The united kingdom of great britain and nothern ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (or the UK) is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK is an Island state: it is composed of some 5.500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are: Great Britain to the east and Ireland to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.

The area of the UK is 244,100 square kilometres. It is situated to the northwest coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and the North Sea on the east. It is separated from the European Continent by the English Channel (or La Manche) and the Straits of Dover.

The population of the UK is over 57 million people. The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish who constitute the British nation. English is not the only language. Scottish, Welsh and Irish are also used. The official language of Great Britain is English. It is now spoken in many countries of the world: the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and others.

The flag of the UK is known as the Union Jack. It has its history. It all began in 1603 when Scotland was joined to England and Wales. The flag is made up of 3 crosses. The upright cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. All of them are on the blue background.

The national anthem is “God Save the Queen”. The national currency is pound.

The capitals are: London in England, Edinburgh in Scotland, Cardiff in Wales and Belfast in Northern Ireland.

The climate of Britain is mild and warm because of the warm Gulf Stream. Most of the mountains are in the north, in Scotland, but they are not very high. Scotland is also famous for its beautiful lakes. The rivers in Great Britain are not long, but many of them are deep. The longest rivers are the Clyde and the Thames. London, the capital of the country, is situated on the Thames. The most important industrial cities are Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham and others. Cambridge and Oxford are famous university cities.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. It means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. The present British monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who succeeded to the throne in 1952. The monarch has very little power and can only reign with support of Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one that has true power, it introduces new bills. They then go to the House of Lords for approval, and finally the monarch signs them. Only then they can become laws. Everything is done in the Queen’s name. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Every country has its own national emblem. Poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national emblem of England; the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and the Edinburgh International Festival. The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of Wales; the shamrock (a kind of clover) is the emblem of Ireland.