The United Kingdom is just smaller than Oregon, and yet at one time, it ruled a fourth of
the
world’s population and nearly a quarter of the world’s land mass.
But that was then and this is
now.
So how powerful is the UK today?
The answer is....still pretty powerful.
Today, the UK is the world’s 6th largest economy, just
behind France.
A lot of that is due to its island location, which makes it an important maritime
trade route and connecting point between North America, mainland Europe, and Asia.
95%
of Britain’s economic activity depends on these maritime trade routes.
So to protect them, the
UK maintains an active military personnel of nearly 205,000 people, and has the world’s
5th
highest defense budget.
Their air force currently possesses over 200 combat aircrafts, we well
as a navy fleet that includes 13 frigates and 6 elite destroyers.
They do lack an aircraft carrier,
but they make up for it, with what’s known as “the nation’s ultimate weapon”; a
“continuous at- sea nuclear deterrent.”
These are four high tech nuclear-capable submarines, one of which is
constantly patrolling the seas surrounding the UK.
This makes them powerful, but they’re still not exactly a superpower.
There’s a reason
why Britain had to give up their empire.
WWII and the period afterwards maxed out Britain’s
resources.
They became increasingly dependent on the US, lost control of India, and with it an
enormous amount of manpower.
By 1956 and their mishandling of the Suez Crisis, it was clear
that Britain could no longer sustain itself or its empire, independently.
A mass decolonization
ensued, with Britain granting independence to nearly all of their territories, including
the release
of Hong Kong as recently as 1997.
All of this leaves the UK today without the global reach to be considered a superpower.
However, the country still exerts enormous political influence as a key member in many
global
organizations, including the United Nations Security Council, Nato, and the EU.
Through those
organizations, and with the support of the US, they’ve rallied international intervention
in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and Libya.
They also bailed out Ireland and Greece during the global financial
crisis.
So while the UK might not be the superpower it once was, it remains a powerful ally for
many nations.
If you’d like to learn more about the power of other countries, check out our Strength
of
Nations Playlist.
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