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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the archipelago is located off the northwestern coast of Europe. The territory of the UK includes Great Britain, the north-east part of Ireland, and many other small islands. It is a union of four constituent countries- England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland of the UK shares the land border with the Republic of Ireland. The Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea surround the island. It has a 6th largest economy in the world. It is a member of European Union, the United Nations Security Council, the G8, NATO, WTO and the Commonwealth of Nations. The city of London is the capital of the UK. HISTORY:- Roman invasions during the 1st century BC brought Britain into contact with the Europeans, followed by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from Scandinavia and the Low Countries. The 7 Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established and the original Britons resided in Wales and Scotland. The kingdoms were unified under the kings of Wessex in the 10th century. In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain. In the advent of 19th century, UK emerged as the leading colonial power. Following the World War I, BBC was formed. Britain was one of the strong side in the Allied powers in World War II. After the World War II, Britain was financially destroyed. Through the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 six northern Irish counties 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. GEOGRAPHY:- United Kingdom is located at 54 00 N, 2 00 W in Western Europe. The total area of the nation is 244,820 sq km in which land masses and internal water occupy 241,590 sq km and 3,230 sq km respectively. The coastline is 12,429 km long along with the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The lowest point is The Fens (-4 m) and the highest point is Ben Nevis (1,343 m). UK is mostly composed of rugged hills and low mountains in the interior and level to rolling plains in the east and southeast. The terrain is divided among 30% arable land, 50% meadow and pasture, 12% waste or urban, 7% forests, and 1% inland water. CLIMATE:- The climate of the UK is mostly temperate, moderated by the prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current. More than one-half of the days are overcast. The weather is subject to frequent changes. GOVERNMENT:- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has a constitutional monarchy. Apart from the main land, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands are the dependent areas of the UK. The constitution is unwritten. The three principal branches of the government are: Executive branch comprises the Queen Elizabeth II (chief of state), the Prime Minister (head of government), and the Cabinet of Ministers. The monarchy is hereditary. The leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is generally elected the prime minister. The cabinet of ministers is appointed by the prime minister. Legislative branch comprises the bicameral Parliament, consists of House of Lords (618 seats), and the House of Commons (646 seats). Judicial branch comprises the magistrates' courts, the county courts, the high courts, the appellate courts, the Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary and the House of Lords. The House of Lords is the highest court of appeal. Conservative party, Labour party, Liberal Democrats, Party of Wales, Scottish National Party, Sinn Fein , Social Democratic and Labor Party, Ulster Unionist Party, Democratic Unionist Party are the prominent political parties of the UK. Suffrage is universal at the age of 18. Monarch Queen Elizabeth II CULTURE:- Association football, football, rugby, cricket, tennis and golf are most widely practiced in the UK. British culture is influenced by orthodox values. ECONOMY:- UK economy, comprises the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is one of the quintet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe and it is a leading financial center having a large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves. GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $2.137 trillion; per capita $35,100. Real growth rate: 3.1%. Inflation: 2.3%. Unemployment: 5.4%. Arable land: 23%. Agriculture: Cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish. Labor force: 30.07 million; agriculture 1.5%, industry 19.1%, services 79.5% (2004). Industries: Machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods. Budget: Public debt: 43% of GDP (2007 est.) Debt - external: $10.45 trillion (30 June 2007) Natural resources: Coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land. Exports: $468.8 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco. Imports: $603 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs. Major trading partners: U.S., Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, China (2004). Monetary unit: Pound sterling LANGUAGE:- Official language of UK is English while Welsh, Irish, Ulster Scots, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, and Cornish are also spoken. CITIES:- London is the capital of UK while Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bradford, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Belfast are the large cities of the UK. POPULATION:- The total population of UK is 60,776,238 with a growth rate of 0.3%. RACE:- RELIGION:- HEALTH:- UNICEF:- UNICEF in UK was established in 1956. This committee is mainly working on the children rights. UNICEF also raises funds for setting up child friendly hospitals in the nation. TRANSPORTATION:-
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