UK 1 When people think of Britain, they often think of …

UK 2 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

UK 3 The United Kingdom (UK) is a Constitutional Monarchy The latter 3 have devolved authorities responsible for some regulation and policy making. The UK covers an area of 242,500 square kilometres and has a population of about 60 million, similar to that of France and Italy. Population: 60,776,238 (July 2007 est.) It is made up of 4 semi-autonomous countries: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

UK 4 England has existed as a unified entity since the 10 th century. The union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 but was not formalised until Scotland was an independent nation until the Act of Union in 1707 when England and Scotland joined to form Great Britain The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalised a partition of Ireland; 6 northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927

UK 5 Population (mid-2005) In mid-2005 the UK was home to 60.2 million people, of which 50.4 million lived in England. The average age was 38.8 years, an increase on 1971 when it was 34.1 years. Approximately one in 5 people were under 16 and one in 6 people were 65 or over. The UK population is growing (0.275%). Until the mid-1990s this growth was mainly due to the number of births exceeding deaths. While natural change has continued, since the late 1990s net international migration into the UK from abroad has been an increasingly important factor

UK 6 Where do people live? Languages: English Welsh (about 760,000) Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)

UK 7 8 in 10 people live in an urban area Total population 60.2 million 26% live in London and South East Literacy rate 99% 1 in 9 moved in year to April in 12 were born overseas 1 in 8 were EU residents living in UK 243 people/km² Ranked 48 th in the world according to the United Nations World Populations Prospects Report 65% of children live with both birth parents

UK 8 Main Cities London – 7.2 million Birmingham – 992,000 Leeds – 720,000 Glasgow – 560,000 Sheffield – 512,000 Bradford – 467,000 Edinburgh – 450,000 Liverpool – 440,000 Manchester 420,000 Bristol – 380,000 Cardiff – 310,000 Nottingham – 285,000 Belfast – 280,000 Newcastle – 259,000 Hull – 240,000 Plymouth 240,000 Aberdeen – 215,000 Portsmouth – 186,000 York – 182,000 Population: 60,776,238 (July 2007 est.)

UK 9 Religion Christianity is the main religion in Britain There were 41 million Christians in 2001, making up almost three quarters of the population (72%). This includes Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations. People with no religion form the second largest group, comprising 15% of the population. About one in 20 (5%) of the population belongs to a non-Christian religious denomination. This includes almost 1.6 million Muslims and 600,000 Hindus These Minority religious groups were concentrated in London 2005 Eurobarometer report showed that 62% did not believe in a god.

UK 10 Local Legends Stole from the rich … The spider and the king Saint PatrickSaint AndrewSaint David Age of chivalry Saint George

UK 11 Health In the 2001 Census, 40 million (out of the 60 million living in the UK) rated their general health in the last year as 'good', a further 13 million rated it as 'fairly good' The main causes of death are: Circulatory Disease (eg heart disease / stroke) Cancers Respiratory Diseases (Pneumonia) Injury and poisoning Infectious Diseases Life expectancy for both men and women has continued to rise. In 2002, life expectancy at birth was 81 years for females and 76 years for males. This contrasts with 49 and 45 years respectively in 1901.

UK 12 Health 1 in 4 adults smoke Drinking among girls continues to rise 1 in 6 adults have a neurotic disorder HIV prevalence

UK 13 Climate temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current. More than half of the days are overcast

UK 14 Geography Mostly rugged hills and low mountains – level to rolling plains in the east and southeast Lowest point – The Fens (-4m) Highest Point – Ben Nevis (1,343m)

UK 15 Natural Resources Resources include: Coal, Petroleum, Natural gas, Iron ore, Lead, Zinc, Gold, Tin, Limestone, Salt, Clay, Chalk, Gypsum, Potash, Silica sand, Slate, arable land. Primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP; In 2005 the sources were: Natural Gas: 40% Oil: 33% Coal: 17% Nuclear: 8% Renewable: 2%

UK 16 Other Resources Industry Services (banking, insurance, and business services)

UK 17 Land Use Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force Products include: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish Non- agricultural land uses include: 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 Over 70% of the total UK land area is under agricultural use, although less than 1% is used for permanent crops.

UK 18 Natural Hazards Winter windstorms Floods

UK 19 Money The UK has been a member of the EU since 1973, but does not participate in the European single currency, the Euro.

UK 20 Economy Exchange rate 1 UK Pound (GBP) on 20 July 2007 US$2.05 euro 1.49 Exchange rate 1 UK Pound (GBP) on 16 February 2009 US$1.43 euro 1.12

UK 21 Employment Labour force of 31.1 million Unemployment rate 6.1% In the 3 months to the end of Nov 08 (According to ILO) Unemployment Benefit-Jobseekers Allowance-New Deal Occupations: agriculture: 1.4% industry: 18.2% services: 80.4% (2006 est.)

UK 22 Earnings Average salary/wage £24,908 pa (April 2008) Ranges from – £946 per week for top 10% to –under £262 per week for the lowest paid Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) Minimum Wage £5.73 per hour –For full time, legally resident, adult employees Popln below poverty line: 17% 2007 average earnings in Hull = £10,416 pa Source: Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)

UK 23 Politics The UK is a long-established parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as Head of State. The democracy is sustained by free elections, freedom of speech and open and equal treatment before the law. The Parliament is made up of : the Sovereign (Queen Elizabeth II), the House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house). The House of Lords consists of approximately: 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy. Elections are held as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise.

UK 24 Politics Today the House of Commons is the dominant branch. The House of Commons is democratically elected body of 646 Members of Parliament or MPs. Sittings of the house are open to the public and debates are broadcast on the radio and television. MPs are elected by the first-past-the-post system of election and hold office until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of 5 years). Each MP is elected by and represents an electoral district known as a constituency. Elections were last held in May 2005.

UK 25 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland