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United Kingdom (en)
Teyrnas Unedig (cy)
Kinrick Uniti (sco)
UK * (en)
( Flag of the United Kingdom ) ( Royal Arms of the United Kingdom )
National motto : Dieu et mon droit
Languages	* English (National) Welsh (official in Wales) Scottish (Official Scotland ( 6th )
GDP (nominal) ( 2009 )	2 183 milliards ( 6th )
HDI ( 2010 )	0.849 (very high) ( 26th )
Currency	Pound Sterling ( GBP )
Time Zone	UTC +0 (was +1)
National anthem	God Save the Queen (De facto)
Internet domain	. Uk
Indicative Telephone	+44
1 In the UK, some other languages have been officially recognized as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In each of these languages, the official name of the United Kingdom: Welsh : Prydain Fawr Teyrnas Unedig Gogledd Iwerddon a Scottish : An Roghachd Aonaichte Mhr agus na Breatainn Eirinn a Tuath Irish : Rocht Aontaithe agus na Moire Breataine Tuaisceart na hireann Scots : Unit Kinrick o Great Breetain year Northren Ireland Cornish : An Rywvaneth Unisys has vreten Veur gha Iwerdhon Gldh

The United Kingdom, as long the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a state independent of Western Europe created in 1707 , consisting of Great Britain ( England , Scotland and Country Wales ) and the Northern Ireland. The greater part of its territory is located near the northwest coast of continental Europe and is surrounded by the North Sea , the Channel , the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The UK also has fourteen overseas territories ( British territory overseas ), vestiges of the British Empire. The names of Great Britain or England are often used in everyday language, and inaccurately, to refer the United Kingdom as a whole.

First parliamentary democracy , the political system of the United Kingdom is based on a constitutional monarchy , one of the oldest in the world. The political capital is London , the first urban area of Great Britain and, according to the criteria, the European Union (EU). London is also the first financial center of Europe and a major international business centers. Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution , the United Kingdom is currently ranked sixth by the World Economic GDP nominal and sixth in purchasing power parity.

The United Kingdom is a recognized nuclear power with the fourth defense budget is greater. Member of the European Union (EU) since 1973 , the United Kingdom is also one of the five permanent members of Security Council UN and part of the Group of Eight (G8), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Commonwealth of Nations.

History

Birth of a Union

While the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1843.

The kingdoms of England and Scotland have cohabited as independent sovereign nations with their own monarchs and political structures since the ^ninth century. The independent principality of Wales fell to the English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. Through the Act of Union (1707) , England (including Wales ) and Scotland - who were already united since the Union of Crowns in 1603 , came to an agreement for political union in as a United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act of Union of 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland , which is slowly fallen under English control between 1541 and 1691 to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The independence of the Irish Free State in 1922 following the separation of the island of Ireland two years ago with six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster remaining attached to the United Kingdom, leading therefore 1927 to the current official name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." So, the United Kingdom is a union of four countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and whose main country of England.

The British Empire

The United Kingdom of Great Britain has played an important role during the Enlightenment , with a strong presence in philosophy and science and a great influence in the tradition of theatrical and literary. Throughout the century that followed, the Kingdom has played an important role in developing Western ideas of parliamentary democracy , with an outstanding contribution in literature , in arts and sciences. The richness of the British Empire , like other great powers, was also partly generated by colonial exploitation, including industrialization after 1750 , the slave trade with the British fleet of the eighteenth ^century , the largest at the time. However, in the early ^nineteenth century , Great Britain passed the Slave Trade Act (in) in 1807 and became the first political entity to be permanently abolished the slave trade.

The British Empire (bordered in pink) in 1897.

After the Industrial Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars , Britain became the first world power in the nineteenth ^century. At its peak, the British Empire, considered to be both the UK and all entities of which he is legally separated, but he controls, extended over a third of the land surface and encompassed a third of the population World. The British Empire was thus the largest and most populous that history has known. Was commonly called the "empire on which the sun never sets" (Which is The empire the sun never sets), in fact, it is said that there was always a part of the empire where it was daylight.

Throughout the ^nineteenth century , the country has played a prominent role in the development of parliamentary democracy , in part by the emergence of a system with multiple political parties and an expansion of universal suffrage. The development of arts and sciences, with personalities such as Isaac Newton , also shows the role of the United Kingdom in the construction of cultural and scientific heritage of the ^eighteenth century. At the end of the Victorian era , the United Kingdom has lost much of its industrial monopoly, especially for the benefit of the United States , which have surpassed the country in production and industrial trade at the turn of the 1890s , and the ' German Empire. The country still remained a superpower and casting his empire reached its maximum area in 1921.

The three phases of post-war Labour, Thatcherism and Blairism

After the Second World War , the Labour Clement Attlee came to power by the Tsunami tidal wave election of 1945. Program, nationalization of services and creation of a welfare state, with the British National Health Service (NHS). In the late 1950s , after decolonization , the United Kingdom is losing its status as a superpower. Then Edward Heath ( 1970 - 1 974 ) must face the question of Northern Ireland. In 1970 , Labour wants to renegotiate the terms of entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) and must limit wage increases to less than 5% while inflation exceeds 10%, causing the hard strikes of ' Winter of discontent.

The major objective of Margaret Thatcher ( 1 979 - 1990 ) is to liberate the individual energies . It raises interest rates , favors the indirect tax on the income tax , raise the VAT to 15%, and managed to break a rampant inflation and the power of unions during the long British miners' strike of 1984 -1985. The retirement system in the United Kingdom is reformed in 1986. In 10 years, GDP has increased by 20% and industrial productivity by half . The privatization , accompanied by a sharp deindustrialization: down 30% of the industrial workforce and closure of businesses 55 000 1979 to 1984 .

The late 1990s saw the advent of Labour Tony Blair ( 1997 - 2007 ), near the City , and sees first in Europe a large market, supporting applications from almost all European countries East and the war in Iraq despite public opinion in Britain rather unfavorable . He resigned in 2007 to make way for his finance minister Gordon Brown , himself defeated in elections in 2010 by Conservative David Cameron.

Politics

Government

The Palace of Westminster in the heart of London , seat of the British legislature.

The United Kingdom is, as its name implies, a kingdom, but the power of the British monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II) is de facto entirely ceremonial. This reign but not govern. The executive of the parliamentary monarchy is exercised on behalf of the Queen, the Prime Minister (now Cameron ), and other cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the queen, he is not elected. The queen has to choose the leader of the party that won the elections: the government risks losing its place at each general election. The firm is the Government of His Majesty. Like any parliamentary system, and his ministers are responsible to Parliament, that is to say that government can be overthrown by it. The United Kingdom is one of the few countries in the world today where the constitution is not codified. It consists of constitutional conventions and various elements from the customs and common law, all that is often referred to under the name of British constitutional law established since William the Conqueror ( 1066 ).

The British government is generally composed of seventeen to twenty-three Ministers (currently twenty-two) that form around the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, not to be confused with the ministry, which is the union of one hundred people: ministers, state secretaries, deputy secretaries of State and Private Parliamentary Secretaries. Moreover, a growing phenomenon increasingly in Britain: the cabinet solidarity. That is to say that if Prime Minister urges ministerial responsibility questioned by Parliament, it is not the only one to fall, his ministers also fall.

Also, the government takes part in the legislative process. Indeed, the House of Commons is arranged so that the government faces, with its majority to the opposition. The government may also propose legislation to be debated and voted on by the chamber.

External relations

The United Kingdom is a member of NATO , the European Union , the Commonwealth of Nations and the G8. There is also a permanent member of the Security Council of UN. It also has the nuclear deterrent.

As successor of the great British Empire , the United Kingdom has a definite influence in the world, reinforced by the extensive use of its language and its exclusive relationship with the United States of America.

Legal Systems

The United Kingdom has three systems of law separate: the English law (Franais Law), which applies in England and Wales , and Northern Irish law (Northern Ireland law) are based on the principles of common law. The Scottish Law (Scots Law) is a hybrid system based on the principles of civil law. The Union Act of 1707 guarantees the system of separate laws for Scotland.

The House of Lords was the highest court for criminal and civil cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and for civil cases only in Scotland. Recent constitutional changes have transferred 2009 the powers of the House of Lords to the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Subdivisions

The United Kingdom is divided into four parts, often called the home nations (nations of origin) or constituent countries. Each nation is, in turn, divided by local governments. The Queen appoints a Lord-Lieutenant as personal representative of different specific areas across the Kingdom. The following table provides a brief description of the four constituent countries:

Country	Capital	Population	Area
England	London	51 092 000	130 395 km 2
Scotland	Edinburgh	5 062 000	78 782 km 2
Wales	Cardiff	2 950 000	20 779 km 2
Northern Ireland	Belfast	1 685 000	13 843 km 2

Note: The overseas territories are territories which are under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but not part of the Kingdom itself.

Neither the Isle of Man or the bailiwick of Jersey and Guernsey are not part of the United Kingdom, are dependencies of the British Crown.

British Territories Overseas

British territories overseas (British Overseas Territories, in English) are fourteen territories belonging to the UK but who do not. These former colonies who voted for independence or to remain British territory.

The fourteen territories are: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands / Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos Islands, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich and the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus.

Together, they cover an area of about 667.018 square miles (1,728,000 km2) and a population of about 260,000 people .

Geography

The Ben Nevis is the highest point of the United Kingdom.

Scafell Pike

Much of England has a very varied terrain except the north and the peninsula of Cornwall. The two main rivers are the Thames (346 km) and Severn (354 km) which is the longest river in the United Kingdom. Near the town of Dover (Dover), the Channel Tunnel connects Britain to France.

There is no peak in England exceeding 1 000 m above sea level, culminating English, Scafell Pike , rises 978 meters above sea level in the Lake District in Cumbria.

The geography of Scotland is diverse, with its lowlands and its highlands of South in the North and West - including Ben Nevis (1,344 m), highest point of the United Kingdom (though surpassed by Mount Paget (2 934 m) in South Georgia , the culmination of the overseas territories of the United Kingdom).

There are long and deep arm Wed sinking into the land. The Scotland has nearly 800 islands , located mostly in the west and north of the country , including the Hebrides , the Orkneys (Orkney Islands) and Shetland. Although that Edinburgh is the capital of a rich historic heritage and architecture, the main city is Glasgow.

The Wales (Cymru in Welsh) is still mostly mountainous terrain. Its highest point, Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), rises to 1085 meters. Cardiff (Caerdydd), Welsh capital since 1955 , is located in the South. Most populations are on the south , especially in cities such as Swansea , a href = "Newport_ (pays_de_Galles)" title = "Newport (Wales)"> Newport and Cardiff. The largest city in North Wrexham.

The Northern Ireland is part of the heritage of the United Kingdom. Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the United Kingdom with its 388 km . The lake is located about 30 km southwest of Belfast. The Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland, and rises to 849 meters.

In total, it is estimated that the UK has nearly one thousand islands, 800 for single Scotia. Most of these islands are natural but some were created artificially by using stones and wood.

By comparison, the United Kingdom has an area similar to that of Romania , of Ecuador , from Ghana or the Uganda.

London Birmingham Glasgow	No.	City	Administrative Division	Hab.		No.	City	Administrative Division	Hab.		Liverpool Edinburgh Leeds
	1	London	London	7.744.942		11	Leicester	East Midlands	296.594
	2	Birmingham	West Midlands	942.766		12	Bradford	Yorkshire and Humber-	278.984
	3	Glasgow	Glasgow	578.776		13	Coventry	West Midlands	267.775
	4	Liverpool	England's Northwest	452.773		14	Kingston upon Hull	Yorkshire and Humber-	265.615
	5	Edinburgh	Edinburgh	451.851		15	Belfast	Belfast	258.659
	6	Leeds	Yorkshire and Humber-	440.954		16	Plymouth	South West England	253.188
	7	Sheffield	Yorkshire and Humber-	415.175		17	Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	249.086
	8	Manchester	England's Northwest	396.322		18	Derby	East Midlands	247.530
	9	Bristol	South West England	372.985		19	Wolverhampton	East Midlands	246.236
	10	Cardiff	South Wales	316.793		20	Nottingham	West Midlands	240.373
	Estimates for 2010 Economy Main article: Economy of the United Kingdom. The UK is the 6th world economy in 2009, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 2 246 billion, behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany and France. He went sixth in 2008, behind France . In classification by GDP purchasing power parity (PPP), the United Kingdom is the 6 th country . The City of London is a major center of economic and commercial level megacities such as New York or Tokyo. For 25 years the British economy has to be designated by some since the 1980s as the Anglo-Saxon model based in particular on the principles of liberalism, free market and low taxation. The British were the first to enter the era of the Industrial Revolution including developing, like most industrialising countries at the time, heavy industries such as shipbuilding, mining, production steel and textiles. The Kingdom has established an overseas market for British products enabling it to dominate the international market during the nineteenth century. However, as a result of the industrialization of countries other than the loss of jobs in agriculture, the United Kingdom has seen his lead economic decline relative to others. Consequently, heavy industry has slowly declined throughout the twentieth century. However, the tertiary sector , it, has grown significantly and now weighs nearly 73% of GDP UK. The tertiary sector of the United Kingdom is dominated by financial services , particularly in the areas of banking and the insurance. London is the largest financial center in the world, particularly through the London Stock Exchange , the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange and Lloyd's of London all in the City , roughly equivalent to La Defense in Paris. The capital also has the highest concentration of headquarters of foreign banks. In recent decades, a financial center on the banks of the Thames has grown in the district of Docklands which was then hosted the offices of banks HSBC and Barclays. There are a number of multinationals, not based in the UK, having opted for European headquarters in London or abroad, for example the first world financial group, Citigroup. Also note that Edinburgh has major financial centers. The tourism is a major part of the British economy: with over 27 million tourists per year, the United Kingdom is the sixth world tourist destination. Skyscrapers of the City (left foreground) and Canary Wharf (background right), symbols of economic might of the British capital. The secondary sector, meanwhile, largely declined since the Second World War. It is still, nonetheless, an important part of the British economy. The British engine industry represents a major part, however, much diminished since the collapse of MG Rover. The production of civilian aircraft and military, led by the largest aerospace company in the United Kingdom: BAE Systems and the European EADS (officer of Airbus ). Rolls-Royce has a very significant share of global aerospace engines market. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is also, mighty with the second and sixth biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry in the world respectively, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca , both based in the United Kingdom. The industry "creative" ( art , cinema , fashion , design , etc..) accounted for 7.3% of GDP and has risen on average 5% per annum between 1997 and 2004. The agricultural sector accounts for only 0.9% of its GDP. Because of climate, agriculture covers only half the food needs and is splashed by scandals (BSE, FMD) The UK has significant energy resources: coal, gas, oil ... although these last two are decreasing. The primary energy production accounts for 10% of UK GDP, a much more important than most industrialized countries. The UK currency is the pound sterling (English Pound Sterling) represented by the symbol "". The Bank of England is the central bank which manages the manufacture of coins and notes. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland reserves the right to set their own traffic tickets, provided to maintain a sufficient number of counterfeit Bank of England reserve to cover the release. The United Kingdom chose not to adopt the euro at the launch of that currency in 1999 although the government has planned to hold a referendum to decide whether to adopt the currency if "five economic tests" proved inconclusive. The British public is still cons although it has recently shown a growing interest for its adoption. Demographics Demographic changes between 1961 and 2003 (figure in FAO , 2005). Population in thousands. Main article: Demographics of the United Kingdom. Population In the census of April 2001, the population of the United Kingdom was 58,789,194 inhabitants, the third of the EU after Germany and France. In two years the population would have risen to 60.2 million, significantly due to immigration but also to a rising birth rates and higher life expectancy. Nearly a quarter of Britons live in the prosperous south of England and are mainly an urban population with an estimated 7,517,700 people just for the capital London. The literacy rate is 99% and the school is compulsory from age 5 to age 16 years (15 for those born in late July or August). Immigration and Ethnicity This section does not cite any sources. Please add a note references verifiable or template {{}} reference desired . Ethnic Group Population Percentage Columbia 50 366 496 85.67% White (other) 3 096 169 5.27% Indian 1 053 411 1.8% Pakistani 747 285 1.3% Irish 691 232 1.2% Metis 677 117 1.2% Caraben 565 876 1.0% Black (African) 485 277 0.8% Bangladeshi 283 063 0.5% Asia (excluding China) 247 644 0.4% Chinese 247 403 0.4% Other 230 615 0.4% Black (other) 97 585 0.2% Immigration, today, comes mainly from Europe and countries that once formed the British Empire. Since the Second World War , the United Kingdom has absorbed a substantial immigration, the three main sources of the streams is the Europe , the Africa and South Asia. In 2001, approximately 13.1% of the population in the United Kingdom identified themselves as ethnic minorities (including whites other than UK). In some cities, the percentage of ethnic groups is substantial: 40.1% for London , 34.4% in Birmingham and 39.5% in Leicester. There is also the UK a flow of emigration with about 0.5 million Britons living abroad. Another half a million lives or works abroad for a certain period of the year, including Australia and Spain. Major cities London Birmingham Leeds Glasgow # City Nations Population 1 London England 8 100 000 2 Birmingham England 1 016 800 3 Leeds England 770 800 4 Glasgow Scotland 580 690 5 Sheffield England 530 300 6 Edinburgh Scotland 471 650 7 Manchester England 464 200 8 Liverpool England 434 900 9 Bristol England 416 400 10 Cardiff Wales 324 800 11 Coventry England 309 800 12 Leicester England 294 700 13 Bradford England 293 277 14 Belfast Northern Ireland 267 500 15 Kingston upon Hull England 257 000 Culture Main article: Culture of the United Kingdom. Education Oxford University Main article: British Educational System. The UK also has a system of education semi-public land and developed. The country has some of the most influential and reputable higher education institutions worldwide, particularly the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge (" Oxbridge "), but also the University College London (UCL) and Imperial College London. In 2007 there were 112 universities and university colleges ... Science In 2006, the United Kingdom is the area where research is most productive after the United States Literature Main article: English literature. Charles Dickens, the author of famous novel Oliver Twist Countries composing the kingdom have given great and remarkable writers and poets. William Shakespeare, who wrote many plays, is considered the greatest writer of English (known as "the language of Shakespeare" about English). There among the English authors: Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) Jane Austen (1775-1817) Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) John Keats (1795-1821) William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Bront family (1816,1818,1820 -) George Eliot (1819-1880) Anthony Trollope George Meredith George Orwell William Wordsworth Alfred Tennyson Robert Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning Dame Agatha Christie TS Eliot Virginia Woolf Wilfred Owen JK Rowling JRR Tolkien Ian Fleming Douglas Adams Among the writers of Wales and Scotland: Robert Burns Dylan Thomas Sir Walter Scott Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Robert Louis Stevenson Iain Banks Muriel Spark Irvine Welsh Cinema Main article: British Cinema. British cinema has long influenced the development of cinema such as Ealing Studios claiming to be the oldest existing. Despite a rich history of success, the industry is characterized by ongoing debate about its identity and influence of American and European cinema. It is among the most famous productions: Lawrence of Arabia James Bond (although American studios, the series has used locations, casting, film crews and equipment from UK) Monty Python Doctor Zhivago Clockwork Orange (banned in the United Kingdom at the 61 th week of projection until 2001) Ryan's Daughter The Third Man The Bridge on the River Kwai Dunkirk The Battle of Britain A bridge too far Those who serve at sea The inspector gets involved The Pink Panther Carry On The Return of the Pink Panther Alfred the winner of the Vikings The footprint of Frankenstein Footsteps in the Fog Night Train to Munich The Tales of Hoffman A Matter of Life and Death Harry Potter The Diary of Bridget Jones Music Main articles: Music UK and British Rock. The country has many internationally renowned orchestras, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra , the London Philharmonic , the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and especially the London Symphony Orchestra , conducted by Valery Gergiev. The country has contributed enormously to the development of music rock , especially during the years 1960, 1970 and first half of 1980. Specifically, the pop / pop-rock ( The Beatles , Cliff Richard , Rod Stewart , Phil Collins , Chris Rea , Sting ), the rhythm and blues ( The Animals , Manfred Mann ) The rock 'n' roll ( The Shadows , The Rolling Stones , The Who ), the psychedelic rock ( Barclay James Harvest ) the blues rock ( The Yardbirds , Eric Clapton , Jeff Beck ), the folk rock ( Cat Stevens , Donovan , Fairport Convention ), the garage rock ( The Kinks ) the hard rock ( Led Zeppelin , Deep Purple ), the glam rock ( Queen , David Bowie ), boogie rock ( Status Quo ), the progressive rock ( Pink Floyd , Genesis , Yes , Electric Light Orchestra , Emerson Lake and Palmer , The Moody Blues , Kate Bush , King Crimson , Supertramp , Jethro Tull , Procol Harum , Gentle Giant , Camel ), the heavy metal ( Black Sabbath , Judas Priest , Motrhead and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal ( Iron Maiden , Saxon , Def Leppard )), the punk rock ( Sex Pistols , The Clash ) and new wave ( The Police , Talk Talk , Depeche Mode , The Cure , Tears for Fears , Simple Minds ). More recently, the United Kingdom contributed to the expansion of genres such as alternative rock , the techno the a href = "House_ (music)" title = "House (music)" class = "mw-redirect"> house music, the metalcore , the electronic music , modern pop , the contemporary R & B and others. Among the recent British bands best known: Bullet For My Valentine Muse The Stone Roses Underworld The Prodigy Supergrass The Chemical Brothers Dido Faithless Coldplay Blur The Libertines Snow Patrol Sweden Jamiroquai Travis Keane Hard-Fi Radiohead Bloc Party Jamelia Girls Aloud Sugababes Portishead Massive Attack Spice Girls James Blunt The Servant S Club 7 Mika Elton John McFly Cradle of Filth Media Main group of media , the BBC is a public company for production and broadcasting of radio and television. It acquired, including through its reporting, a reputation for high quality, as evidenced by numerous international awards. The main television channels are BBC One , BBC Two , ITV1 , Channel 4 and Five. The radio is dominated by BBC Radio that the two main stations are BBC Radio 2 (air station, which is the most popular radio station in the United Kingdom, with 13.7 million weekly listeners) and BBC Radio 1 (music station). In general the daily press can be divided into two categories newspapers, they say quality, some more popular types tabloids, newspapers for gossip. In the first category are The Daily Telegraph , The Guardian , The Independent , The Times. Leading the tabloid The Sun is the English-language newspaper with the largest circulation in the world (one quarter of the UK market). Most newspapers have a weekend edition comes with many more books and supplements. Sport The football , the rugby , the cricket and golf all have one thing in common: they are all from the UK Festivals and holidays. Public Holidays Date French name Local Name Notes January 1 New Year's Day New Year's Day The first day of the New Year holiday is over January 2 Second day of the year January 2nd Holiday The second day of the new year is a holiday only in Scotland March 17 St Patrick St Patrick's Day Holiday in Northern Ireland only Friday before the Sunday of Easter (See calculation of the date of Easter ). Friday Good Friday Crucifixion of Jesus Monday following the Sunday of Easter. Easter Monday Easter Monday Resurrection of Jesus (not Scotland) First Monday in May May 1 May Day Traditionally May 1 Last Monday of May or the first Monday in June Spring Bank Holiday Spring Bank Holiday Traditionally Pentecost July 12 Battle of the Boyne Battle of the Boyne / Orangemen's Holiday Holiday (Northern Ireland only) First Monday of August Summer holiday Summer Bank Holiday Traditional Day (Scotland only) Last Monday in August Summer holiday Summer Bank Holiday Traditional Day (not Scotland) December 25 Christmas Christmas Day Birth of Jesus December 26 Boxing Day / Boxing Day Boxing Day The origin of the name is uncertain, but it could refer to the opening of boxes ('box' in English) containing gifts, gift boxes, gift merchants as a thank you for reliable service, gifts given to Domestic households that were entitled to a day off to visit family or can be open boxes search for churches to distribute alms to the poor. Some think it refers to the sport of boxing, although this is unlikely. Miscellaneous One of the oldest monarchies in the world. First country to issue postage stamps in 1840 with the Penny Black. Part of the Anglo-Saxon and the Commonwealth The date format is DD / MM / YY (Example: 03/24/1987) or 24 March 1987. Also written 24th March 1987 (read: 24th (day) of March) when the date is written literary The time is usually written in 12-hour format, that is to say am which is Latin for and pm or The 24-hour format is however used in some official documents, schedules and the military. Note that sometimes uses a dot instead of two dots> 8:00 pm or 8.00pm Decimals are separated by a dot (the French use a comma) and thousands with commas (a space in French). To illustrate: 60.3 by 60.3 gives French into English. 25 000 25.000 written in French in English. Voltage and frequency: 230V (+10% / -6%), 50 Hz Attention to some countries like France, the use of an adapter for electrical outlets is required. Postal Code: UK It leads to left (see direction of movement ). Its top-level Internet domain , . uk , can not be used directly, and admits only 3 sub-areas open for registration:. co.uk,. me.uk and. org.uk. Official names and symbols The official name in the official languages of the European Union (including French) in a passport from the United Kingdom Official names The official name of the United Kingdom United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Symbols The flag of the United Kingdom The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag also known as the Union Jack. If the word Union is explicit, the origin of the word Jack is still under debate. It is created from the superposition of three components of flags of the United Kingdom: England with the Cross of St. George (red on white background median; St. George is the patron saint of England) Scotland with the Cross of St. Andrew (white diagonal on blue ultramarine; Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland) Northern Ireland with the Cross of St. Patrick (oblique red on white; St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland). Flag Regions Patron Saint Symbol England Saint Georges Pink Rose Scotland St. Andrew Thistle Wales Saint David Leek / Daffodil Northern Ireland Saint Patrick Clover / Flax grown The national anthem is God Save the Queen and God Save the King when the monarch is a man. However, the real name is God Save the King. Britannia is a personification of the United Kingdom during the occupation given Roman southern and central Britain. It is symbolized by a young woman with auburn hair is either blonde, wearing a Corinthian helmet and a white dress. She holds a trident of Poseidon and a shield bearing the British flag. It is sometimes described riding a lion. Britannia is often associated with sea power as in the patriotic song: "Rule Britannia. The lion is also a symbol of the United Kingdom and is present in the royal arms of the United Kingdom. We found one behind Britannia on the coins of 50 pence and another is crowned on the 10 pence. The arms of England are " Gules three lions of gold , that is to say red with three yellow lions of viewers watching the lion as the emblem of the national team of football and its famous English football anthem Three Lions. The Arms of Scotland and the Royal Standard of Scotland have also a lion. We also find the bulldog associated with Winston Churchill and his fierce opposition to Nazi Germany The Great Britain , especially the England is often personified through the character of John Bull , the equivalent of Uncle Sam's American. The old British landscapes, and particularly some of its distinctive features such as oak and rose have long been used for visual representation of British identity. The red rose is the emblem of both the England team for Rugby Union and Rugby Football Union. References Macleod, Angus "Given Gaelic official status" (22 April 2005) The Times. London. Retrieved August 2, 2007. GDP at purchasing power parity , according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). nominal GDP, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). (en) Human Development Report 2010 UN. Table 1 P. 167 , 2010 See also Bibliography Bernard Cottret , History of England. William the Conqueror to the present day, Paris, Tallandier, January 2008. External Links UK Category directory dmoz (En) UK Newspapers (En) Site of the Prime Minister (En) I-uk, Official portal of the United Kingdom (In) the UK Government Portal (In) the United Kingdom Parliament United Kingdom Constituent nations England Scotland Northern Ireland Wales Crown Dependencies Channel Islands ( bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey ) Isle of Man Countries of Europe The 27 Member States of the European Union Germany Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Denmark Spain Estonia Finland France Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania United Kingdom Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Czech Republic States identified as candidates for the European Union Croatia Iceland Macedonia Montenegro Turkey The four Member States of the European Free Trade Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Switzerland 8 Member States of the Free Trade Agreement Central European Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Kosovo Serbia Other European states (or countries part of which is on the European continent ) Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Kazakhstan Monaco Russia San Marino Ukraine Vatican States not recognized by the international community (or the sovereignty issue): Abkhazia Northern Cyprus Nagorno-Karabakh Kosovo South Ossetia Transnistria Security Council UN Functioning of the Security Council Presidency of UN Security Right of veto in the Security Council UN Composition of the Security Council Permanent members China U.S. France United Kingdom Russia Term ends: 31 December 2011 Bosnia-Herzegovina Brazil Gabon Lebanon Nigeria Term ends: 31 December 2012 Germany India Colombia Portugal South Africa Security Council resolutions List of resolutions of the Security Council UN United Kingdom portal Portal European Union

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