The Economy of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is one of the world’s great manufacturing and trading nations. Except for coal, iron ore, natural gas and oil, the UK has few natural resources. The country must import about a third of its food and many of the raw materials it needs for manufacturing.

Service industries account for more than half of the United Kingdom’s gross domestic product. About two-thirds of the workers in the UK are employed in service industries. This industry includes such activities as education and health care, advertising and data processing. The country’s service industries are concentrated in its largest cities, especially London.

The UK is a leading industrial nation. British factories have long been known for cars, ships, steel and textiles. The UK is an important steel producer. It exports about a third of its finished steel. Such British cars as Jaguar and Rover are popular in many countries. The Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s most luxurious British cars.

The UK is also a leading trading nation. Britain imports aerospace equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, machinery, motor vehicles, petroleum, scientific and medical equipment. Its imports include chemicals, clothing, foods 9especially fish, fruit, vegetables, meat, coffee, and tea), machinery, metals, paper and newsprint, petroleum products, and textiles.

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Agriculture of the united kingdom

Up to the Industrial Revolution, Britain was mainly a land of agriculture and sheep-farming. In the nineteenth century, when the textile industry began to develop, many of the families who had worked on the land before went to the towns to find work in the factories and the new industrial enterprises. But one of the results of industrial development was the production of better agricultural machines, which raised production in agriculture.

Sheep-farming, cattle-farming and dairy-farming are still important branches of the British economy; large numbers of sheep can be seen in many parts of England and Scotland.

Britain still does not produce enough food for its people, much is imported from other countries.

Wheat is grown in the east of England, but generally barley, oats and rye are the main grain crops. Vegetables are grown in all parts of England, especially in the south; potatoes are grown in all the countries of the British Isles. Chicken-farms produce a great number of chickens and eggs for the population.

The south of England is often called the “Garden of England”. This is because there are many gardens and orchards there. Few fruits, mostly apples and pears, are grown in the northern regions of the country. But in the south, where the temperature is higher in summer, the winters are less cold, and there are more hours of sunshine, cherries, plums, and other fruits grow in the orchards and there are large plantations of different berries.

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Large towns and cities of the united kingdom

Big cities and towns such as London, Glasgow, Manchester, and Liverpool have enterprises of nearly all branches of industry, old and new. Oxford, famous because it has the oldest university in Britain, is now also one of the most important centres of the motor car industry. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, now has electrical, electronic and chemical enterprises.

The ship-building industry is of great importance for Britain. It is centered in London, Glasgow, Newcastle, near Liverpool, and in Belfast.

Seaports play a great part in the life of the country. London, Liverpool and Glasgow are the biggest English ports, from which big liners go to and from all the parts of the world. Britain sells industrial products to other countries and imports food and other products. London, the capital of England and of the United Kingdom, has a population of more than eight million; Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester have a population of over a million. Besides the famous universities of Oxford and Cambridge, there are well-known universities in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham and a number of other towns.

Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where William Shakespeare, the great dramatist and poet, was born. People from all countries visit the town to see the house where he was born and other places connected with his name and his life, and also to see his plays at the famous Shakespeare Memorial Theatre

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