UK

Usually the terms United Kingdom, Great Britain and England are identified as the same, although there are a lot of differences between them. The concept refers to the UK sovereign country outside the European Union located northwest state of the European continent. This state consists of Northern Ireland and the island of Great Britain. In turn this island consists of Scotland, Wales and England, which occupies most of its territory.

Main FeaturesGovernment: Constitutional Monarchy

ParliamentaryMonarch: Elizabeth IIPrime Minister: David CameronArea: 243.610 km²Population: 62.641.000 Capital: LondonLanguage: EnglishCurrency: GDPEthnic groups: 87.1% White

7.0% Asian 3.0% Black 2.0% Mixed 0.9% Other

Demonym: British/BritonHuman Development Index: Very HighIncorporation in the E.U.: 1973Drives on the: leftCalling Code: +44

FlagThe flag of the United Kingdom, as known as the Union Jack, is the combining the crosses of the patron of England (St. George), Scotland (St. Andrew) and Northern Ireland (St Patrick). The latest version was created in 1801, joining Ireland and Britain.Although currently only Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, the cross of Saint Patrick is keeping. The crosses represent Northern Ireland and Scotland are interspersed interspersed behind the English St. George's Cross to avoid the dominance of one of them. Wales is not represented on the flag because when he created his first official flag had already joined the UK. The Union Jack appears on the flags of some former colonies like Australia, Hawaii and Fiji, among others.

ShieldIn the UK shield appears represented, England shields (top left and bottom right), Scotland (top right) and Northern Ireland (below left).

There are multiple versions of the shield and has experimented a huge evolution throughout history, about all for political reasons. The force today was created in 1837.

"Dieu et mon droit" (God and my right) and "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (Shame be to him who thinks evil of it.): In the shield two sentences, both in Old French, which are displayed.

1. Geographic areaThe formation of British land is a long old process.During the Caledonian orogeny the Cambrian mountains massifs Northern Ireland and the reliefs of the Highlands in Scotland were formed in Wales. During the Hertzian orogeny were the Pennine Hills and Cornwall. The most depressed regions were filled by marine sediments in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sandstones.

Highlands Relief Cornualles Hills

The landscape is a reflection of the geological structure. In regions of Paleozoic origin and the terrain is hilly and in parts of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic is plain. The coasts generally high and rocky, have a very trimmed and complex profile. From the three main regions of the largest is England, Wales separated by valleys of the Dee and Savern, and Scotland by a sharp narrowing. Northern Ireland is based on the wide basin of Lough Neagh, surrounded by isolated massifs separated by broad river valleys

River Dee

Lough Neagh

2. Water diversityLos ríos británicos presentan cursos maduros, con caudales abundantes y regulares, y desembocan formando amplios estuarios en los que se asientan importantes ciudades portuarias. Por ejemplo: Londres, en la desembocadura del Támesis; Glasgow, en la del Clyde; Liverpool, en la del Mersey y Bristol, en la del Severn. En Escocia son típicos los “lochs”, lagos generalmente estrechos, alargados y en ocasiones profundamente encajados.

Río Clyde

Loch escocés

3. WeatherThe dominant climate in the UK is the ocean climate, with abundant rainfall and temperatures rarely drop below 0 ° C and do not usually exceed 20. The south wind brings wet and temperate climate in the country. In the east the climate is drier due to the Atlantic tide have no significant impact. In the west the winters are mild due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. In the southeast the summers are warmer and north are cooler.

The British weather is determined by the Gulf Stream, which makes the temperatures and high rainfall causes. As we can see in the map, the highest incidence of this warm current is in the southwest of the UK.

4. VegetationAlmost the whole territory of the United Kingdom there is a temperate climate with heavy rainfall. However, to the north, the climate is cooler and conifers are predominant instead of the typical deciduous forests of the south. There are subarctic areas like the Highlands of Scotland and the Scilly Islands in subtropical. Despite of the remarkable irregularity, there are some species that abound such as oak, ash, beech and pine. The vegetation has suffered from decades ago a hard wear due to logging and forest areas are mainly located in the northeast of Scotland and southeast England.

Deciduous forest Coniferous forest

5. Demography

The demographics of UK are registered by the National Bureau of Statistics, in the case of England and Wales; by the General Register Office in Scotland and the Statistics and Research Agency, Northern Ireland. The population of the UK is the third largest in the European Union.

As most developed countries, the shape of the pyramid is the bulb, which represents a very low birth rate and high life expectancy. The population is aging and must perform natalist measures. The birth rate is 12.27 ‰ and the mortality rate is 9.33 ‰, both quite low. Life expectancy is 78 years for men and 82 for women. The high level of this indicator is due to advances in medicine, improved nutrition and the regulation of labor, among other causes.

6. Urban SpaceAs for the urban structure of the United Kingdom include the importance of capital and its metropolitan area.

The historic center of London is located on the north shore of the Thames due to the difficulty of passage for many years. In 1666 London was ravaged by a fire that caused the need to reform and reconstruct buildings and streets. The area acquired octagonal rebuilt with large avenues and

places where buildings like museums, palaces and churches were located; and the streets are oriented towards the River Thames. The buildings were homogenized, except for the most important monuments. However, in the general plan irregularity remains. A very characteristic feature of UK cities is the segregation of different classes and doctrines by neighborhoods.

Main Cities

• Londres • Belfast• Glasgow • Liverpool • Edimburgo

• Bristol •

Mánchester

• Leicester • York

7. EconomyUK is the sixth largest economy in the world and the third largest in Europe. In recent history the British economy has been affected by two events: the 1929 crisis and the current recession. The current data from the UK economy are reflected in the image below:

Primary SectorBritish primary sector, as in most developed countries, is in a serious decline. Agriculture, livestock and fishery represents a fraction of the British population, in fact, represents only 2% of the active population and 1% of GDP. The main crops are potato, sugar beet, wheat and barley. In livestock, sheep and cattle stand for their dairy production. As for fishing, there is a conversion process caused by the crisis of traditional fishing grounds.

Secondary SectorThe British secondary sector had a huge development in the Industrial Revolution, which became very important heavy industries. At present the prevailing industries are transportation elements, chemicals and food processing and textiles. Mining has also been important historically for the UK due to the large coal mines that have granted energy power plants. Today, its importance has declined but remains a fundamental part of the British economy.

However, there are serious effects of the sector, such as pollution or poor conditions of workers in the past. For this reason, UK is the eighth largest producer of greenhouse gases.

Tertiary Sector

London Stock Exchange-LSE

The tertiary sector is the main contribution GDP of the UK. Note the importance of the financial sector and the stock market, which is the second largest financial center.

The cities with the highest development of the tertiary sector is the main economic centers such as London, Belfast or Liverpool including transportation, trade and utilities are highly developed.

Fin