The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or simply called the United
Kingdom or UK, is an island country located off the north-western coast of mainland Europe.
It is a country made up of four separate countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland. It is a member of United Nations, the Commonwealth and NATO. The UK is
surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its
south and the Celtic Sea to its south-west. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and
Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the UK is the 78th-largest sovereign
state in the world. The UK is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary
democracy. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her
the longest-serving current head of state and the Prime minister is Theresa May.
Between the 17th and mid-20th-centuries, Britain was a world power. It became a colonial
empire that controlled large areas of Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania. Many
countries left and became independent from the empire in the 20th century, although
Britain keeps links with most countries of its former empire. The British Empire was often
called 'the empire on which the sun never sets', that describes a large empire, because the
sun is always shining on at least one of its territories.

Around 65 million people live in the UK and most of them speak English, with different
accents, but there are 5 other native languages: Welsh in Wales, Gaelic and Scots in
Scotland, Irish and Cornish in Northern Ireland.
Christianity has been the main religion in the United Kingdom for over 1400 years. The
church is called The Church of England in which, the British monarch is supreme governor. It
was established in 1534 by King Henry VIII and it is the mixture of Protestantism and
Catholicism. But the numbers are changing with immigrants and new religions are on the
rise. In the 2001 71.6% of people indicated that they were Christians, with the next largest
faiths being Islam (2.8%), Hinduism (1.0%), Sikhism (0.6%), Judaism (0.5%), Buddhism (0.3%)
and all other religions (0.3%). 15% of respondents stated that they had no religion, with a
further 7% not stating a religious preference.
The capital is London, which is among the world’s leading cities. It has 8 million inhabitants
and it was found 2000 years ago by Romans. Other major cities
are Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast, Edinburgh and many more.
The pound sterling commonly known as the pound or quid, is the official currency of
the United Kingdom. It consists of banknotes and coins. It’s the third largest currency reserve
(after USD and EUR).
Education is well developed. About 38 percent of the United Kingdom population has a
university or college degree, which is the highest percentage in Europe, and among the
highest percentages in the world. Some of the most recognized universities are Oxford and
Cambridge and with London universities together they make the golden triangle of UK
universities. They have three types of schools: public schools, private schools and home-
schooling. It takes approximately 12 to 18 years to finish all levels of school system, but
some can last even longer.
British popular music started to overtake the world with Beatles. They are still known as one
of the most successful bands of all time. They sold approximately more than 2 billion
records. Members were: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Some of the most famous songs are Hey Jude, A Day in the Life, Don't let me Down,
Blackbird, Yellow Submarine, Let it be. In the same time Rolling Stones were getting more
and more recognized. And even today, UK has some of the greatest musicians, like: Ed
Sheeran, Adele, John Newman, Sam Smith, Calvin Harris,...
Film industry has been as successful as the music industry. It has pioneers like Charlie
Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock and many well-known actors like Christian Bale, Alan Rickman,
Henry Cavil, Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet and Judi
Dench,…