Exposé anglais
661 mots
3 pages
The United KingdomGeneralities
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel. At the most recent census in 2001, the total population of the United Kingdom was 58,789,194 (fifty eight millions seven hundred eighty nine thousand one hundred ninety four) the third largest in the European Union, the fifth largest in the Commonwealth and the twenty-first largest in the world.
Religion
In the United Kingdom, christianity is the largest religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and then Judaism in terms of number of adherents.
History
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three national administrations of varying powers in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. The UK has fourteen overseas territories that are not constitutionally part of the UK. These territories are remnants of the British Empire, which at its height in 1922 encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies.
Politics The UK is a developed country. It was the world's first industrialized country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th