Portfolio英联邦.doc

The United Kingdom ⅠGeneral Information The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a country and sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. ◢Capital London. ◢Language The United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined official language. English is the main language (being spoken monolingually by more than 95% of the UK population) and is thus the de facto official language.Other native languages to the Isles include Welsh, Irish, Ulster Scots, Cornish, Gaelic and British Sign Language. Immigrants have naturally brought many foreign languages from across the globe. ◢Population There are all together about 62 million people in UK(estimated in 2010). England is by far the most populous country of the United Kingdom. ◢Flag and Commonwealth Coat of Arms ◢Ethnic Make-up white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani 1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census) ◢Religions Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census) ◢Climate The overall climate in England is called temperate maritime. This means that it is mild with temperatures not much lower than 0oC in winter and not much higher than 32oC in summer. It also means that it is damp and is subject to frequent changes. It is moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current. In addition, more than one-half of the days there are overcast. July and August are normally the warmest month in England. Around the coasts, February is normally the coldest month, but inland there is little to choose between January and February as the coldest month. Probably the best months to travel i