English-Speaking Countries

Great Britain. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies the territory of the British Isles.It con­sists of four main parts which are: En­gland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ire­land. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the country. The UK is an island country, it consists of 5,500 islands, large and small. The two biggest islands are: Great Britain to the east and Ireland to the west. They are sep­arated by the Irish Sea. The area of the country is 244,100 square kilometers. The UK is situated off the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. It is separated from the continent by the En­glish Channel and the Strait of Dover. The population of the UK is over 57 million people. Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. But it is not rich in mineral resources. Great Britain exports manufactured goods made of imported materials. The largest cities of Great Britain are: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh.

The United States of America is one of the biggest countries in the world. It is situated in North America and covers the territory of about 9,364 thousand square kilometers. It borders on Canada in the north, Mexico in the south. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and by the Pacific in the west. The popula­tion of the country is over 220 million people. The country is divided into fifty states, each of which has its own capital and govern­ment. The capital of the whole country is Washington,D.C. (District of Columbia). It doesn’t belong to any state. There are many large and modern cities, such as Washington, Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and others.

Ireland is an island to the west of Eu­rope. It is a little smaller than Portugal and a little bigger than Sri Lanka. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, and the Irish Sea in the east. The island is divided into two parts. The larger part, the Republic of Ireland, is in the south, with the population about 3,5 million people. Its capital is Dublin. The smaller part, Northern Ireland, be­longs to the United Kingdom, and its big city is Belfast. There are about 1,6 million people in Northern Ireland. Ireland is a small country, but a lot of people in the world know about it. Ireland has never been a very rich coun­try. It is not rich in money, but it is very rich in other things – in music, in poetry. Ireland is a beautiful country, with fine lakes and high mountains.

Canada has an area of nearly ten million square kilometers. Its western coast is washed by the Pacific Ocean and its eastern coast by the Atlantic Ocean. There are many islands in the north of Canada. Canada has mountains, high plains and low plains. It is a country of lakes. Besides the Great Lakes – the Superior, the Huron, the Erie and the Ontario, there are many other very large lakes. The population of Canada is over 24 million people. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. Other large important cities are Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, etc. Canada is rich in ore, oil and gas, and the metal-working, machine-building, automotive and ship-building industries are highly developed. Canada is a federal state and a member of the Commonwealth. It consists of ten provinces and two territories. Each province has its own government.

Australia is a federal state within the Commonwealth. Its territories are the continent of Australia, the island of Tasmania and a number of smaller islands. It has an area of about 8 million square kilometers. The continent of Australia is mostly a great plain with mountains in the east and south-east. There are three big cities in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Each city is the capital of the state in which it is situated. Australia is rich in minerals, which are mined in different parts of the country. Today there are about 15 million people in Australia; most of them are of British origin.

New Zealand, an independent state and a member of the Commonwealth, is situated south-east of Australia. The country consists of three large islands, called North Island, South Island and Stewart Island, and many small islands. New Zealand is a mountainous country. New Zealand’s natural resources are not rich – timber, coal, natural gas, iron ore, building materials and fast rivers on which hydro-electric stations have been built. The country produces goods of different kinds. The main cities in North Island are Auckland and Wellington, the capital. The population of New Zealand is over three million people.

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