Text 1. Some facts about great britain

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

The British Isles is the geographical term for a group of about 5,000 islands off the north-west coast of mainland Europe between the latitudes 50°N and 61°N. The largest island is Britain or Great Britain, which is also the largest island in Europe. It consists of England, Wales and Scotland. The next largest island is Ireland, which is made up of Northern Ireland (or Ulster) and the Irish Republic (also known as Eire). Britain and Northern Ireland, together with a number of small islands, form the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, more commonly known as the United Kingdom (which is almost 20 % smaller than Italy). In everyday usage, however. Great Britain or Britain is used to mean the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man, between Ireland and Britain, and the Channel Islands, off the north-west coast of France, though recognizing the Crown, have their own parliaments and are largely self-governing.

Great Britain is just under 1,000 km long and just under 500 km across in its widest part. The most mountainous region is Scotland (with Britain's highest peak, Ben Nevis — 1,343 m), which also has a wide lowland area between the Grampians and the Southern Uplands, where most of the large towns, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, and three-quarters of the population are located. Much of Wales is also mountainous and in England the Pennine Range (the 'backbone of England') extends 224 km (although the highest peak is only 895 m high). The rest of England tends to be rather undulating, and not even the large agricultural plains of East Anglia are perfectly flat. In Ireland all the highland areas are around the edge, but there are no peaks over 1,100 m.

Rivers in Great Britain are quite short — the longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames — but their easy navigability has made them an important part of the inland transport network for the transportation of bulk products such as coal, iron ore and steel.

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

At the April 2001 UK Census, the United Kingdom's population was 58,789,194, the third largest in the European Union (behind Germany and France), the fifth largest in the Commonwealth and the twenty-first largest in the world. This had been estimated up to 60,587,300 by the Office for National Statistics in 2006. In August 2006 it was confirmed that the UK's population had reached 60 million, then rapidly increased to 60.2 million, largely from net immigration, but also because of a rising birth rate and increasing life expectancy.

The UK's overall population density is one of the highest in the world. About a quarter of the population lives in England's prosperous south-east and is predominantly urban and suburban, with an estimated 7,517,700 in the capital of London. The population of the United Kingdom has now reached 60,587,000 (mid 2006 estimate).

In 2006, the UK's total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.86 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2001, the TFR was at a record low of 1.63, but it has increased each year since.

Located as they are on a group of islands close to Continental Europe, the lands now constituting the United Kingdom have historically been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent — including Roman occupation for several centuries. Present day Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the eleventh century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended in Great Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in northern France (Normandy). Since 1945, international ties forged by the British Empire have contributed to substantial immigration, especially from Africa and South Asia, and, most recently, the accession of new EU members in 2004 has fuelled more immigration from continental Europe. As of 2001, 13.1 % (5.2 % white, 7.9 % non-white) of the UK population identified themselves as an ethnic minority.

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Britain has a generally mild, temperate climate. The weather, however, tends to be very changeable (though not necessarily unpredictable) as a result of the constant influence of different air masses. The prevailing winds are south-westerly, which bring warm air in from across the Atlantic. There are few extremes in temperature, which rarely goes above 32 °C or below –10 °C. In summer, southern Britain is warmer than northern Britain because of its latitude, but in winter the North Atlantic Drift — a warm sea current — keeps the west milder than the east. Consequently Wales and the south-west peninsula have the most moderate climate and eastern England the most extreme. These differences are not great, however, and local variations arising from factors such as altitude and pollution are often greater. Annual rainfall is fairly evenly distributed, but ranges from more than 1,600 mm in the mountainous areas of the west and north to less than 800 mm over central and eastern parts. This is because depressions from the Atlantic bring frontal rainfall first to the west and because western Britain is higher and so gets more relief rain.

Cloud with a little rain will persist over south-eastern parts of England, but there will be sunny spells over much of the country. Showers will extend from the north west through western areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some of these showers will be heavy and blustery on west-facing coasts. Temperatures will be quite mild for January, with a minimum of 7 degrees Celsius in northern Scotland and a maximum of 11 degrees Celsius in south-east England, but there will be a strong westerly wind with gales in the far south-west.

ECONOMY

The United Kingdom has the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and France.

The British economy has in recent years seen the longest period of sustained economic growth for more than 150 years, having grown in every quarter since 1992. It is one of the strongest EU economies in terms of inflation, interest rates and unemployment, all of which remain relatively low.

In October 2007, the IMF forecast British GDP to grow by 3.1 % in 2007 and 2.3 % in 2008.

Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60 % of food needs with less than 2 % of the labour force. It contributes around 2 % of GDP. Around two-thirds of the production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops. The main crops that are grown are wheat, barley, oats, oilseed rape, maize for animal feeds, potatoes and sugar beet. New crops are also emerging, such as linseed for oil and hemp for fibre production. The main livestock which are raised are cattle, chickens (the UK is the second largest poultry producer in Europe after France) and sheep. Agriculture is subsidised by the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy.

Woodland covers an estimated 2.1 million hectares in Great Britain, but the rate of new planting — especially by private owners — is growing and home timber production is expected to double over the next 20 years (at present it provides only 10 % of the nation's requirements).

The UK retains a significant, although vastly reduced, fishing industry. Its fleets bring home fish ranging from sole to herring. Kingston upon Hull, Grimsby, Fleetwood, Great Yarmouth, Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and Lowestoft are among the coastal towns that have fishing industries.

In 2003, the manufacturing industry accounted for 16 % of national output in the UK and for 13 % of employment, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is a continuation of the steady decline in the importance of this sector to the British economy since the 1960s, although the sector is still important for overseas trade, accounting for 83 % of exports in 2003. The regions with the highest proportion of employees in manufacturing were the East Midlands and West Midlands (at 19 and 18 % respectively). London had the lowest at 6 %.

Engineering and allied industries comprise the single largest sector, contributing 30.8 % of total Gross Value Added in manufacturing in 2003. Within this sector, transport equipment was the largest contributor, with 8 global car manufacturers being present in the UK — BMW (MINI, Rolls-Royce), Ford (Premier Automotive Group), General Motors (Vauxhall Motors), Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen (Bentley) with a number of smaller, specialist manufacturers (including Lotus and Morgan) and commercial vehicle manufacturers (including Leyland Trucks, LDV, Alexander Dennis, JCB, Manganese Bronze and Case-New Holland) also being present. A range of companies like Brush Traction manufacture railway locomotives and other related components.

Associated with this sector are the aerospace and defence equipment industries. The UK manufactures a broad range of equipment, with the sector being dominated by BAE Systems, which manufactures civil and defence aerospace, land and marine equipment, VT Group, GKN and Rolls Royce who manufacture aerospace engines and power generation systems.

Another important component of Engineering and allied industries is electronics, audio and optical equipment, with the UK having a broad base of domestic firms like Amstrad, Alba, ARM, Dyson, Glen Dimplex, Invensys, and Linn, alongside a number of foreign firms manufacturing a wide range of TV, radio and communications products, scientific and optical instruments, electrical machinery and office machinery and computers.

Chemicals and chemical-based products are another important contributor to the UK's manufacturing base. Within this sector, the pharmaceutical industry is particularly successful, with the world's second and third largest pharmaceutical firms (GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca respectively) being based in the UK and having major research and development and manufacturing facilities there.

Other important sectors of the manufacturing industry include food, drink, tobacco, paper, printing, publishing and textiles. The UK is also home to three of the world's biggest brewing companies: Diageo, Sabmiller and Scottish and Newcastle, other major manufacturing companies such as Unilever, Cadbury Schweppes, Tate & Lyle, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, EMAP, HarperCollins, Reed Elsevier, Ben Sherman, Burberry, French Connection, Reebok, Pentland Group and Umbro being amongst the largest present.

The service sector is the dominant sector of the UK economy, a feature normally associated with the economy of a developed country.

London is Europe`s largest financial centre, with financial services based around two districts: 'The City' (the City of London) and the Docklands (particularly around Canary Wharf). The City houses the London Stock Exchange (shares and bonds), Lloyds of London (insurance), and the Bank of England. The Docklands began development in the 1980s and is now home to the Financial Services Authority, as well as several important financial institutions (such as Barclays Bank, Citigroup and HSBC). There are now over 500 banks with offices in the City and Docklands, with the majority of business in London being conducted on an international basis, with established leads in areas such as Eurobonds, Foreign exchange markets, energy futures and global insurance. The Alternative Investments Market has acted a growth market over the past decade, allowing London to also expand as an international equity centre for smaller firms.

Energy and Natural Resources

Offshore natural gas, which is distributed through 5,600 km of high-pressure pipelines, is used by industries which require a fine degree of accuracy, but, because it is easily transportable, it has not created industrial areas in the way coal did. About half of the national consumption is used for industrial and commercial purposes, and the remainder for household use. The industry was sold back to the private sector as British Gas Pie in 1986.

Britain is the world's fifth largest oil producer and, although production is expected to start declining slowly, Britain should remain a significant producer in the twenty-first century. About 80 % of offshore production is brought ashore by submarine pipeline to one of the 14 refineries. There are also a series of onshore pipelines which carry refined products to major marketing areas.

The main consumers of Britain's declining coal industry, which still has considerable reserves, are the thermal power stations, which in 1988 accounted for 73 % of total consumption to produce roughly one-third of Britain's electricity. Only 10 % was used by domestic users.

Britain was the first country in the world to have a public supply of electricity, but at the time of writing the industry is in the process of being privatized. The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), which was responsible for generating electricity in England and Wales and for maintaining the national grid, has been split into three companies: PowerGen, National Power, and a national grid company. The twelve regional electricity boards, which are responsible for the distribution and sales of electricity, are being privatized as twelve supply companies. A similar process is happening in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 1988 domestic users accounted for 35 % of the electricity sold, industry 36 %, and commercial and other users the rest.

Transport and Communications

Freight traffic in Britain is carried mainly by road. 82 % of the tonnage of inland freight is carried on the roads. The car is also the most popular form of passenger transport, with car and taxi travel accounting for some 82 % of passenger mileage within Britain. Railways, inland waterways, coastal shipping and pipelines are important in carrying certain types of freight, particularly bulk goods.

Roads

Less than 1 % of Britain's roads are motorways (which are free in Britain), although they carry nearly 13 % of traffic including 16 % of heavy goods vehicle traffic. Indeed, the network of motorways is inadequate for the volume of traffic and there are terrible congestion problems, especially in and around London.

Railways

Britain had the world's first public passenger railway service (opened in 1825). The various regional railways that developed were nationalized in 1947 and the passenger network now comprises a fast inter-city network (up to 200 km per hour) linking the main centres of Great Britain; local stopping services; and commuter services in and around large conurbations, especially London. The main freight carried by train is coal, steel and other bulk goods.

Ports and air traffic

Almost two-thirds of the traffic through the ports is in fuels (mainly petroleum and petroleum products). Traditional major ports like London, Liverpool and Manchester, have lost general (non-bulk) cargo traffic to ports like Dover and Felixstowe, which have developed specialized facilities to meet a world-wide switch from conventional handling methods to container and roll-on modes. Ports on the south and east coasts have also gained traffic as Britain's trade has switched towards the continent of Europe.

94.6 million passengers travelled by air to or from Britain in 1988, while the value of overseas trade carried by air was approximately 21.5 % of the value of exports and 16.8 % of imports. London's two airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, are the world's two busiest airports, mainly as a result of their geographical position.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN

There is a considerable choice of post-school education in Britain. In addition to universities, there are also polytechnics and a series of different types of assisted colleges, such as colleges of technology, art, etc, which tend to provide more work-orientated courses than universities. Some of these courses are part-time, with the students being released by their employers for one day a week or longer periods. Virtually all students on full-time courses receive grants or loans from the Government which cover their tuition fees and everyday expenses (accommodation, food, books, etc).

Universities in Britain enjoy complete academic freedom, choosing their own staff and deciding which students to admit, what and how to teach, and which degrees to award (first degrees are called Bachelor degrees). They are mainly government-funded, except for the totally-independent University of Buckingham.

There is no automatic admission to university, as there are only a limited number of places (around 100,000) available each year. Candidates are accepted on the basis of their A-level results. Virtually all degree courses are full-time and most last three years (medical and veterinary courses last five or six years). Students who obtain their Bachelor degree (graduates) can apply to take a further degree course, usually involving a mixture of exam courses and research. There are two different types of post-graduate courses — the master's degree (MA or MSc), which takes one or two years, and the higher degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which takes two or three years.