GEOGRAPHY. Britain includes Great Britain (comprising England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland, and lies off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. It is 500 km wide and nearly 1,000 km long. Its closest continental neighbours are France and Belgium. It lies between latitudes 50⁰ North and 60⁰ North. London, the capital, is close to the same line of latitude as Berlin, Vancouver and Warsaw. Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the eighth largest in the world. It is about the same size as Honshu, the biggest of the islands that make up Japan, and about twice the size of Iceland or Cuba.

Although it is as close to the North Pole as eastern Siberia, Britain has a milder climate. While the British climate is very changeable, temperatures rarely fall below –10⁰C (14⁰F) or go above 32⁰C (90⁰F). Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year. The wettest parts are the mountainous areas of the west and north. Britain is a densely populated and industrialised nation, but much of the country is under cultivation and about 15.6% of England is covered by National Parks and other countryside conservation areas. The comparable figure for Wales is 4%, Scotland 13% and Northern Ireland 20%.

PEOPLE. Although Britain is Quite small in terms of land area (242,000 sq. km), it has a large population of about 59 million, which ranks 19^th in the world. The population density is about 242 inhabitants per sq. km, which is well above the European Union average of about 117 per sq. km. England has 376 people per sq. km, Scotland has 66, Wales 140 and Northern Ireland 122. Most people in Britain live in towns or cities, although the greater part of the projected population increase up to the year 2011 is expected to occur in non-urban areas.

Population of the main urban areas:

Greater London 7,122,000

Birmingham 1,014,500

Glasgow 611,600

Manchester 428,000

Cardiff 294,000

Belfast 296,200

English is the official language, but many people know more than one language. Around 20% of the people in Wales speak Welsh and children learn it in Welsh schools. About 70,000 people in Scotland speak Gaelic. For centuries people from overseas have settled in Britain to escape persecution or in search of a better standard of living. They have brought with them their languages, cultures and religions. The most widely spoken minority languages today are from the Asian sub-continent, but other languages include Italian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish and Chinese. Ethnic minority communities make up about 5.5% of the total population.

There were 725,800 live births in Britain in 1997, or 12.9 live births per 1,000 population. The death rate is slightly lower at just under 11 per 1,000. In common with most countries in western Europe, Britain has an ageing population: in 1961 about 12% of the population were aged 65 or over, but by 1996 this had increased to 16%. In contrast, the population under 16 years of age fell from 25% in 1961 to 21% in 1996. The ethnic minority population has a younger age structure than the white population. There is a ratio of about 104 females to every 100 males in the population as a whole.

Politics. Roman rule of England and Wales lasted from AD43 to around AD409. Over the next 600 years there were invasions and settlements by peoples from northern Europe. The last successful invasion was by the Normans in 1066. In 1172 the King of England made himself Lord of Ireland. The uniting of England with Wales (between 1536 and 1542) and with Scotland (in 1707) led to the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. In 1921 Ireland was partitioned, Northern Ireland remaining within Britain. Britain is an influential member of the Commonwealth, the European Union and the United Nations.

Britain is a parliamentary democracy. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who succeeded to the throne in 1952, is Head of State, with a largely ceremonial role. The House of Commons and House of Lords, with the monarch, comprise Parliament. The Prime Minister heads the Government and appoints ministers. The Commons has 659 elected Members, each representing a local constituency or area. General elections, in which citizens over 18 may vote by secret ballot, are held at least every five years. The largest political parties are Labour, the Conservatives, and the liberal Democrats.

INDUSTRY. Britain became the world’s first industrialised country in the mid-19^th century. The manufacturing sector still plays an important role and Britain excels in high-technology industries like pharmaceuticals, electronics (including computers), aerospace and offshore equipment. However, today the service sector (finance, retailing, tourism and business services – the fastest growing industries) contributes about 66% of gross domestic product and employs 75% of the British workforce. Britain is now the world’s ninth largest producer of crude oil, which is the nation’s main source of power.

TRADE. Britain has only 1% of the world’s population but is the fifth largest trading nation. As a member of the 15-nation European Union, it is part of the world’s biggest established trading group. It exports oil and electronic equipment, aerospace equipment and chemicals. Products from the chemical industry (such as pharmaceuticals) are among the biggest export earners. Just over half of Britain’s exports are to other countries in the European Union. Britain’s export earnings from services such as banking, insurance and tourism exceed those from exports of goods.

ADRICULTURE. From the air Britain still looks like an agricultural country. Urban areas cover about 13% of the land, and about 10% is forest or mountainous terrain. Much of the rest of the land is cultivated. Britain has one of the most efficient agricultural industries in Europe and is a major exporter of agricultural produce and food products, agrochemicals and machinery. Only about 2% of the workforce are employed in agriculture, a smaller proportion than in any other industrialised country. On the eastern side of Britain farmers mainly grow arable crops such as wheat and cereals. In the west they concentrate on rearing cattle and sheep.

ENGINEERING. Britain has a long tradition of achievement in engineering. In the 19^th century engineers such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel and George Stephenson led the way in the construction of bridges, railways and steamships. Brunel built the first ocean-crossing steam-powered ship, the Great Western, in 1838. In 1926 John Logie Baird demonstrated the first television system in London. A recent example of large-scale engineering expertise is the construction by Britain and France of the Channel Tunnel (the largest civil engineering project in Europe to be financed by the private sector, costing about $10,000 million) which links France and England.

CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT. Britain has for many years had policies to protect its own natural environment, such as designating particular areas as National Parks or areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs). It supports action on global environmental concerns like reducing ozone depletion and emissions of greenhouse gases (particularly carbon dioxide). It is also a party to several international agreements to conserve wildlife, such as the Berne Convention on European wildlife and natural habitats and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands of international importance. Seventeen sites in Britain have been listed in the World Heritage List, including Hadrian’s Wall built in Roman times.

BRITISH NOVEL PRIZE WINNERS. Nobel Prizes for the sciences have been won by over 70 British scientists, more than any other country except the United States. Some well known winners are: Sir Alexander Fleming (1945) for discovering penicillin; Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins (1962) for the discovery of the structure of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid); and, more recently, Sir James Black (1988) for his work in the field of physiology and medicine. Nine Nobel Prizes for literature have been won by British authors including Rudyard Kipling (1907), T.S. Eliot (1948) and Sir William Golding (1983). The 1998 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to John Hume MP and David Trimble MP for helping to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

ENTERTAINMENT & LEISURE. The most common leisure activities among people in Britain are home-based, or social, such as entertaining or visiting relatives and friends. Watching television is by far the most popular leisure pastime; about 97% of households have a colour television set. Other regular pastimes include listening to the radio and to recorded music, reading books (6 out of 10 people are members of public libraries), gardening and do-it-yourself home improvements. Purchases of compact discs have risen rapidly, and the proportion of households with a compact disc player has increased from 15 per cent in 1989 to 63 per cent today.

In 1997 UK residents took 133.6 million trips within the UK. Most popular destinations were the West Country, eastern England, Scotland and Wales. UK residents made 46 million visits overseas with Spain the most popular destination, followed by France. Long-haul holidays are growing in popularity, especially Central and South America and the Caribbean. In November 1994 the first draw of Britain’s National Lottery took place. Since then, its popularity among the British people has surpassed all expectations. The Lottery generates funds for many sporting, cultural and charitable causes.

THE ARTS. People in Britain have widespread access to the arts, covering drama, music, opera, dance, cinema and visual arts, and London is one of the world’s leading cultural centres. It has around 100 theatres showing musicals, modern dramas, classical plays, and comedies. Musicals, such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, are the most popular attractions along with the work of the subsidised theatre companies, the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Globe Theatre, where William Shakespeare performed, has been reconstructed near its original London site. Most other big towns and cities have arts facilities and some, such as Birmingham and Manchester, also have world famous orchestras.

About 500 professional arts festivals take place across Britain each year. Some are celebrations of national cultures, such as the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales which was instituted in 1880. In Scotland the annual Edinburgh International Festival is the largest arts festival of its kind in the world and celebrated its 52^nd year in 1998. Pop and rock is by far the most popular form of music in Britain, and British groups continue to achieve international success. There are some 1 800 cinema screens in Britain with attendances of around 2 million a week. Leading actors and playwrights include Robert Carlyle, Kate Winslet, Dame Judi Dench, Harold Pinter and Allan Bennett. The Full Monty has become the highest earning British film of all time.

HOUSEHOLDS. The average size of households in Great Britain has fallen from over four people in 1911 to 2.4 in 1996-1997; some 27% of adults live alone. The majority of people live in houses and (to a lesser extent) flats. About 67% of householders in Britain own their home. The number of owner-occupied homes has risen to 16.1 million from 4 million in 1950. Most people buy their homes with mortgage loan, with the property as security. Around 70% of households in Great Britain have the use of at least one car or van; 26% have two or more cars. British people spend more on housing than on most other items, including food and fuel.

EDUCATION. Although compulsory schooling is from age 4 or 5 to 16, many children also attend nursery schools from the age of 3 or 4. Around 93% of Britain’s children get free education from public funds. The rest attend fee-paying private schools. About 70% of 16-year-olds choose to stay on at school for another one or two years to obtain higher qualifications. The proportion of young people entering higher education in universities and colleges has risen from one in eight in 1979 to almost one in three today. In 1996-97 there were over 1.892 million students in higher education courses.

There is a National Curriculum for all pupils in England and Wales. It consists of: English, mathematics, science, history, geography, information technology, music, art, design, physical education, religious education and a modern foreign language. The first three are called ‘core’ subjects and schools are expected to spend more time on them. National testing and assessment of pupils’ performance at the ages of 7 and 11 is confined to the these subjects. Examinations in all subjects are taken at age 16. Similar curricula are taught in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most secondary schools teach French, and many also offer a choice of Spanish, German, Italian or Russian.

WELFARE. On average British men live for 74 years and women for 79 years. People are now living longer because of a better diet, improvements in medical care, and better working and living conditions. A state retirement pension is payable to women at the age of 60 and to men at the age of 65, although legislation to equalise the state pension at 65 (phased in over 10 years from 2010) has been passed. Over 10 million people receive a retirement pension. Around a third of all public money is spent on social welfare for the elderly, sick, disabled, unemployed and people on low incomes.

HEALTH. Britain’s National Health Service, which is available free to all, started in 1948. Both Papworth hospital in Cambridge and Harefield Hospital in London are famous for transplant surgery, the former having carried out the first combined heart, lung and liver transplant in 1986. The world’s first ‘test-tube’ baby was born in Britain in 1978. There is a growing emphasis on the prevention of illness through health education programmes. Statistics for 1972 show that 52% of men and 41% of women smoked cigarettes. By 1996-1997 these figures had fallen to 29% for men and 28% for women.

SPORT. About 38 million people over the age of 16 in Britain regularly take part in sport or exercise. Walking is the most popular physical activity. Football is the largest spectator sport. The four nations that make up Britain usually enter separate teams in international sports competitions. Major British sporting events include the Football Association Cup Final, the Wimbledon tennis tournament, The Open Golf championship and the Grand National (a world-famous horserace over fences). Cricket and rugby also have strong followings in Britain. In the 1996 Olympics, Britain won a gold medal for rowing.

Questions

0. Conservation & enviroment

1. What does AONB stand for?

2. What type of environment does the Ramsar Convention protect?

3. Which country has the greatest proportion of its land devoted to national parks and other countryside conservation areas: England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

4. Which is the main contributing gas to the greenhouse effect?

5. Which fortification in Britain dates from the Roman era and is listed in the World Heritage List?

5. Science & engineering

1. How much money did the Channel Tunnel cost to build?

2. Which two countries does the Channel Tunnel link up?

3. Who designed the first ocean-crossing steam-powered ship?

4. Who gave the first demonstration of a working television system?

5. Which British scientist won a Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin?

4. Economic activity & energy

1. Which is the largest sector of Britain?

2. Which is the main source of energy in Britain: natural gas, oil, hydro-electric power or solar power?

3. What percentage of Britain’s workforce are employed in agriculture: 2%, 5,4% or 14%?

4. In the league table of leading trading nations, where does Britain come: third, fifth or sixteenth?

5. Over 50% of Britain’ exports go to: North America, the European Union or the Asia-Pacific region?

3. History & politics

1. When was the last successful foreign military invasion of Britain?

2. When did Elizabeth II become Queen: 1945, 1952, 1964 or 1977?

3. How often must General Elections be held in Britain: every three years, four years or five years?

4. At what age may citizens vote in Britain: 18, 21 or 25?

5. Name three international organisations to which Britain belongs?

2. People

1. How many people (to the nearest million) live in Britain: 23 million, 48 million or 59 million?

2. What percentage of the British population belong to ethnic minorities: 1%, 5.5%, 10.3% or 15%?

3. Which country has the lowest population density (number of people per sq km): England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

4. Put the following cities in order of population size (the number of people who live there): Manchester, Cardiff and London.

5. Is the birth rate in Britain: 7.4, 12.3 or 19 live births per 1,000 people?

6. What percentage of the population in Britain is under 16 years of age: 10%, 21% or 31%?

The arts

1. Where is the world’s biggest annual international arts festival held?

2. How many British authors have received the Nobel Prize for literature: 9, 15 or 22?

3. Which theatre in London, where Shakespeare performed, has been reconstructed near its original site?

4. Which British film is the country’s most successful in financial terms?

5. What percentage of the population go to the cinema in Britain each week?

7. ENTERTAINMENT & LEISURE

1. What is the popular leisure pastime in Britain?

2. When did the first draw of Britain’s National Lottery take place?

3. Name the two most popular destinations in Europe for British tourists?

4. How many overseas visits did British residents make in 1997?

5. How many people make use of public libraries in Britain?

8. HOUSEHOLD

1. How many households in Britain have the use of two or more cars: 14%, 26% or 31%?

2. What percentage of householders in Britain own their own home: 49%, 57% or 67%?

3. Is the average size of British householders rising or falling?

4. How many adults in Britain live on their own?

5. What percentage of British households have a colour television set: 45%, 82% or 97%?

9. EDUCATION

1. Up to what age are British children required by law to attend school: 14, 16 or 18?

2. What percentage of children in Britain receive free education?

3. Which subjects do British children spend most time studying?

4. What other subjects make up the National Curriculum?

5. What proportion of young people in Britain enter higher education today?

10. HEALTH & WELFARE

1. How long, on average, do men and women live in Britain to day?

2. What percentage of British people smoke cigarettes?

3. When was the world’s first test-tube baby born?

4. Where was the world’s first combined heart, lung and liver transplant carried out?

5. At what age do British men and women currently receive a state requirement pension?

6. In Britain, what proportion of public money is spent on social welfare: 8%, 19% or 33%?