The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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The United Kingdom is situated in the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north and north-west and the North Sea on the east. The U.K. includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains England, Scotland and Wales. The U.K. has an area of 94,249 square miles. The capital of the country is London. English is the official language. The population of the U.K. is nearly 60 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. Over 46 million people live in England. Over 3 million - in Wales. A little over 5 million - in Scotland. About 1,5 million - in the Northern Ireland. London's population is over 7 million people. The British nation consists of the English, Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. There are many people of all colours and races in the U.K. the climate of Great Britain is mild. It is not too hot in summers or too cold in winter. It often rains in England. Rain falls in the summer and in the winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the north and west of country. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. Many parts of the country have beautiful villages. There are many rivers in Great Britain. The main river is the Thames. Many ships and barges go up and down the river. The longest river is Severn. It is 350 kilometres long. There are many universities, colleges, libraries, museums and theatres in the country. The most universities are Cambridge University, Oxford University and Glasgow University. The U.K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. The main political parties of Great Britain are the Labour Party, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. The Communist Party of Great Britain was founded in 1920. It is a party of the working people. The U.K. has few mineral resources. Coal and oil are the most important of them. The U.K. is one of the world's most industrialized countries. The main industrial centres are Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin. Agriculture takes an important sector economy of the country. The British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetable and oats. |
