TOPIC: THE UNITED KINGDOM

GROUP: 8

THE UNITED KINGDOM

1: Summarize the geography of the United

Kingdom

Full name: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Capital: London
Major languages: English, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic
Type of government: Constitutional monarchy

Prime Minister: David Cameron (from 2010)

Establishment: 1801
Area: 242.514 km2
Population: 64.6 million (National Statistic, mid-2014)
Currency: Pound sterling (GBP)
The United Kingdom is located off the north-western coast of the European
continent. The UK is encompassed by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Irish
Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Most sides of the UK are surrounded by water, Northern Ireland is the only
part that has a land border (with The Republic of Ireland). The United Kingdom is
made up by 4 constituent parts: England, Wales, Scotland situated on the island
of the Great Britain, and Northern Ireland situated on the island of Ireland. Many
smaller islands such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, Shetland are also part of the
UK.
The United Kingdom is one of the most highly developed countries in the
world. It is a member state of the Europe Union, NATO, the G7 Finance Ministers,
the European Economic Community (EEC)... It is also one of major nuclear
weapon states.

2: The national anthem and the flags

The national anthem

(If the country has a king at the time, the word Queen is replaced by King)
Music:

Unknown composer

Adopted:

1745

"God Save the Queen" is the British national anthem and also has this role in
some British territories. It is one of two national anthems for New Zealand (since
1977) and for several of Britain's territories that have their own additional local
anthem. It is the royal anthem of Australia (since 1984), Canada (since 1980[3]),
Barbados, and Tuvalu. In countries not previously part of the British Empire, the
tune of "God Save the Queen" has provided the basis for various patriotic songs,
though still generally connected with royal ceremony.[4] In the United States, the
British anthem's melody is used for the patriotic song, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee".
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org)

National flags

( Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_flags#cite_note-6)

The Union Jack

Flag

Date

Use

Description

1
January
1801

The Union Flag,

also known as the
Union Jack. Used
as the flag of the
United Kingdom

A superposition of the Flags of

England, Scotland, and St
Patricks Flag of Ireland

The current design of the Union Jack dates from the union of Ireland and Great
Britain in 1801. It consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England),
edged in white, superimposed on the Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which
are superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland). Wales,
however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales's patron saint, Saint David, as at
the time the flag was designed Wales was part of the Kingdom of England.
The flag's correct height-to-length proportions are 1:2.[2] However, the version
used by the British Army modifies the proportions to 3:5 and also crops two of the red
diagonals. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org)

3: Mountains, rivers, lakes of the United Kingdom and

British industry

Mountains of the United Kingdom:

UK includes all 2008 hills and mountains in the British Isle with a relative height
of of at least 150 m,with a relative height of 600 m or more ,there are 120 in
total:82 in Scotland, 24 in Ireland , 8 in Wales ,4 in England and one each in
Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.Of these,the top 110 are above 2000 feet
(610m).(en.m.wiki web).
The ten tallest mountains in the UK are all found in Scotland.The hightest
peaks in each part of the UK are
Scotland:Ben Nevis (Nevis Range , 1 344 metres)
Wales: Snowdon (Cambrian Mountains , 1085 metres)
England :Scafell Pike (Cumbrian Mountains ,977 metres)
Northern Ireland:Slieve Donard ( Mourne Mountains, 852 metres)

Rivers and lake

The longest river in the UK is the River Severn (220 miles,354 km) which
flows through both Wales and England.
The longest rivers in the UK are :
England; River Thames( 215 miles,346 km)
Scotland: River Tay( 117 miles ,188 km)
N.Ireland: River Bann( 76 miles,122 km)
Wales:River Towy(64 miles,103 km).
The largest lakes in the UK are:
N.Ireland:Lough Neagh(147.39 sq mi)
Scotland: Loch Lomond(27.46 sq mi)
England:Windermere ( 5.69 sq mi)
Wales: Lake Vyrnwy (3.18 sq mi)
The deepest lakes in the UK are:
Scotland:Loch Morar ( 309 metres)
England :Wastwater(79 metres)

British industry
Before the second world war: many manufacturing industries
After the second world war: service industries,especially banking and
relating are expanded.
Labour force by occupation:
Agriculture:1,5 %
Industry: 18,8%

(2011, en.m.wiki web)

Service:79,7 %
High-technology manufacturing industries(airplane engines and
pharmaceuticals) replace hevy industries (steel manufacture and shipbuilding).

Made in Britain:
The large companies often invest a lot of money in research and
development to find new and better,usually high-technology,products.
Example:Ineos,Mclaren technology group....
The small companies use first-class materials,have excellent quality control
and the workers are proud of what they make.
Example:J.Barbour and Sons,Morgan company, Quad Electroacoustics,....

4 : Britain and Commonwealth

Commonwealths flag

Commonwealths logo
Cause: Britain is an island.it has always forced to trade with other countries.
Establishment: 1949
Purposes: to encourage cultural relations between members.
Members: 53 countries.

Country
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Botswana

Date
1981
1931
1973
1972
1966
1981
1966

Brunei

1984

Cameroon
Canada
Cyprus
Dominica

Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
India
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati

1995
1931
1961
1978
1970 (rejoined in 1997 after 10 year
lapse)
1957
1974
1966
1947
1962
1963
1979

Lesotho

1966

Malawi

1964

Malaysia

1957

The Maldives
Malta
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru

1982
1964
1968
1995
1990
1968

Fiji

Status
Realm
Realm
Realm
Republic
Realm
Realm
Republic
Monarch
y
Republic
Realm
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Realm
Republic
Republic
Realm
Republic
Republic
Monarch
y
Republic
Monarch
y
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic

New Zealand
Nigeria
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Rwanda
St. Christopher and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the
Grenadines
Samoa
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Africa

1931
1960
1947
1975
2009
1983
1979

Realm
Republic
Republic
Realm
Republic
Realm
Realm

1979

Realm
Republic
Republic
Republic
Republic
Realm
Republic

Sri Lanka

1970
1976
1961
1965
1978
1931
(withdrew in 1961,
rejoined in 1994)
1948

Swaziland

1968

Tanzania

1961

Tonga

1970

Trinidad and Tobago

Tuvalu
United Kingdom
Uganda
Vanuatu
Zambia

1962
1978
1962
1980
1964

Head : Queen Elizabeth 1

Secretary general: Kamalesh Sharma.
Chairperson in office: Maithripala Sirisena

Republic
Monarch
y
Republic
Monarch
y
Republic
Realm
Realm
Republic
Republic
Republic

The members of the Commonwealth have many different styles of goverment.

5: England
Official language: English.
Capital: London.
Area: 130,395 km2 (the largest country in the UK,occupying most of the sourthern
two-thirds of the island of Great Britain)
Highest point: Scaffell Pike 978 m (3210 ft)
Longest river: Thames (346 km)
Largest Lake: Windermere(14.7 sq km)
Population:

54.3 million (National Statistics)

Currency: Pound sterling( GBP)

National flower : the Tudor rose (red,white)
Patron saint: St George.
Location:
-sharing its land boundary with Wales to itswest and Scotland in the north
- Irish sea bounds England in the north west and the north sea in the north
-England is the southern part of Great Britain.
-35 km from France.
History:
-937 , England became one country when it was ruled by King Athelstan.
-1066,William the Conqueror took over England.
-In the 13th century ,England took over the country of Wales.
-In 1707,England joined with Scotland to form the kingdom of Great Britain.
- In 1800 Ireland was united with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom.
England is mostly low hills and plains ,forming meadowlands and
pastures .uplands include the Pennine chain(backbone of England ).the north east

include the rugged landscape of the Yorkshire moors,while the south west hasthe
upland moors of Dartmoor and Exmoor.\
The overall climate in Englnd is called temperate maritime.This means that it is
mild with temperatures not much lower than 0oC in winter and not much higher
than 32oC in the summer.It also means that it is damp and is subject to frequent
changes.
July is normally the warmest month in England,around the coasts, February
is normally the coldest month.
Cities of interest to tourists:
London: a vast metropolitan area ,and a global capital of finance, fashion and
culture.
Birmingham: cultural, sporting, entertainment, shopping and media hub.
Bristol: vibrant music scene, lovely historic buildings and an attractive
waterfront.
Brighton: Victorian seaside resort turned into one of the major nightlife entres of
Europe.
Liverpool: nautical city and home and home of Beatles(European capital of
culture 2008).
Manchester: a cultural,sporting ,entertainment ,shopping and media hub.
Newcastle upon Tyne: World-famous nightlife .
Nottingham : home of Robin Hood and Nottingham castle .
York: ancient capital of Yorkshire,with Roman ,Viking and Mediaeval remains.
Bath: historical city,stunning Georgian architecture and Roman thermal baths.
Chester: historical city with Roman ruins.
The ancient university cities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Many well-known English people:
-William Shakespear :the famous English playwright (Romeo and Juliet)
-Sir Isaac Newton the scientist (the laws of motion and universal gravitation...)

-Charles Dickens :the famous 19th century author (David Copperfield,A

Christmas Carol...)
-Sir Tim Berners Lee:inventor of World Wide Web
-The Beatles who came from the city of Liverpool
-Sir Winston Churchill led the country in World War Two.
- Queen Victoria was the Queen for most of the 19th century.