THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Countries of the UK¹ and Their Capitals • Great Britain -England-The British Isles²; 5.500 Islands • Two Main Islands • Location

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ire­land (the UK) occupies most of the territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main parts, which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London/Edinburgh³, Cardiff* and Belfast⁵.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state which is some­times referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after its ma­jor isle), England (after its major historic part) or the British Isles.

The UK is an island state; it is composed of some 5,500 islands, large and small. The two main islands are Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland) to the east and Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the in­dependent Irish Republic) to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.

The UK is one of the world's smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of some 244,100 square kilometres. The UK is situated off the west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and the North Sea on the east and is sepa­rated from the European continent by the English Chan­nel⁶ (or La Manche) and the Strait of Dover⁷ (or Pas de Calais).

The population of the United Kingdom is over 57 million people. There are fourteen other countries in the world with more pe­ople.

English is not the only language which people use in the UK. English is the official language. But some people speak Gaelic in western Scotland, Welsh—in parts of northern and cen­tral Wales.

The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack⁸, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron 5aint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 877