IV. Population
The population of the UK is over 58 million people (by 1999). The UK ranks 16th in the world in size of population and 76th in size of area. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns.
The distribution of the population is rather uneven. About 48 million people live in England, a little over 5 million live in Scotland, over 3 million live in Wales and about 1,5 million - in Northern Ireland. Although Britain is densely populated, there are large areas which contain fewer than 100 people per square km (for example, most of the mountainous parts of the UK including much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
Densities of more than 500 people per square km are only found in the main industrial areas (such as the Midlands and the South-East England). London's population is 7 million. There are only 5 cities which populations are over 500,000, although Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle also exceed this figure if neighbouring towns are included.
The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scottish, the Welsh, and the Northern Irish, who constitute the British nation. In general, the British are the descendants of different peoples who settled in the British Isles at different times.
V. The main Historical and geographical provinces England
Of the four parts which make up Great Britain England is the largest (area of 130,000 sq.km), the most industrial and most densely populated part of the United Kingdom. Over 47,536,000 people out of the population of the UK live in England.
The greatest concentrations of population are in London, Birmingham and northwest industrial cities. No part of England is more than 120 kilometres from the sea which has a great effect on England's climate. It is mostly a lowland country. There are upland regions in the north and the southwest, but the rest of England is almost flat.
The Southeast is the most densely populated region of England. The county of Kent is known as the Garden of England because it produces a lot of the fruit and vegetables which are eaten all over the country. Brighton, on the south coast, is a famous seaside resort. Canterbury is the religious capital of England because its cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is the head of the church of England.
East Anglia is extremely flat, and is dominated by agriculture. It is rather isolated from the rest of Britain. Cambridge is world-famous for its university, which started during the 13th century.
The Midlands, the Heart of England. The most important city of the region is Birmingham. Stratford-upon-Avon is well-known all over the world as Shakespeare was born here (April, 1564). Oxford is the seat of one of the most famous Universities of the world, which began to establish itself in the middle of the 12th century.
The Lake District is the central mountainous area of Cumbria in the Northwest and has some of England's most beautiful scenery.
London, the capital of UK, is also situated in England.
Scotland
Scotland, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, is the northernmost part of the British Isles. Scotland may be divided into 3 areas: the sparsely populated highlands and islands in the north, the central lowlands which contain three quarters of the population and most of the industrial centres and cultivated farmland, and the southern uplands, which border on England.
Although Scotland is more than half as big as England, its population is only 5,094,000. Over half of Scotland's factories are in the Glasgow area, where there live over 1 million people. Edinburgh (pop. 439,000) is the administrative and cultural capital of Scotland. Some other cities and towns of Scotland are: Aberdeen, Ayr, Dumfries, Fort William, Inverness and others.
The currency here is Scottish pound, equal in value to the English pound. Currencies are interchangeable, although many stores in England do not accept Scottish pounds.
Wales
Wales is a land of mountains with soft green slopes, streams and waterfalls, of deep bays and high cliffs. It can be divided into 2 parts: North Wales and South Wales. South Wales is more developed, during the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries it became the iron and steel capital of the world. The population of Wales is 2, 857,000. Less than 3 million Welsh people live in Wales, although there are many others living and working in England and abroad.
The capital of Wales is Cardiff, the largest city of the region. The second largest city is Swansea. Cardiff, Newport and Swansea are the main ports. The main industries are: steel, coal, wool, electricity, electronics and others, including the production of plastics and chemicals.
Northern Ireland
The area of Northern Ireland is 8,019 sq.km. It has a 412-kilometre border in the south and west with the Irish Republic. This part of UK has a population of 2,857,000 people. Nearly half a million people live in Belfast, the capital city, as well as the economic and political focus for the whole of Northern Ireland. Britain's largest single shipyard is in Belfast; other well-established activities include the manufacture of aircraft, textile machinery, tobacco and clothing.
Northern Ireland officially became a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1920, with a separate parliament and limited self-government. The Irish Republic refused to recognize it. Relations between the 2 countries showed signs of improvement in 1965. The political situation in the region was and still is rather tense. Terrorism increased, the Catholic population demanded a united Ireland. In 1969, the British army was dispatched to Northern Ireland as a peacekeeping force. In 1994, the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.), defending the Catholic minority, and its political wing Sinn Fein both agreed to a permanent cease-fire. Since then a gradual process of demilitarization has been taking place