The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state which is situated in the British Isles. The United Kingdom consists of four countries, there are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

The two islands are separated by the Irish Sea. The UK is separated from the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The UK is also washed by the Atlantic Ocean in the north and by North Sea in the east.

Everyone who was born in Britain is British. People from England are English, from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not English. They are Scottish or Scotts, Welsh and Irish.

More than 56 million people live in Britain. Many of them live in big industrial cities like London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Swansea, Sheffield etc. There are many lonely hills, quiet rivers, deep lakes and just farmlands, especially in the south of the country.

Everyone in Britain speaks English, but the Welsh also speak Welsh, the Scotts also speak Scottish and the Irish speak Irish. When you travel you can see road signs in Welsh all over Wales.

The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack. It’s made up of three crosses: the cross of St. George, the cross of St. Andrew and the cross of St. Patrick.