The United Kindom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) consists of four main countries which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Nothern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The UK is an island state: it is composed of some 5 500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are Great Britain (in which are England, Scotland and Wales) and Ireland. They are separeted by the Irish Sea.
The UK is one of the world’s smaller countries. It’s situated off the northwest coast of European continent and is washed by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover.
English is the official language. But it is not the only language which people use in the UK. Some people speak Scottish, Welsh and Irish.
The population of the United Kingdom is over 57 million people.
The climate in the UK is generally mild and temperate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The weather is so changeable that the English say that they have no climate but only weather. It is never too hot or too cold. It rains very often. Snow may come, but it melts very quickly. The thick fog is the worst feature of the British climate.
The formal name of the British national flag is Union Flag know as the ‘‘Union Jack’’ (it combines the St. George’s cross of England, St. Andrew’s cross of Ireland).
The red rose is the nation emblem of England, the thistle is the Scots national emblem, the daffodil is the Welsh emblem, the little shamrock is the national emblem of the Irish. One can see two animals on British royal coat of arms. One of them is the lion. The “king of beast” has been used as a symbol of national strength and of the British monarchy for many centuries. The other one is the unicorn. is the mystical animal, that looks like horse with a long straight horn growing from the forehead, and is a symbol of purity.
The UK is a very highly developed industrial country. The major industrial cities are London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpol, Bristol, Glasgow. London is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people. It is a big port and most important comercial, manufacturing and cultural center (there is little heavy industry in London, but there is a whole range of light industry in Greater London). The City is the heart of London. It is the financial center of the UK with many banks, offices and the Stock Exchange.
The United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy. The monarch (a king or a queen) is the Head of State, but his power is limited by the Parliament.
The Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords and the queen as its head. The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the Government and the leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The main political parties are Conservative and Labour and the Party of Liberal Democrats. Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain. An association of former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth. In Great Britain there is no written constitution, only customs, traditions and precedents.