a radical policy of monetarism , deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies ( privatisation ), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others. [ 97 ] This resulted in high unemployment and social unrest, but ultimately also economic growth, particularly in the services sector. From 1984, the economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues. [ 98 ] In 2013, the UK is striving to recover from a slump that followed the 2008 global financial crisis. A coalition government has introduced austerity measures which aim to tackle a large budget deficit. [ 101 ] Scottish Independence is back on the agenda. The Scottish Government will hold an independence referendum on 18 September 2014. If passed Scotland will become a sovereign state independent of the other nations within the current UK. [ 102 ] Geography The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles [ 103 ] archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the south-east coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel . [ 104 ] In 1993 10% of the UK was forested, 46% used