Great Britain

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on two large islands lying to the north-west off Europe and called the British Isles. The larger island, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales, is Great Britain and smaller one is Ireland. Southern Ireland or the Irish Republic is independent of the U.K. the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Irish Sea. The North Sea and the English Channel separate Great Britain from the European Continent.

2. The population of the U.K. is over 57 million people. Over 80 per cent of the population is urban while rural population amounts only to some 20 per cent.

3. Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. Officially the head of the stats is the king or the queen. British Parliament consists of two Chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party which has the majority in the House of Commons. This party is called the Government while the party (or parties) in the minority is called the Opposition.

4. Britain is a country of great industrial cities. Besides London, with its 7 million inhabitants, there are such industrial cities as Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool, the population of which reaches over the million mark. The most important branches of industry are textile, coal-mining, metallurgy and ship-building. Britain is also famous for her steel manufacture, tool industry, heavy and light engineering. The country exports her finished products to many parts of the world.

5. Great Britain is one of the highly developed industrial countries.