BRITISH
ECONOMY
Natural resources and agriculture
Britain has large deposits of coal but the
historically important coal-mining industry has declined in recent years
because of competition from cheaper imported coal and other forms of energy. Britain
is now one of the world's larger oil producers and is almost self-sufficient in
energy. About 20% of the country's electricity comes from nuclear power
stations.
Agriculture
is highly efficient. It employs less than 2% of the population but provides
about 60% of the country's needs. Over half of the farms are devoted to dairy
products or beef and cattle and sheep.
Production
of eggs and poultry is also important all over the country. Crop-farming
predominates in eastern England.
Crops include cereals, sugar beet and potatoes. Fruit production is important
in southern England,
especially apples, pears, strawberries and cherries. The British fishing
industry used to be one of the largest in the world but it had declined since
the 1960s. it still provides 60% of the county's needs
and is an important source of income on the east coast.
Manufacturing industries
A wide
range of engineering products are made in Britain, including motor vehicles,
railway equipment, aircraft and specialized machinery. These industries are
mostly located around London, the West Midlands,
Manchester and Glasgow. Britain
aerospace industry is particularly important with a number of firms,
shipbuilding has declined but the car industry has been revived by the setting
up of car factories in Britain
by the Japanese manufacturers. Telecommunications is another important sector.
British firms like BT are leaders in optical fibre and radar.
The textile
and clothing industry employs about 10% of manufacturing workers. The woollen
industry, traditionally based in the Leeds-Bradford area is still one of the
world's largest.
Steel, food
and drink, chocolates, whisky, printing and publishing, furniture, cigarettes,
pottery, glass and household appliances are other important manufacturing
industries in Britain.
Service industries
Over two
thirds of British workers are employed in a wide variety of services. The
financial services sector, in particular banking and insurance, is extremely
important in Britain.
London is the
third largest financial centre in the world.
In recent
years there also been a great expansion all over the country in other business
services, including advertising, market research and computer systems.
Tourism is
one of the fastest-growing industries, now employing 1,5
million people. It is particularly significant in London. International air travel is very
important economically to Britain.
British Airways is one of the largest and most successful airlines in the
world.
AMERICAN
ECONOMY
The USA
has the largest economy in the world. The economic system is based entirely on
private ownership. The state makes regulations to control industries but it
does not own them.
Natural resources and agriculture
Mining only
employs 0,6% of American workers but it has been essential to industrial
development. Five states account for about half off all mineral production. The
chief mineral products are oil, natural gas and coal. The USA is the world's greatest electricity
producer, about half of US
electricity comes from coal, however the country is
also the world's greatest energy consumer.
Agriculture,
fishing and forestry together employs less than 3% of
the total labour force but the USA
exports more farm products than any other nation. Important agricultural products are beef
cattle, dairy products, pigs, chickens, corn and soybeans as food for cattle
and pigs, cotton, tobacco, fruit especially in California.
Other major
crops grown are sugarcane, rice, nuts and potatoes. Forests cover over 3
million km2 , two-third of which produce commercial
timber for paper and other wood products. The USA produces about 4 million tons of fish per year.
Manufacturing industries
The USA is
the leading manufacturing nation in the world. Large corporations dominate; the
100 largest industrial companies are responsible for about 75% of production.
Principal industries are industrial machinery, transportation equipment,
chemicals in Texas and Louisiana (The oil and natural gas produced in both
states are basic raw materials used in manufacturing many chemicals products),
food processing (is an important industry in several states noted for the
production of food crops and livestock), electronic equipment (is one of the
fastest growing sectors of USA industry), iron and steel industry (is
concentrated in the nation's industrial core region, using iron ore form the
Lake Superior region and Appalachian coal), printing and publishing (New York
is the leading state) and rubber and plastics which are located mainly in the
nation's industrial core region, especially Ohio, which has large concentration
of tyre-manufacturing ts.
Service industries
The
majority of the US
workforce is employed in providing services like government administration,
transportation and public utilities, wholesale and retail trade, services such
as hotels, communications and health care. Finance, insurance and banking are
also particularly important, with Wall Street. The design of computer software
and the entertainment industry have also grown. Tourism is a major service
industry.
