Population

The population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is nearly 59 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. The distribution of the population is rather uneven. Over 48.8 million people live in England, over 3 million in Wales, a little over 5 million in Scotland and about 1.5 million in Northern Ireland.

Greater London, the south and the southeast are the most densely populated areas. London’s population is nearly 7 million. Most of the mountainous parts of the UK including much of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Pennine Chain in northern England are very sparsely populated.

The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish who constitute the British nation. The British are the descendants of different peoples who settled in the British Isles at different times. The earliest known people of Britain were of Iberian origin. Then followed a long succession of invaders including the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and at last in1066 the Normans. It was the last time Britain was invaded.

Now there are also many people of all colours and races in the UK. These are mostly former inhabitants of the former British colonies. These people, called ‘the coloureds’, came to the UK in search of better living standards.

English is the official language of the UK. Besides standard literary English there are many regional and social dialects. A well-known example is the cockney of East Londoners. The Scottish and Irish forms of Gaelic survive in some parts of Scotland and Ireland. Wales is officially bilingual, Welsh is spoken by about a fifth of its population. Welsh is the first language in most of the western counties of Wales and at least formally has the same status as English. Nowadays there is a growing movement in Wales and Scotland for a revival of national culture and languages.

Lecture 3

Monarchy and its role, the Houses of Parliament, political parties of the UK

Plan:

1. The British Parliament and the Electoral System

2. The House of Commons

3. The House of Lords

4. Political parties of Great Britain

5. The Conservative Party

6. The Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party

7. The British Monarchy Today

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<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Northern Ireland	\|	The British Parliament and the Electoral System

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