The name of the United Kingdom in English sounds like Great Britain. The United Kingdom form is also common. Country full name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is a public entity in the far northwest of Europe. Further in the article we will find out where the UK is located on the map, what place it occupies in the world economy and politics. In addition, we will consider the internal structure of the territory.
general information
Looking at the place where the UK is on the map, you can clearly see that this is an island formation consisting of four provinces. These include England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The UK is a unitary state, but the provinces have a significant level of autonomy. The capital is London. This is an important financial and economic center of the planet. They speak in the UK mainly in English. Its status is fixed as state.
Location
The territories where the UK is located historically and geographically occupy a very advantageous position. Thanks to this, it has always - and earlier, and now - occupied an important place in world geopolitics. One of the largest states today, the United Kingdom also has a nuclear status. If we have before us a map of the world, where the United Kingdom and other administrative units are located, we will immediately notice this country, which is freely spread over the numerous islands and archipelagos of northwestern Europe. It is washed by the four seas of the Atlantic: the Irish, Northern, Celtic, and Hebrides. The closest neighbor is France, which is separated from Britain by the 35-kilometer Channel.
Latitude and longitude
Is it possible to accurately answer the question, where is the UK located? This is not a very difficult task. To do this, you need to know the geographical coordinates of the UK. The United Kingdom is located between 49 ° and 61 ° degrees north latitude and between 9 ° degrees west longitude and 2 ° degrees east. It is also worth noting that the meridian, which just passes through London, namely through the Greenwich Observatory, is considered to be zero. It is considered the reference point of the world coordinate network.
England
Having dealt with the question of where the UK is located, we can move on to its internal structure. About half of the entire area of the United Kingdom (over 130 thousand square kilometers) is England. Its open spaces are mainly lowlands, with the highest point - Mount Skofel Pike (978 meters). The longest rivers of England are the Severn and the famous Thames.
Scotland
This is the second largest part of the United Kingdom, which, according to the upcoming fall referendum, can completely separate from it and gain complete independence. Its area is almost 79 square kilometers. Hundreds of islands of varying sizes are located along the northwest coast of this amazing country. Among them, the most famous are the Shetland, Hebrides and Orkney Islands. As for the relief, the country is clearly divided by the Highland Fault into two, and absolutely different in appearance, regions. The first is the North Scottish Highlands. By the way, here is the highest point in all of Britain - Ben Nevis (1343 m). The second is the Lowland lowland region. The latter is characterized by predominantly flat low-lying surfaces. It is here that the bulk of the inhabitants of Scotland is concentrated , as well as its largest cities - Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Wales
A very small country, occupying hardly one tenth of the entire United Kingdom. It features very beautiful landscapes, since almost the entire territory of Wales is a mountainous and hilly area. The coastline stretches for 1200 kilometers and includes the large island of Anglesey. Most of the population lives in southern Wales, it is here that Cardiff and Swansea are located - its main cities.
Northern Ireland
Finally, Ireland is the smallest part of the state that occupies part of the island. The area of this territory is almost 14 thousand kilometers. Picturesque hilly areas prevail here. And also in Northern Ireland is Loch Ney Lake, the largest in the UK.
Climatic features
The country of Great Britain is located in a moderately humid climate zone, characterized by an abundance of rainy days and fogs throughout the year. The temperature ranges from minus 11 degrees in winter to plus 30 degrees in summer. In terms of humidity, the western ones, where most of the precipitation falls, and the eastern parts of the United Kingdom, which are the driest, differ sharply from each other. Winter cold in the territories where the UK is located is significantly mitigated by the warm current of the Atlantic - the Gulf Stream.
Administrative device
The state of Great Britain has a very complicated administrative division, and each country of the Kingdom has its own system. Therefore, there is no single standard administrative unit for the entire territory. And it is unlikely to appear, as the countries of the Kingdom are increasingly expanding their autonomy.
Features of the organization of local government
The scheme for organizing local government in England is perhaps the most complicated. The legislative basis of the English government is adopted by the national parliament. At the highest level, England is divided into nine government regions. But only one of them, namely Greater London, has its own elected assembly. At a lower hierarchical level of division - county councils, even lower - district or unitary councils. Members to all structural divisions are elected by citizens by majority mechanisms.
The administrative structure of Scotland involves the division into 32 areas, which are very different in area. The main criterion taken into account when dividing this part of the United Kingdom is the number of inhabitants. So, such large cities as Glasgow or Aberdeen are considered separate regions. At the same time, there is the Highland region, which occupies about one third of the entire territory of Scotland. The interests of residents are represented by 1222 deputies who are elected. They, in turn, elect a chairman. He represents the whole region. The government of Wales has 22 entities. These include the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. Each of these cities acts as an independent entity. Deputies are elected to these unitary formations for a term of 4 years. Elections are held in Wales on a majority basis. Northern Ireland has had its administrative structure since 1973. Then the country was divided into 26 districts. The administrative units of Northern Ireland have a very narrow range of powers, which include waste collection, animal control, and park care. True, in 2008 it was decided to reorganize this system. It was also planned to create 11 more new areas.