Great Britain

Great Britain or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. They lie to the west of the European continent. The total area of Great Britain is 244, 035 sq. km. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and over five hundred small islands. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean on the north-west and is separated from Europe by the North Sea and the English Channel and from Ireland by the Irish Sea and the North Channel.

The Mountains (the Highlands, the Uplands, the Pennines) are not very high in Great Britain but they are an important feature of the geography of the country. Their position largely decides the direction, length and character of the rivers; they affect the climate too. The main rivers in Great Britain are the Themes, the Severn, and the Clyde. There are many rivers on its territory but they are unimportant.

The climate of Great Britain is rather mild with frequent rains and fogs. There is no striking discrepancy between seasons. Winters are not severe here and summers are not warm.

The population of Great Britain is over 58 million. The principal part of the United Kingdom is England and that is why the name " England" is often used to denote the whole country. London is its capital.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy. At the head of it is the King or, as at present, the Queen. But her power is limited by Parliament. The ruling of the country is carried out by the government (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. The latter is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. There are three main political parties in Great Britain; Conservative, Labour and Liberal.

England is a highly developed industrial country. There are many big industrial cities here, such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Sheffield and many others. One of the leading industries is the textile industry (Liverpool, Manchester). Coal, iron and steel and various machines are produced in Great Britain too. Shipbuilding, clothing, electronics, motor industries are also highly developed.

Great Britain imports cotton, wool, oil and non-ferrous metals. Its exports consist of fabrics, yarn, textile, machinery, electrical equipment and chemicals.

Coal is the main source for the development of British industry.

The climate of the whole country is not quite favourable for agriculture. That is why farming is declining in England. As a result it has to import main foodstuffs from other countries.

Great Britain is a country of high culture. There are many universities, colleges and scientific institutes here. Such English scientists of the past as Newton, Faraday, Darwin, Rutherford and others greatly contributed to world science. English writers Shakespeare, Byron, Dickens, B. Shaw and many others enriched world literature.