United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Official name: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Capital cities:

London – England
Edinburgh – Scotland
Cardiff – Wales
Belfast – Northern Ireland

Area: 152,033 square miles
Population: approximately 60.6 million
(England 50,714,000; Wales 2,977,000; Scotland 5,108,000; Northern Ireland 1,733,000)
People: English – 81,5%, Scots – 9,6%, Irish – 2,4%, Welsh – 1,9%, iní – 4,6%
Religion: Most people are Christian (71%), although all other religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism are freely practised. About 23% of Britain follow no particular religion
Government: The UK is a constitutional monarchy that is a representative democracy, where Queen Elizabeth II is recognised as the head of state, and the elected Prime Minister – Gordon Brown – is the head of government
Languages: The two official languages in Britain are English and Welsh, English being the most widely spoken. Scottish Gaelic is also spoken in some parts of Scotland.
Currency: Britain uses the pound sterling. The sign for the Great British Pound (GBP) is £.
Internet code of country: .uk
Important numbers: 112, 999
Electricity: Voltage is 240 volts AC at 50HZ. Appliances generally use standard 3-pin square plugs and sockets.

British Embassy Bratislava
Panská 16
811 01 Bratislava
tel: 00421(2)599 82 000, fax: 00421(2)599 82 237
e-mail: bebra@internet.sk
www.britishembassy.sk

Embassy of the Slovak Republic
25 Kensington Palace Gardens
London W8 4QY
tel: 0044(0)207 313 6470,fax: 0044(0)207 313 6481
e-mail: Consular section - cons.london@mzv.sk
e-mail: Embassy - emb.london@mzv.sk
e-mail: Commercial section - slovaktrade@btconnect.com
www.slovakembassy.co.uk

Economic profile

The UK is a leading trading power and a financial centre. Agriculture is an important industry and highly efficient. Primary energy, like coal and oil, are major contributors to the economy, but services like banking and insurance are the greatest contributors.

History & culture

We are an extremely diverse and progressive nation with a strong culture of social integration and tolerance. Britain was the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century and played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. More

Climate

Britain has a fairly temperate climate and is sometimes overcast. The weather can vary greatly from day to day, but generally summer (June-August) is a warm 14 - 25°C, and winter (December-February) is a cool 1 - 4°C.

Weights & measures

Historically Britain used the Imperial System, but new regulations make use of the Metric System compulsory with the exception of a few items, for example distance and speed are measured in miles and miles per hour.

Bank holidays and British Summer Time

Useful links:

Accommodation
http://www.yha.org.uk/
http://www.iyhf.org/home_gb.html
http://www.londonhostfamilies.com/
http://www.happy-homes.com/
http://www.1234star-hotelsinlondon.com/
http://www.travellerspoint.com/accommodation.cfm
http://www.hostelsinlondon.biz
http://www.hotels.com/
http://www.all-hotels.com/
http://www.londontown.com/
http://www.hotels-and-discount.com/
http://www.1st4londonhotels.co.uk/

Art
http://www.artsfestivals.co.uk

Education
http://www.studyinbritain.com/
http://www.englishuk.com/
http://www.educationuk.org/