Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. There are some about 5500 islands. The two main islands are Great Britain and Ireland. It consists of four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The capital of England is London.
The capital of Wales is Cardiff.
The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh.
The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.
The territory of the United Kingdom is about 244 thousand square kilometers.
The population of Great Britain is over 56 million people.
English is the official language
Climate is very changeable in Great Britain. UK is an island country and the surrounding sea gives England a varied climate. Nobody knows what the weather will be like from one day to the other. It can be sunny one day and rainy the next. As there is such a variable climate changing from day to day, it is difficult to predict the weather.
There are many rivers in Great Britain. Among the most important rivers is the Thames, which flows into the North Sea. Its length is 336 km and it is the deepest river in Britain. It is navigable as far as the capital of Great Britain – London. The longest river in Britain is the Severn. Its length is 354 km (220 miles). Other important rivers include the Trent, the Tay and the Tweed.
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom, which is situated in Scotland.
The United Kingdom is a highly developed industrial country. It producers and exports machinery, electronics, textile and shipbuilding.
Great Britain is governed by the Parliament, and the Queen is the Head of State.
Gordon Brown is a prime-minister of the United Kingdom (2007)
The Union Jack The Union Flag, popularly known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag. It is called the Union Flag because it symbolizes the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the countries of England, of Scotland and of Northern Ireland (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.