The second half of the 20th century brought the dismantling of the British Empire and saw the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation, and a member of the EU. A leading trading power and financial centre, it is one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe.
The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance.
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