy of South Korea has the largest
indoor Amusement park in the world, the Lotte World, adding the notable export-oriented music
industry guided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea.

Economy of the United Kingdom

Rank

6th (nominal) / 8th (PPP) (2nd in Europe)

Currency

Pound sterling (GBP)

Fiscal year

6 April 5 April

Trade organisations

European Union, OECD and World Trade Organization

GDP

$2.375 trillion (PPP, 2012) $2.440 trillion (Nominal, 2012)

GDP growth

0.8% Q3 2013 (1.9% y/y, 3.3% annualised)

GDP per capita

$36,941 (22nd, PPP, 2012) $38,589 (23rd, Nominal, 2012)

GDP by sector

Agriculture: 0.7% Industry: 21.1%Services: 78.2% (2012 est.)

Inflation (CPI)

CPI:

Base Borrowing Rate

0.5%

Population
below poverty line

16.1% with household income below 60% of UK median

income (2010-11 est.)

Gini coefficient

2.0% (December 2013) RPI:

2.7% (December 2013)

0.34 (2010-11)

Labour force

30.09 million (November 2013)

Labour force
by occupation

Agriculture: 1.5% Industry: 18.8% Services: 79.7% (2011 est.)

Unemployment

2.39 million, 7.4% (Q4 2013, Q3 2013: 7.6%)

Average gross salary

2,308 / 2,756 / $3,729 monthly (2011) (9th highest)

Average net salary

1,729 / 2,064 / $2,793 monthly (2011) (6th highest in the world)

Ease of doing business

rank

10th

Exports

$481 billion (2012 est.)

Main export partners

Imports
Main import partners
FDI stock

Germany 11.5%,
United States 10.6
Netherlands 8.9%,
France 7.4%,
Republic of Ireland 6.0%,
Belgium 5.1% (2012)
$646 billion (2012 est.)
Germany 12.5%,
China 8.1%,
Netherlands 7.3%,
United States 6.8%,
France 5.3%,
Belgium 4.4% (2012)
Inward: $1.321 trillion (2012)(3rd)
Outward: $1.808 trillion (2012)(2nd)

Current account

-59.2 billion (2012)

Gross external debt

$9.836 trillion (30 June 2011) (2nd)

Net international
investment position

-182 billion / 9.1% GDP (2012)

Public debt

1,185.8 billion (March 2013) (75.4% GDP)

Budget deficit

+116.5 billion (2012-2013 FY)

Revenues

592 billion (2012-2013 FY)

$995.9 billion (2012 est. CIA-WFB)

Expenses

682 billion (2012-2013 FY)

$1.183 trillion (2012 est. CIA-WFB)

Economic aid

$10 billion (2012) (donor)

Credit rating

Standard & Poor's: AAA (Domestic) AAA (Foreign)

AAA (T&C Assessment) Outlook: Negative
Moody's: Aa1
Outlook: Negative Watch Fitch: AA+Outlook: STABLE

Foreign reserves

$95.54 billion (31 December 2012, CIA-WFB)

Main data source: CIA World Fact BookAll values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

The United Kingdom has the sixth-largest national economy in the world (and third-largest in
Europe) measured by nominal GDP and eighth-largest in the world (and second-largest in
Europe) measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). The UK's GDP per capita is the22ndhighest in the world in nominal terms and 22nd-highest measured by PPP. In 2012, the UK
was the 10th-largest exporter in the world and the sixth-largest importer. In 2012, the UK had
the third-largest stock of inward foreign direct investment and the second-largest stock of
outward foreign direct investment. The British economy comprises (in descending order of
size) the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK has one of the
world's most globalised economies. One-sixth of the tax revenue comes from VAT (value
added tax) from the consumer market of the British Economy. The service sector dominates
the UK economy, contributing around 78% of GDP, with the financial services industry
particularly important. London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York and
has the largest city GDP in Europe. The UK aerospace industry is the second- or third-largest
national aerospace industry depending on the method of measurement. The pharmaceutical
industry plays an important role in the economy and the UK has the third-highest share of
global pharmaceutical R&D the automotive industry is also a major employer and exporter.
The British economy is boosted by North Sea oil and gas production; its reserves were valued
at an estimated 250 billion in 2007. There are significant regional variations in prosperity,
with the South East of England and southern Scotland the richest areas per capita.
In the 18th century the UK was the first country to industrialise and during the 19th
century had a dominant role in the global economy. From the late-19th century the Second
Industrial Revolution in the United States and Germany presented an increasing economic

challenge, and the costs of fighting the First World War and Second World War further
weakened the UK's relative position. However it still maintains a significant role in the world
economy, such as in financial services, and the knowledge economy. The UK economy is
currently recovering from a recession arising from the financial crisis of 2007/08, and GDP
remains 2.5% below its pre-recession peak as of Q3 2013; the UK experienced a deeper
downturn than all of the G7 except Japan, and has experienced a slower recovery than all but
Italy.
Government involvement in the British economy is primarily exercised by HM Treasury,
headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills. Since 1979 management of the UK economy has followed a broadly laissez-faire
approach. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank and its Monetary Policy Committee
is responsible for setting interest rates. The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, which is
also the world's third-largest reserve currency after the U.S. dollar and the euro. The UK is a
member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Union, the G7, the G8, the G20, the
International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.

Religion in South Korea

The predominant religions in South Korea are the traditional Buddhist faith and a large Christian
population (composed of Catholic Christians and Protestants of various denominations).
Although a large segment of the population claims to not be affiliated with any organized
religion, most South Korean households continue to observe traditional Buddhist and Confucian
philosophies that have been integrated into Korean culture. The practice of both of these faiths
has been strongly influenced by the enduring legacies of Korean Confucianism, which was the
official ideology of the 500-year-long Joseon Dynasty, and Korean shamanism, the native
religion of the Korean Peninsula.
Statistic on religion by population
Of the South Korean population in 2005, 46.5% were classified as Irreligious, 22.8% were
Buddhist, 29.2% were Christians (18.3% are Protestants and 10.9% were Catholics), and the
rest adhered to various minority religions including Jeung San Do, Daesun Jinrihoe,
Cheondoism, Taoism, Confucianism and Won Buddhism. A smaller minority of Koreans also
professed Islam.
A 2010 survey yielded results saying Christian 31.6% (Protestant 24%, Roman Catholic 7.6%),
Buddhist 24.2%, other or unknown 0.9%, none 43.3%.
Large metropolitan areas had the highest proportions of people belonging to formal religious
groups: 49.9 percent in Seoul, 46.1 percent for Busan, and 45.8 percent for Daegu. South Korea
had the third highest percentage of Christians in East Asia or Southeast Asia, following the
Philippines and East Timor.
Except for the Christian groups, who maintain a fairly clear-cut distinction between believers and
nonbelievers, there is some ambiguity in these statistics. For instance, there is no exact or
exclusive criterion by which Buddhists or Confucianists can be identified. Although existing in

other countries, the lineage of refuge, a commitment that distinguishes between Buddhists and
non-Buddhists, has disintegrated in Korea and is difficult to find because religion is seen to be
hereditary. As Buddhism has harmonized with traditional Korean culture and can be seen as a
philosophy and cultural background rather than a religion, many people outside of formal groups
have been deeply influenced by these traditions. Moreover, it is not uncommon for nonpracticing Koreans to pray at Buddhist temples, participate in Confucian ancestor rites, and even
consult a shaman and sponsor a kut. As a result, when factoring in the number of individuals
influenced by these philosophies, about over half of South Koreans can be considered Buddhist
influenced by Confucian principles. Furthermore, the statistics may underrepresent the numbers
of people belonging to new religions. Some sources have given the number of adherents of
Korean new religions as 7.373.364 million people, or 15.2% of the population.
Given the great diversity of religious expression, the role of religion in South Korea's social
development has been complex. Some traditions are adhered to as important cultural properties
rather than as rites of worship. Confucianism remains important as a social ethic; its influence is
evident in the immense importance Koreans ascribe to education. Ancestor worship influenced
by Mahayana Buddhist and Confucian rites remains an important social practice among formal
practitioners of those faiths, as well as non-practitioners and Catholics. Christianity is identified
with modernization and social reform. Many Christians in contemporary South Korea, such as
veteran political opposition leader Kim Dae-jung, a Catholic, have been outspoken advocates of
human rights and critics of the government. Christian-sponsored organizations, such as the
Urban Industrial Mission, promote labor organizations and the union movement. New religions
draw on both traditional beliefs and on Christianity, achieving a baffling variety and diversity of
views. It has been estimated that there were as many as 5000 new religions in South Korea in the
late 19th century, though many were small and transient phenomena.
Buddhism
Buddhism entered Korea from China during the Three Kingdoms period (4th to 7th century).
Buddhism was the dominant religious and cultural influence during the Shilla (668-935) and
Koryo (918-1392) dynasties. Confucianism was also brought to Korea from China in early
centuries, but it occupied a subordinate position until the establishment of the Choson Dynasty
and the persecution of Buddhism carried out by the early Choson Dynasty kings.
Buddhism is stronger in the more traditional east of the country, namely the Yeongnam and
Gangwon regions, where it accounts for more than half of the religious population. There are a
number of different "schools" in Korean Buddhism, including the Seon; however, the
overwhelming majority (around 90%) of Buddhist temples are part of the Jogye Order. Many
adherents of Buddhism combine Buddhist practice and shamanism.
Buddhism in South Korea is dominated by the Jogye Order, a syncretic sect traditionally linked
to the Seon tradition. Most of the country's old and famous temples, such as Bulguksa and
Beomeosa, are operated by the Jogye Order, which is headquartered at Jogyesa in central Seoul.
Other Buddhist traditions in South Korea include the "Taego" and "Cheontae" lineages. Taego is
a form of Seon (Zen), while the Choentae is a modern revival of the T'ien T'ai lineage in Korea,
focusing on the Lotus Sutra. Another lineage, the Jingak, is a form of Vajrayana Buddhism. Both
the Jogye and Cheontae orders require their monastics to be celibate, while the Taego and Jingak

orders allow for married priests. There are many other small orders in South Korea as yet
unknown in the West.
Christianity
Roman Catholic missionaries did not arrive in Korea until 1794, a decade after the return of the
first baptized Korean from a visit to Beijing. However, the writings of the Jesuit missionary,
Matteo Ricci, who was resident at the imperial court in Beijing, had been brought to Korea from
China in the 17th century. It appears that scholars of the Sirhak, or practical learning, school
were interested in these writings. Largely because converts refused to perform Confucian
ancestor rites, the government prohibited the proselytization of Christianity. Some Catholics
were executed during the early 19th century, but the anti-Christian law was not strictly enforced.
By the 1860s, there were some 17,500 Roman Catholics in the country. There followed a more
rigorous persecution, in which thousands of Christians died, which continued until 1884.
Protestant missionaries entered Korea during the 1880s and, along with Catholic priests,
converted a remarkable number of Koreans. Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries were
especially successful. They established schools, universities, hospitals, and orphanages and
played a significant role in the modernization of the country. During the Japanese colonial
occupation, Christians were in the front ranks of the struggle for independence. Factors
contributing to the growth of Protestantism included the degenerate state of Korean Buddhism,
the efforts made by educated Christians to reconcile Christian and Confucian values (the latter
being viewed as purely a social ethic rather than a religion), the encouragement of self-support
and self-government among members of the Korean church, and the identification of Christianity
with Korean nationalism.
A large number of Christians lived in the northern part of the peninsula where Confucian
influence was not as strong as in the south. Before 1948 P'yongyang was an important Christian
center: one-sixth of its population of about 300,000 people were converts. Following the
establishment of a communist regime in the north, however, most Christians had to flee to South
Korea or face persecution.
The profusion of church steeples in most South Korean cities has often attracted attention.
Christianity, which initially got a foothold in Korea in the late 18th century, grew exponentially
in the 1970s and 1980s, and despite slower growth in the 1990s, caught up to and then surpassed
Buddhism in the number of practicing adherents. Christians are especially strong in the west of
the country including Seoul, Gyeonggi and Honam regions. Seoul is home to Yoido Full Gospel
Church, the largest pentecostal megachurch in the country.
The Christian faith in South Korea is heavily dominated by four denominations: Presbyterians,
Methodists, Baptists and Roman Catholics, Some non-denominational churches also exist.
Similarly to non-practitioners, Catholicism in South Korea has also integrated traditional
Buddhist customs and rites. Korean Catholics still observe jesa (ancestor worship) and many
Buddhist and Confucian philosophies.[citation needed] Protestants however, no longer observe
these traditional customs.

Today there are ten Korean Orthodox parishes with several hundred members in South Korea, as
well as one monastery. These grew out of Russian Orthodox missionary endeavors in the
nineteenth century.
The traditional peace churches have not gained a strong foothold on the peninsula. Quaker
thought briefly attracted a national following in the late 20th century, thanks to the leadership of
Ham Seok-heon. However, after Ham's death, interest in the Quakers (Religious Society of
Friends) withered, and now only one Quaker meeting is active nationwide. The state of
Unitarianism is similar.
establishment of a communist regime in the north, however, most Christians had to flee to South
Korea or face persecution.
The profusion of church steeples in most South Korean cities has often attracted attention.
Christianity, which initially got a foothold in Korea in the late 18th century, grew exponentially
in the 1970s and 1980s, and despite slower growth in the 1990s, caught up to and then surpassed
Buddhism in the number of practicing adherents. Christians are especially strong in the west of
the country including Seoul, Gyeonggi and Honam regions. Seoul is home to Yoido Full Gospel
Church, the largest pentecostal megachurch in the country.
The Christian faith in South Korea is heavily dominated by four denominations: Presbyterians,
Methodists, Baptists and Roman Catholics, Some non-denominational churches also exist.
Similarly to non-practitioners, Catholicism in South Korea has also integrated traditional
Buddhist customs and rites. Korean Catholics still observe jesa (ancestor worship) and many
Buddhist and Confucian philosophies.[citation needed] Protestants however, no longer observe
these traditional customs.
Today there are ten Korean Orthodox parishes with several hundred members in South Korea, as
well as one monastery. These grew out of Russian Orthodox missionary endeavors in the
nineteenth century.
The traditional peace churches have not gained a strong foothold on the peninsula. Quaker
thought briefly attracted a national following in the late 20th century, thanks to the leadership of
Ham Seok-heon. However, after Ham's death, interest in the Quakers (Religious Society of
Friends) withered, and now only one Quaker meeting is active nationwide. The state of
Unitarianism is similar.
Mormonism
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Korea was established following the
baptism of Kim Ho Jik in 1951. Studying nutrition in Cornell, he met a member of their faith,
Oliver Wyman, and was impressed with their doctrine. Upon joining the church and completing
his degree, he traveled back to South Korea and became an influential governmental leader,
started translations for materials, and helped the church gain official recognition. As of
December 31, 2012, there are 81,628 members, one temple in Seoul, 3 missions (Seoul, Daejeon,
and Busan with a fourth to be added in July [Seoul South], 128 congregations, and 24 family
history centres.
Muism or sinism

Korean shamanism, today known as Muism (Mugyo, "religion of the Mu") or sometimes Sinism
(Shingyo, "religion of the gods", with shin being the Korean character derivative of the Hanja),
encompasses a variety of indigenous religious beliefs and practices of the Korean people and the
Korean sphere. In contemporary South Korea, the most used term is Muism and a shaman is
known as a mudang (, ) or Tangol (). The role of the mudang, usually a woman, is
to act as intermediary between a spirit entity, spirits or gods and human beings.
Korean shamans are similar in many ways to those found in Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria.
They also resemble the yuta found on the Ryukyu Islands, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Cheju
Island is also a center of shamanism.
Shamans, most of whom are women, are enlisted by those who want the help of the spirit world.
Female shamans (mudang) hold kut, or services, in order to gain good fortune for clients, cure
illnesses by exorcising evil spirits, or propitiate local or village gods. Such services are also held
to guide the spirit of a deceased person to heaven.
Often a woman will become a shaman very reluctantlyafter experiencing a severe physical or
mental illness that indicates "possession" by a spirit. Such possession allegedly can be cured only
through performance of a kut. Once a shaman is established in her profession, she usually can
make a good living.
Many scholars regard Korean shamanism as less a religion than a "medicine" in which the spirits
are manipulated in order to achieve human ends. There is no notion of salvation or moral and
spiritual perfection, at least for the ordinary believers in spirits. The shaman is a professional
who is consulted by clients whenever the need is felt. Traditionally, shamans had low social
status and were members of the ch'ommin class. This discrimination has continued into modern
times.
Animistic beliefs are strongly associated with the culture of fishing villages and are primarily a
phenomenon found in rural communities. Shamans also treat the ills of city people, however,
especially recent migrants from the countryside who find adjustment to an impersonal urban life
stressful. The government has discouraged belief in shamanism as superstition and for many
years minimized its persistence in Korean life. Yet in a climate of growing nationalism and
cultural self-confidence, the dances, songs, and incantations that compose the kut have come to
be recognized as an important aspect of Korean culture. Beginning in the 1970s, rituals that
formerly had been kept out of foreign view began to resurface, and occasionally a Western hotel
manager or other executive could even be seen attending a shamanistic exorcism ritual in the
course of opening a new branch in Seoul. Some of these aspects of kut have been designated
valuable cultural properties that should be preserved and passed on to future generations.
The future of shamanism itself was uncertain in the late 1980s. Observers believed that many of
its functions in the future probably will be performed by the psychiatric profession as the
government expands mental health treatment facilities. Given the uncertainty of social,
economic, and political conditions, however, it appears certain that shamans will find large
numbers of clients for some time to come.
Since the early 2000s, the religion has been enjoying great popularity among young people.

Confucianism
Only 0.2% of contemporary South Koreans give "Confucianism" as their religion. However, the
influence of Confucian ethical thought on other religious practices and on Korean culture in
general, remains ubiquitous and pervasive.
Confucian rituals are still practiced at various times of the year. The most prominent of these are
the annual rites held at the Shrine of Confucius in Seoul. Other rites, for instance those in honor
of clan founders, are held at the numerous shrines found throughout the country.

Religion in United Kingdom

Religion in the United Kingdom and in the countries that preceded it has been dominated, for
over 1,400 years, by various forms of Christianity. According to some surveys, a majority of
citizens still identify with Christianity, although regular church attendance has fallen
dramatically since the middle of the twentieth century, and immigration and demographic change
have contributed to the growth of other faiths.
Religious affiliations of United Kingdom citizens are recorded by regular surveys, the four major
ones being the UK Census, the Labour Force Survey, the British Social Attitudes survey and the
European Social Survey. According to the 2011 UK census, Christianity is the major religion,
followed by Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism in terms of number of adherents.
This, and the relatively large number of individuals with nominal or no religious affiliations has
led commentators to variously describe the United Kingdom as a multi-faith, secularized, or
post-Christian society.
The United Kingdom was formed by the union of previously independent countries from 1707,
and consequently most of the largest religious groups do not have UK-wide organizational
structures. While some groups have separate structures for the individual countries of the United
Kingdom, others may have a single structure covering England and Wales or Great Britain.
Similarly, due to the relatively recent creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, most major religious
groups in Northern Ireland are organized on an all-Ireland basis.
History
Pre-Roman forms of religion in Britain included various forms of ancestor worship and
paganism. Little is known about the details of such religions. The priests are known as the druids.
Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the United Kingdom for over
1,400 years. It was introduced by the Romans to what is now England, Wales, and Southern
Scotland; and, after the Pagan Anglo-Saxon invasions from the fifth century, it was reintroduced
by Roman Catholic and Celtic missionaries to all parts of Great Britain and Ireland.
Roman Catholicism remained the dominant form of Christianity throughout the Middle Ages, but
the (Anglican) Church of England became the independent established church in England and
Wales from 1534 as part of the Protestant English Reformation. It retains a representation in the
UK Parliament and the British monarch is its Supreme Governor.

In Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, established in a separate Scottish Reformation

in the sixteenth century, is recognized as the national church. It is not subject to state control, and
the British monarch is an ordinary member, required to swear an oath to "maintain and preserve
the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government" upon his or her accession.
The adherence to Roman Catholicism continued at various levels in different parts of Britain and
most strongly in Ireland and would expand in Great Britain, partly due to Irish immigration in
the nineteenth century.
Particularly from the mid-seventeenth century, forms of Protestant nonconformity, including
Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, and, later, Methodists, grew outside of the established
church. The (Anglican) Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920 and, as the (Anglican)
Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1870 before the partition of Ireland, there is no
established church in Northern Ireland.
Particularly since the 20th century, immigration and demographic change have contributed to the
growth of other faiths, including Islam, Hinduism, Neo-Paganism, Sikhism, Judaism, and
Buddhism. This, and the relatively large number of individuals with nominal or no religious
affiliations has led commentators to variously describe the United Kingdom as a multi-faith,
secularized, or post-Christian society.
Statistics
The statistics for current religion (not religion of upbringing where also asked) from the 2011
census and the corresponding statistics from the 2001 census are set out in the tables below.

England

Wales

England and Wales

Scotland

Great Britain

Northern Ireland

United

Religion
(2011)
Number

Christianity

Number

Number

1,763,29

33,243,17

Number

36,093,37

2,660,116

5.0

45,950

1.5

2,706,066

4.8

76,737

1.4

2,782,803

Hinduism

806,199

1.5

10,434

0.3

816,633

1.5

16,379

0.3

Sikhism

420,196

0.8

2,962

0.1

423,158

0.8

9,055

0.2

Islam

53.8

59.4

59.3 2,850,199

Number

31,479,876

57.6

Numbe

Number

1,490,58

82.3

37,583

4.5

3,832 0.21

2,786

833,012

1.4

2,382 0.13

835

432,213

0.7

216 0.01

432

58.8

Judaism

261,282

0.5

2,064

0.1

263,346

0.5

5,887

0.1

269,233

0.4

335 0.02

269

Buddhism

238,626

0.5

9,117

0.3

247,743

0.4

12,795

0.2

260,538

0.4

1,046 0.06

261

Other religion

227,825

0.4

12,705

0.4

240,530

0.4

15,196

0.3

255,726

0.4

7,048 0.39

262

4,614,244

8.7

83,232

2.7

4,697,476

8.4

136,049

2.6

4,833,525

7.9

13,114,232

24.7

982,997

32.1

25.1 1,941,116

36.7

Religion not stated

3,804,104

7.2

233,928

7.6

No religion and Religion

16,918,33

Total non-Christian
religion

No religion

not stated

Total population

53,012,456

100.0

31.9

1,216,92

3,063,456

100.0

39.7

14,097,22
9

4,038,032

18,135,26

56,075,912

100.0

7.2

32.3

368,039

2,309,15

5,295,403

100.0

7.0

43.6

16,038,34

26.1

4,406,071

20,444,41

61,371,315

100.0

14,859

0.8

4,848,

183,164 10.1

16,221

7.2

122,252

33.3

305,416

1,810,863

Christianity
The United Kingdom was formed by the union of previously independent states from 1707, and
consequently most of the largest religious groups do not have UK-wide organizational structures.
While some groups have separate structures for the individual countries of the United Kingdom,
others may have a single structure covering England and Wales or Great Britain. Similarly, due
to the relatively recent creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, most major religious groups in
Northern Ireland are organized on an all-Ireland basis.
Church of England
In England, the Church of England is the established church. It is also the Mother Church of the
worldwide Anglican Communion. The Scottish Episcopal Church, which is part of the Anglican
Communion (but not a 'daughter church' of the Church of England), dates from the final

6.8

16.
9

100.0

4,528

20,749,

63,18

establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1690, when it split from the Church of Scotland.
In the 1920s, the Church in Wales became disestablished and independent from the Church of
England, but remains in the Anglican Communion.
Roman Catholicism
The Roman Catholic Church has separate national organizations for England and Wales, for
Scotland and for Ireland, which means there is no single hierarchy for Roman Catholicism in the
United Kingdom. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is the second largest
Christian church with around five million members, mainly in England. There is however a
single apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, presently Archbishop Antonio Mennini. The Roman
Catholic Church in Scotland is Scotland's second largest Christian church, representing a sixth of
the population. The Apostolic Nuncio to the whole of Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland) is Giuseppe Leanza. Eastern Rite Catholics in the United Kingdom are
served by their own clergy and do not belong to the Roman Catholic dioceses but are still in full
communion with the Bishop of Rome.
Presbyterianism and Congregationalism
In Scotland, the Church of Scotland (informally known by its Scots language name, "the Kirk"),
is recognized as the national church. It is not subject to state control and the British monarch is
an ordinary member, required to swear an oath to "maintain and preserve the Protestant Religion
and Presbyterian Church Government" upon his or her accession. Splits in the Church of
Scotland, especially in the 19th century, led to the creation of various other Presbyterian
churches in Scotland, including the Free Church of Scotland, which claims to be the
constitutional continuator of the Church in Scotland and was founded in 1843. The Free
Presbyterian Church of Scotland was formed in 1893 by some who left the Free Church over
alleged weakening of her position and likewise claims to be the spiritual descendant of the
Scottish Reformation. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales was founded
in the late 1980s and declared themselves to be a Presbytery in 1996. As of 2013 they had ten
churches. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Protestant denomination and second
largest church in Northern Ireland. The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster was founded on 17
March 1951 by the cleric and politician, Ian Paisley. It has about 60 churches in Northern
Ireland. The Presbyterian Church of Wales seceded from the Church of England in 1811 and
formally formed itself into a separate body in 1823. The Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of
Ireland has 31 congregations in Northern Ireland, with the first Presbytery being formed in
Antrim in 1725.
The United Reformed Church (URC), a union of Presbyterian and Congregational churches,
consists of about 1,500 congregations in England, Scotland and Wales. There are about 600
Congregational churches in the United Kingdom. In England there are three main groups, the
Congregational Federation, the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches, and about
100 Congregational churches that are loosely federated with other congregations in the
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, or are unaffiliated. In Scotland the churches
are mostly member of the Congregational Federation and in Wales which traditionally has a
larger number of Congregationalists, most are members of the Union of Welsh Independents.

Methodism
The Methodist movement traces its origin to the evangelical awakening in the 18th century. The
Methodist Church, which has congregations throughout Great Britain, the Channel Islands, the
Isle of Man, Malta and Gibraltar, has around 290,000 members, and 5,900 churches, though only
around 3,000 members in 50 congregations are in Scotland. In the 1960s, it made ecumenical
overtures to the Church of England, aimed at church unity. Formally, these failed when they were
rejected by the Church of England's General Synod in 1972. However, conversations and cooperation continued, leading on 1 November 2003 to the signing of a covenant between the two
churches.
The Methodist Church in Ireland covers the whole of the island of Ireland, including Northern
Ireland where it is the fourth-largest denomination.
Other Methodist denominations in Britain include: The Salvation Army, founded in 1865; the
Free Methodist Church, a holiness church; and the Church of the Nazarene.
Baptists
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, despite its name, covers just England and Wales. There is a
separate Baptist Union of Scotland and the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland is an allIreland organization.
Charismatic and Pentecostal
Assemblies of God in Great Britain are part of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship with
over 600 churches in Great Britain. Assemblies of God Ireland cover the whole of the island of
Ireland, including Northern Ireland. The Apostolic Church commenced in the early part of the
20th century in South Wales and now has over 110 churches across the United Kingdom. Elim
Pentecostal Church as of 2013 had over 500 churches across the United Kingdom.
There is also a growing number of independent, charismatic churches that encourage Pentecostal
practices as part of their worship. These are broadly grouped together as the British New Church
Movement and could number up to 400,000 members. The phenomenon of immigrant churches
and congregations that began with the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush from the West Indies in
1948 stands as a unique trend. West Indian congregations that started from this time include the
Church of God, New Testament Assembly and New Testament Church of God.
Africans began to arrive in the early 1980s and established their own congregations. Foremost
among these are Matthew Ashimolowo from Nigeria and his Kingsway International Christian
Centre in London that may be the largest church in Western Europe.
Eastern Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church: the Diocese of Sourozh covers Great Britain and Ireland. Russian
Orthodox Church Outside Russia also has a diocese that covers Great Britain and Ireland. Greek
Orthodox Church: Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, led by Archbishop Gregorios,[84]
that covers England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland as well as Malta. The Greek Orthodox Church
of Antioch has 15 parishes and 7 missions within the Deanery of the United Kingdom and
Ireland.[85] Serbian Orthodox Church: the Diocese of Britain and Scandinavia has nine parishes
in the United Kingdom and missions in Dublin and Malta.[citation needed] The Coptic Orthodox

Church of Alexandria has two regional Dioceses in the United Kingdom: the Diocese of Ireland,
Scotland, North East England and its Affiliated Areas is led by Bishop Antony of Newcastle and
the Diocese of the Midlands and its Affiliated Areas is led by Bishop Missael of Birmingham.
There is also (part of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate) the British Orthodox Church, (covering
the British Isles) which is led by Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury. In addition, there is one
General Bishop in Stevenage, Bishop Angaelos. There are many Coptic Orthodox Churches in
the United Kingdom that are directly the responsibility of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of
Alexandria. There is also the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church in London.
Islam
It was against the law to be a Muslim in Britain until the Trinitarian Act in 1812[better source
needed]. Estimates in 2009 suggested a total of about 2.4 million Muslims over all the United
Kingdom. According to Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the number of Muslims in
Britain could be up to 2.9 million. The vast majority of Muslims in the United Kingdom live in
England and Wales: of 1,591,126 Muslims recorded at the 2001 Census, 1,546,626 were living in
England and Wales, where they form 3% of the population; 42,557 were living in Scotland,
forming 0.8% of the population; and 1,943 were living in Northern Ireland. Between 2001 and
2009 the Muslim population increased roughly 10 times faster than the rest of society.
Most Muslim immigrants to the United Kingdom came from former colonies. The biggest groups
of Muslims are of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian origin, with the remainder coming from
Muslim-dominated areas such as Southwest Asia, Somalia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. During the
18th century, lascars (sailors) who worked for the British East India Company settled in port
towns with local wives. These numbered only 24,037 in 1891 but 51,616 on the eve of World
War I. Naval cooks, including Sake Dean Mahomet, also came from what is now the Sylhet
Division of Bangladesh. From the 1950s onwards, the growing Muslim population has led to a
number of notable Mosques being established, including Manchester Central Mosque, East
London Mosque, London Markaz, London Central Mosque. According to Kevin Brice, a
researcher at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, thousands convert to Islam annually
and there are approximately 100,000 converts to Islam in Britain, where they run two mosques.
According to a Labour Force Survey estimate, the total number of Muslims in Great Britain in
2008 was 2,422,000, around 4% of the total population. Between 2004 and 2008, the Muslim
population grew by more than 500,000. In 2010, The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
estimated 2,869,000 Muslims in Great Britain. The largest age-bracket within the British Muslim
population were those under the age of 4, at 301,000 in September 2008. The Muslim Council of
Britain is an umbrella organization for many local, regional and specialist Islamic organizations
in the United Kingdom, although it is disputed how representative this organization is of British
Muslims as a whole.
Judaism
The Jewish Naturalisation Act, enacted in 1753, permitted the naturalisation of foreign Jews, but
was repealed the next year. The first graduate from the University of Glasgow who was openlyknown to be Jewish was in 1787. Unlike their English contemporaries, Scottish students were not
required to take a religious oath. In 1841 Isaac Lyon Goldsmid was made baronet, the first Jew to

receive a hereditary title. The first Jewish Lord Mayor of the City of London, Sir David
Salomons, was elected in 1855, followed by the 1858 emancipation of the Jews. On 26 July
1858, Lionel de Rothschild was finally allowed to sit in the House of Commons of the United
Kingdom when the law restricting the oath of office to Christians was changed. (Benjamin
Disraeli, a baptised, teenage convert to Christianity of Jewish parentage, was already an MP at
this time and rose to become Prime Minister in 1874.) In 1884 Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st
Baron Rothschild became the first Jewish member of the British House of Lords; again Disraeli
was already a member.
British Jews number around 300,000 with the United Kingdom having the fifth largest Jewish
community worldwide. However, this figure did not include Jews who identified 'by ethnicity
only' in England and Wales or Scottish Jews who identified as Jewish by upbringing but held no
current religion. A report in August 2007 by University of Manchester historian Dr Yaakov Wise
stated that 75% of all births in the Jewish community were to ultra-orthodox, Haredi parents, and
that the increase of ultra-orthodox Jewry has led to a significant rise in the proportion of British
Jews who are ultra-orthodox. However various studies suggest that within some Jewish
communities and particularly in some strictly Orthodox areas, many residents ignored the
voluntary question on religion following the advice of their religious leaders resulting in a
serious undercount, therefore it is impossible to give an accurate number on the total UK Jewish
population. It may be even more than double the official estimates, heavily powered by the very
high birth rate of orthodox families and British people who are Jewish by origin but not religion;
as it currently stands, the Jewish as ethnicity section is not documented on the census.

Definition of terms
Codified constitution - are the type of constitutions which are as a product of some dramatic
political change, like a revolution. The process by which a country does adopt a constitution is
closely tied to the historical and political context driving to a fundamental change.
Minjung- the masses in South Korea, and they encompasses not only the urban proletariat in
the Marxist sense but also the groups, including farmers, small bourgeoisie, students, and skilled
craftsmen, who allegedly have been exploited by the country's numerically small ruling class
Gukhoe- national assembly in South Korea
Mudang- usually a woman, her role is to act as intermediary between a spirit entity, spirits or
gods and human beings.
Shamans- most of whom are women, are enlisted by those who want the help of the spirit world.
Cheongwadae- The official residence and office of the President of the Republic of Korea.
Primus inter pares - Latin for "first among equals.
DHondt- method of proportional representation.

Estates-term for caste system in England.

Chaebol- they are the favored in South Koreas social structure and the engines of South Korean
economic growth and industrialization was clearly reflected in the differences between salaries
and working conditions of employees in large and small enterprises.
Sinism/Shingyo- "religion of the gods", with shin being the Korean character derivative of the
Hanja.
Bloc Vote- The plurality-at-large voting is also used for some local government elections in
England and Wales.