The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Read about the UK in brief

  1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles.
  2. The country is divided into four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  3. The capital of England and of the U. K. is London.
  4. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.
  5. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh.
  6. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.
  7. There are no high mountains on the British Isles.
  8. The Severn is the longest river.
  9. There are many beautiful lakes mostly in Scotland.
  10. The climate of the British Isles is not very cold in winter and not very hot in summer.
  11. The population of the United Kingdom is over 57 million people.
  12. English is the official language.
  13. There are four main nationalities in the U. K.: the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.
  14. The flag of the United Kingdom is known as Union Jack.
  15. It is made up of three crosses.
  16. The upright red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England.
  17. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland.
  18. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
  19. Each country has its symbol.
  20. The symbol of England is a red rose.
  21. The symbol of Wales is a daffodil.
  22. The symbol of Scotland is a thistle.
  23. The symbol of Northern Ireland is a shamrock and a red hand.
  24. Great Britain is highly industrialized and it has a highly developed agriculture.
  25. The most important industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast.
  26. Administratively Great Britain is divided into 55 counties.
  27. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy.
  28. The Queen is formally at the head of the state.
  29. But in fact the country is ruled by the Parliament consisting of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
  30. The members of the House of Lords are not elected by the population.
  31. The members of the House of Commons are elected for a period of five years.
  32. The main political parties are the Conservative (the Tory) Party, the Liberal and the Labour Party.
  33. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the government.
  34. The Prime Minister is the Head of the government.
  35. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs to become the Cabinet of Ministers.

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