The United Kingdom is an island which lies off the coast of mainland Europe across from France and Holland. Scotland occupies the northern tip of the island, Wales a small sliver of land to the west and most of the mainland is taken up by England. Off the coast to the west lies Northern Ireland, although the Republic of Ireland is a completely separate country. The UK is also referred to as the British Isles as there are a number of islands. Various seas around the UK include the British Channel, the Irish Sea and the North Sea as well as the Atlantic Ocean.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which is made up of four other countries – England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. There are also 14 overseas territories and three Crown Dependencies. Those are a reminder of the fact that Britain once had the biggest empire in history. Today the country is governed from the seat of parliament in London and the monarchy only plays a notional role in affairs.

The UK is highly developed and it has the 6th largest economy in the world so many people travel there for business reasons. They certainly don’t come for the weather which is almost always rainy and often cold. However the UK has a massive tourism industry because of its wealth of history and culture - visitors flock to cities such as Edinburgh, Dublin and Cardiff. The capital London is the main attraction though with sites such as Buckingham Palace, the Tate Galleries and Big Ben. The fact that the UK still has a functioning monarchy has proved a massive draw for international tourists. 

The UK is an incredibly multicultural country with every race and nationality of people that you could think of represented. In fact immigration is a massive issue in the UK considering that it was recently revealed that Muhammad has become the most popular name for boys in the country. Two thirds of the UK population are either Catholic or Anglican but other religions such as Islam are rising fast. Nevertheless 15% of the UK population has no religion at all.