Britain (0)

Britain forms the greater part of the British Isles, which lie off the north -west coast of mainland Europe .The geographical name for all the islands is the British Isles. They also include Eire, the Republic of Ireland, which has been politically independent of the British government since 1921. The largest of the islands is called Great Britain and it comprises England, Wales , snd Scotland . The full political name for the countries sharing a parliament in London is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Covering an area of some 242, 500 sq km. The longest river, the Severn flows for 354 km and the largest lake is Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. Scotland is the most mountainous part of the country .Britain is a relatively densely populated country.The capital, London, has population of around 8 million. The majority of the population speak English . Britain is a parliamentary democracy, in which people over 18 have a right to vote for the parliament and government of their choice . The head of state is a hereditary monarch, who may be male or female. The leader of the winning party forms the government and becomes Prime Minister, who is in charge of running the country. Britain's four countries have separate traditions and cultures . The nationals currency is the British pound that is divided into 100 pence. As a result of the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century Britain was transformed from a mainly argicultural society into an industrial one. People moved to the rapidly expanding towns. The consumer boom of the 1980s and the increased leisure time led to rapid growth in service industries like banking, tourism , retailing and information processing.