Great Britain

The United Kingdom is situated in the north-west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the north-west and the North Sea on the east. The U. K. includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I Great Britain, the largest island in Europe, contains England, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom has an area of 244,000 square kilometres (94,249 square miles). The capital of the country is London. English is the official language. The population of the U. K. is nearly 60 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. Over 46 million people live in England. Over 3 million — in Wales. A little over 5 million — in Scotland. About 1.5 million— in Northern Ireland. London's population is over 7 million people. The British nation consists of the English, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish. There are many people of all colours and races in the United Kingdom. The climate of Great Britain is mild. It is not too hot in summer or too cold in winter. It often rains in England. Rain falls in summer and in winter, in autumn and in spring. Snow falls only in the north and west of the country. The surface of England and Ireland is flat, but Scotland and Wales are mountainous. Many parts of the country have beautiful villages. There are many rivers in Great Britain. The main river is the Thames. Many ships and barges go up and down the river. The longest river is Severn. It is 350 kilometres long. There are many universities, colleges libraries, museums and theatres in the country. The most famous universities are Cambridge University, Oxford University, Glasgow University. The U. K. is a parliamentary monarchy. The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. The United Kingdom has some mineral resources. Coal and oil are the most important of them. The United Kingdom i one of the world's most industrialize» countries. The main industrial centres are Sheffield, Birmingham and Manchester. The largest cities of the country are London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin. Agriculture takes an important sector in economy of the country. The British people grow wheat, fruit, vegetables oats.