Population of great brta1n.

The people who now inhabit the British Isles are descended mainly from the people who inhabited them nearly 9 centuries ago. The English nation was formed as a result of the native population of the British Isles- the pre-Celts and the Celts with the invaders: the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the Danes, the Normans.

Today in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland English is the language predominantly spoken.

In number of population Great Britain holds one the first places among European countries. The English make up over 4/5 of the total population of the country. They inhabit England proper and many of them live in industrial cities of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The proportion of the Scotsmen, Welshmen and Irishmen is about 15 per cent. This group includes foreigners too. The inhabitants of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have preserved their culture originality and to a certain degree their languages (in Wales and Scotland), but practically all speak English.

In general about half the population lives in a belt across England with south Lancashire and west Yorkshire at one end, and the London area at the other; having the industrialized Midlands at its center.

Other areas with large populations are:-the central lowlands of Scotland; north-east England from north of the river Tyne down to the river Tees; south-west Wales; the Bristol area; and the English Channel coast from Pool in Dorset east-wards. Less densely populated areas are the easten fringes of England between the Wash and the Thames estuary, and the far south-west .

There is no country in the world which has such a great percentage of workers and employees as it is in Britain. They comprise 92 per cent of the gainfully occupied population. According to the official report 1 per cent of the population of Great Britain owns 25 per cent of private property in the country and 5 per cent of the population owns 50 per cent of the property. At the same time 80 per cent of the population owns less of the national wealth than 1 per cent of the population.

Today the total working population is over 26 mln of which workers and employees comprise about 22 mln, the self-employed (that is owners of big and small enterprises, farmers, etc.) exceed l.5mln.

The most notable trend in the employment pattern during the last years has been the growth of people employed in services. This is. a typical feature which is observed in all developed countries. Such developments reflect improved labor efficiency in industry, a change of employment patterns caused by growth of high technology industries and comparative decline of the old traditional industries. Hence surplus labor is released, much of it can be directed to services. Another important factor is the growth of the role of science and technology in the life of the economy. International tourism also boosted the development of the service sector. There is an industrial organization which deals with the problems of management, industry, labor relations, employment The organization is known as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) with the central headquarters and local organizations all over the country.