Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(the United Kingdom or the UK), member state of the European

Community
Government type: constitutional monarchy
National holiday: birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated on the second
Saturday in June
Capital: London
Independence: unified entity since the 10th century.
The union with Wales in 1284, Scotland in 1707, Ireland in 1801. The
Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 forma lized a partition of Ireland; six northern
Irish countries remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland
and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927.
Flag: known as the Union Flag, or Union Jack
Currency: pound sterling, consists of 100 pence; coins with the value of
one penny, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pence, and one pound, and two pounds.
II. Location: Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of
the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea,
northwest of France.
Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W
Area total: 244,820 square km (94,248 square miles)
Land boundaries: 360 km
Border countries: Ireland 360 km
Coastline: 12,429 km, 1000 km from North to South coast, and 800 km
across the widest part.
Islands: Great Britain as the largest island. The next
largest comprises Northern Ireland. The large island chain
known as the Hebrides fringes Western Scotland, and to
the north east of the Scottish mainland are the Orkney
and the Shetland.
Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains and level
to rolling plains in east and southeast. In the centre of
England there is a range of hills called the Pennines,
known as the ‘’backbone of England”.
Elevation extremes: the lowest point — Fenland, 4
m;highest mountains in Scotland and Wales: Ben Nevis -
1,343 m and Snowdon - 1,085 m
Longest rivers: the Severn (354 km); the River Thames
(346 km)
Climate: mild and temperate.
Temperature rarely above 32 °C or low -10 °C.
Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas,
tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead,
silica, arable land.
Population: 62,262,000 (2010 estimates)
Nationality: noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural);
adjective: British
Ethnic groups: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish
2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian,
Pakistani, and other 2.8%
Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population
of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in
Scotland).
Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, Muslim,
Presbyterian, Methodist, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish
• Legal system: common law tradition with early Roman and modern
continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Executive branch: Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February
1952); Heir Apparent Prince Charles, son of the Queen
• Head of government: Prime Minister
• Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister; the Prime
Minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons
• Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords and
House of Commons (members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year
terms)
• Elections: House of Lords - no elections; House of Commons — elections
once in five years
Judicial branch: House of Lords (highest court of appeal;
several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the
monarch for life). Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland
Political parties and leaders: Conservative and
Unionist Party, Democratic Unionist Party (Northern
Ireland); Labour Party; Liberal Democrats; Party of
Wales; Scottish National Party or SNP; Sinn Fein
(Northern Ireland); Social Democratic and Labour
Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland); Ulster Unionist
Party (Northern Ireland)
The End