Introduction & Facts
There are four constituent nations that form the U.K. – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The U.K. is known for its mild and damp climate, it’s strong economy and the Pound Sterling, colorful pubs, historical castles, its lush and rainy countryside and the cosmopolitan epicenter of London.
Stone Age immigrants arrived to the U.K around 4000 BC and constructed the mystifying Stonehenge. After a great many cultural and civil wars, England became the largest of the three political divisions (Scotland to the north and Wales to the west) within the island of Great Britain, Northern Island, is still also part of the United Kingdom. England is a treasure house of art and sculpture from every age and continent and exported its language and the Presbyterian Church around the globe. In so doing, the artistic genius of Shakespeare and Dickens, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, entrenched England as the center of global culture. The number of immigrants to the UK has risen from over a quarter of a million in 1992 per year to just under half a million people per year during recent years.
MAP
Area: 129,720 square km (50,085 square mi)
Population: 66.54 million ( as at May 2018)
– England 54,000,000 (84.25 per cent of the total UK population)
– Scotland 5,400,000 (8.2 per cent of the total UK population) Capital – Edinburgh
– Wales 3,100,000 (4.7 per cent of the total UK population) Capital – Cardiff
– Northern Ireland 1,800,000 (2.9 per cent of the total UK population) Capital – Belfast
Capital city of England: London population 8.7 million ( as at May 2018)
People: Anglo-Saxons, Scots, Welsh, Irish, West Indians, Pakistanis, Indians
Language: English
Religion: Church of England, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister: Ms. Theresa May as from July 2016
Army: Voluntary – The British Army consists of professional soldiers only
Weekend: 2 days – Saturday, Sunday
Major Trading partners: EU (Germany, France, Netherlands, Ireland) & USA
Major Industries: Banking and finance, steel, transport equipment, oil and gas, coal, tourism
Currency: British Pound (GBP)1 GBP= $US 1.32 (as at May 2018)