How many countries does the uk consists of

Countries of the United Kingdom

Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These four countries together form the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is also described as a country. [ 1 ] The alternative terms, constituent countries and home nations, are also used, the latter mainly in sporting contexts. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Additionally, Northern Ireland is referred to as a province or region.

The United Kingdom, a sovereign state under international law, is a member of intergovernmental organisations, the European Union and the United Nations. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) list of countries. The Parliament of the United Kingdom and Government of the United Kingdom deal with all reserved matters for Northern Ireland and Scotland and all non-transferred matters for Wales, but not in general on matters that have been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Additionally, devolution in Northern Ireland is conditional on co-operation between the Northern Ireland Executive and the Government of Ireland (see North/South Ministerial Council). The Government of the United Kingdom also consults with the Government of Ireland to reach agreement on non-devolved matters for Northern Ireland (see British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference). England remains the full responsibility of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which is centralised in London.

England, Scotland and Wales have separate national governing bodies for many sports, meaning that they can compete individually in international sporting competitions. Northern Ireland has a separate governing body for association football but forms single all-Ireland sporting bodies with the Republic of Ireland for most sports.

The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are dependencies of the United Kingdom but not part of the UK or of the European Union. Collectively, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are known in UK law as the British Islands. Similarly, the British overseas territories, remnants of the British Empire scattered around the globe, are not constitutionally considered to be part of the UK itself. Formerly, all of Ireland was a country of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland is the sovereign state formed from the portion of Ireland that seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922. Although part of the geographical British Isles, [ 4 ] the Republic of Ireland is no longer a part of the UK.

Contents

Specifications

Name	Flag	Area (km²)	Population (2010 estimate)	Capital	Devolved legislature	Legal system
England		130,395	51.6 million	London	No	English law
Scotland		78,772	5.2 million	Edinburgh	Yes	Scots law
Wales		20,779	3.0 million	Cardiff	Yes	Contemporary Welsh Law
Northern Ireland	None	13,843	1.8 million	Belfast	Yes	Northern Ireland law
United Kingdom		243,789	62.1 million	London

Terminology

Various terms have been used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Acts of Parliament

Current legal terminology

The Interpretation Act 1978 provides statutory definitions of the terms ‘England’, ‘Wales’ and ‘the United Kingdom’, but neither that Act nor any other current statute defines ‘Scotland’ or ‘Northern Ireland’. Use of the first three terms in other legislation is interpreted following the definitions in the 1978 Act. The definitions in the 1978 Act are listed below:

The official term rest of the UK (RUK or rUK) is used in Scotland, for example in export statistics [ 12 ] and in legislating for student funding. [ 13 ]

Identity and nationality

The United Kingdom is generally considered to be a close union by its inhabitants, with shared values, language, currency and culture, and with people moving and working freely throughout. [ 14 ]

According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, there are broadly two interpretations of British identity, with ethnic and civic dimensions:

Of the two perspectives of British identity, the civic definition has become the dominant idea and in this capacity, Britishness is sometimes considered an institutional or overarching state identity. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] This has been used to explain why first-, second- and third-generation immigrants are more likely to describe themselves as British, rather than English, Scottish or Welsh, because it is an «institutional, inclusive» identity, that can be acquired through naturalisation and British nationality law; the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom who are from an ethnic minority feel British. [ 18 ] However, this attitude is more common in England than in Scotland or Wales; «white English people perceived themselves as English first and as British second, and most people from ethnic minority backgrounds perceived themselves as British, but none identified as English, a label they associated exclusively with white people». Contrawise, in Scotland and Wales, all people identified more strongly with Scotland and Wales than with Britain. [ 19 ] Many people in Cornwall regard themselves as Cornish and British but not English. [ 20 ]

Studies and surveys have reported that the majority of the Scots and Welsh see themselves as both Scottish/Welsh and British though with some differences in emphasis. The Commission for Racial Equality found that with respect to notions of nationality in Britain, «the most basic, objective and uncontroversial conception of the British people is one that includes the English, the Scots and the Welsh». [ 21 ] However, «English participants tended to think of themselves as indistinguishably English or British, while both Scottish and Welsh participants identified themselves much more readily as Scottish or Welsh than as British». [ 21 ] Some persons opted «to combine both identities» as «they felt Scottish or Welsh, but held a British passport and were therefore British», whereas others saw themselves as exclusively Scottish or exclusively Welsh and «felt quite divorced from the British, whom they saw as the English». [ 21 ] Commentators have described this latter phenomenon as «nationalism», a rejection of British identity because some Scots and Welsh interpret it as «cultural imperialism imposed» upon the United Kingdom by «English ruling elites», [ 22 ] or else a response to a historical misappropriation of equating the word «English» with «British», [ 23 ] which has «brought about a desire among Scots, Welsh and Irish to learn more about their heritage and distinguish themselves from the broader British identity». [ 24 ] The propensity for nationalistic feeling varies greatly across the UK, and can rise and fall over time. [ 25 ]

The state-funded Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, [ 26 ] running since 1998 as part of a joint project between the University of Ulster and Queen’s University Belfast, addressed the issue of identity in 2009. It reported that 35% of people identified as British, whilst 32% identified as Irish and 27% identified as Northern Irish. 2% opted to identify themselves as Ulster, whereas 4% stated other. Of the two main religious groups, 63% of Protestants identified as British as did 6% of Catholics; 66% of Catholics identified as Irish as did 3% of Protestants. 29% of Protestants and 23% of Catholics identified as Northern Irish. [ 27 ]

Following devolution and the significant broadening of autonomous governance throughout the UK in the late 1990s, debate has taken place across the United Kingdom on the relative value of full independence. [ 28 ]

Sport

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have a national football team, and compete as separate national teams at the various disciplines in the Commonwealth Games. [ 29 ] At the Olympic Games, all the countries of the UK are represented by the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, although athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to join the Republic of Ireland’s Olympic team. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] In most sports, except association football, Northern Ireland participates with the Republic of Ireland in a combined All-Ireland team, for example rugby union, cricket and the tennis Davis cup team.

Тест по страноведению «Соединенное королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии»(10 класс)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

1. What is the official name of the country whose language you study?

a) Great Britain

c) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

2. How many countries does the United Kingdom consist of?

3. What is the capital of Scotland?

4. What is the capital of Wales?

5. What is the capital of Northern Ireland?

6. What is the state system of the United Kingdom?

a) a constitutional monarchy

b) a parliamentary republic

c) a limited monarchy

7. What is the symbol of the United Kingdom?

8. What is the name of the British national flag?

a) the Union Jack

b) the Saint Andrew’s Cross

c) the Saint David’s Cross

9. What is the emblem of England?

10. What is the emblem of Scotland?

11. What are the emblems of Wales?

a) a shamrock, a clover and a red hand

b) a rose and the Saint George’s Cross

c) a dragon, a daffodil, a leek, a dove

12. What is the emblem of Northern Ireland?

13. What chambers does the British Parliament consist of?

a) the Senate and the House of Representatives

b) the House of Lords and the House of Commons

c) the Cabinet of Ministers and the Shadow Cabinet

14. Who presides in the House of Lords?

a) the Lord Chancellor

c) the Prime-Minister

15. Who presides in the House of Commons?

the Lord Chancellor

the Chancellor of the Exchequer

16. Where does the British Premier live and work?

at 10 Downing Street

in the House of Parliament

in Buckingham Palace

17. What natural resources bring the most profits to the British economy?

18. In what sector of the economy does the majority of the population work?

in primary industries

in secondary industries

in tertiary industries

19. What is the fastest way to cross the English Channel?

through the Channel Tunnel

20. What is the most important airport in Great Britain?

21. What is the most famous place of pagans’ sun worship in England?

a temple to the goddess Minerva in Bath

Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain

Dartmoor National Park

22. What is the main cathedral of the Anglican Church?

St. Paul’s Cathedral

23. What is the official religion in the United Kingdom?

24. What is the school-leaving age in the United Kingdom?

25. Which of the following stages of British education is not obligatory?

26. What is the top secondary school in Great Britain?

Chiswick Community School

27. What is the highest mark in British schools?

28. Further education comprises …..

universities and colleges of higher education

work-related courses and colleges that do not provide higher education

29. What do we call the following pattern of tuition: six months in college and six months in industry?

30. What universities have the highest academic reputation in the United Kingdom?

Oxford University and Cambridge University

London University and Bristol University

31. What is the first degree awarded by universities?

a doctor’s degree

a bachelor’s degree

a master’s degree

32. At a British university or college a tutor is ….

a person who examines students and gives them marks

a person who has the highest rank of the teachers in a department and delivers lectures

a member of a staff who teaches small groups of students and gives them help and advice

33. What are the best English resorts?

Bristol and Southampton

Brighton and Bath

Leeds and Bradford

34. What is the tallest building in England?

the Tower of London

the Canary Wharf Tower

Hampton Court Palace

35. What place in England is called a kind of Disneyland?

Windsor Safari Park

36. What is the London residence of Queen Elizabeth II?

the Tower of London

37. Where is Nelson’s Column situated?

in Parliament Square

in Trafalgar Square

in Piccadilly Circus

38. Where are British kings crowned?

in St. Paul’s Cathedral

in Westminster Abbey

in Canterbury Cathedral

39. Who was the architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London?

Sir Christopher Wren

40. The ravens are a famous sight of …

the Tower of London

41. Scottish surnames begin with …

42. What is the Scottish traditional clothes for men?

43. What lake does the famous Scottish monster live in?

44. What is the most famous sport event in Scotland?

the Highland Games

the Commonwealth Games

the Wimbledon Championship

45. What country is called a land of castles and princes?

46. What is the most important festival of Welsh poetry and music?

the Edinburgh Festival

the Rock festival in Liverpool

47. What is the name of the six countries of Northern Ireland?

Key: 1)c; 2)a; 3)b;.4)b; 5)c; 6)a; 7)b; 8)a; 9)b; 10)c; 11)c; 12)a; 13)b; 14)a; 15)b; 16)a; 17)b; 18)c; 19)a; 20)a; 21)b; 22)b; 23)c; 24)a; 25)a; 26)b; 27)a; 28)c; 29)a; 30)a; 31)b; 32)c; 33)b; 34)b; 35)b; 36)c; 37)b; 38)b; 39)a; 40)a; 41)b; 42)c; 43)c; 44)a; 45)c; 46)a; 47)b.

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