UNITED KINGDOM (U.K.)

LOCATION

• Northwest of Europe
• Borders Ireland
• Capital is London

FLAG

• Blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white, placed over the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is placed over the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland)

GOVERNMENT

• Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• It is a type of government in which a king or queen acts as Head of State
• The queen of UK is Queen Elizabeth II

POPULATION

• Total of 64,308,261 people
• English is spoken
• Many religions are practiced. These are the most common: Christian (Anglican, Roman, Catholic, Prebyterian, Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7%

ECONOMY

• Ranked 13th in the world
• Currency is pound sterling (GBP)
• 1 GBP = 1.51 USD

FAMOUS SITES

• Stonehenge: A circle of ancient stones (varying in size) erected between 3000 BC and 1600 BC.
• Avebury Stone Cirlcle: Similar to Stonehenge. It is one of the largest and oldest Neolithic (of, relating to, or denoting the Stone Age) monuments in European history.
• Roman Baths Pump Room & Museum: Situated six meters below street level. Four main features are the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman bath house, and finds from the Roman bath.

FAMOUS FOOD

• Haggis: Sheep's heart, liver, lungs, and oats stuffed in a sheep's stomach.
• Cottage Pie: Minced meat cooked with vegetables and topped with mashed potato.
• "Fry-up": Eggs (scrambled, poached, omelettes, sunny side up), bacon, sausages, mushrooms, fried tomatoes, and baked beans.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

• Alfred Hitchcock: A filmmaker known for creating a psychological suspense in his films. Some of his most famous ones are Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, Rear Window, and Rebecca.
• Charles Dickens: An author known for writing classic novels, such as Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, and David Copperfield.
• Queen Elizabeth II: The longest-serving monarch in British history. (Currently, she has reigned for over 63 years.)

WORKS CITED

• www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
• www.europa/about-eu/countries/member-countries/unitedkingdom/index.en.htm
• www.heritage.org/index/country/unitedkingdom
• www.tourist-information-uk.com/uk/landmarks-historic-sites/
• www.kic.org.uk/pathways/study-uk/discover-uk/food-drink-uk/
• www.biography.com/people/groups/born-in-united-kingdom