United Kingdom in winter

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which is located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. The United Kingdom is a unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea apart from Northern Ireland sharing its land border with the Republic of Ireland.

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, Bristol Channel and English Channel. England’s inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population. The capital of England is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by many measures.

Wales

Wales is bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. Wales has a population estimated at three million and is officially bilingual, with both Welsh and English having equal status. The capital Cardiff is Wales’s largest city with 317,500 people. Once Cardiff was considered as the biggest coal port in the world and, for a few years before World War One, it handled a greater tonnage of cargo than either London or Liverpool. Most of its population (Two-thirds) live in South Wales, with another concentration in eastern North Wales. Most tourist attractions have been drawn to Wales’s “wild… and picturesque” landscapes. Cardiff is the largest media centre in the UK outside of London.

Scotland

Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain, and shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland consists of over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. Edinburgh, the country’s capital and second largest city, and is one of Europe’s largest financial hubs.

Northern

Ireland Northern Ireland is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. Its population was 1,685,000 in the 2001 UK Census, which constituted to between a quarter and a third of the island’s total population and about 3% of the population of the UK.