THE UK

Some British people say that they are from Great Britain. Other British people say they are from the UK. Also, some say that they are from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. What do you know about these different places?

England, Scotland and Wales are on an island in the North-West of Europe. It is called Great Britain. Great Britain together with Northern Ireland is called the United Kingdom or UK.

England is the largest part of the UK. Its name comes from people called the Angles, who came from Germany 1500 years ago. About 53 million people live in England and the capital city is London.

Scotland is in the North of Britain. Over 5 million people live in Scotland. The highest mountain, Ben Nevis, is in Scotland. It is 1,345 meters tall. The capital city of Scotland is Edinburgh but the largest city is Glasgow.

Wales is in the West of Britain. About 3 million people live there and nearly 20 percent of them speak Welsh. Welsh is one of the oldest languages in Europe. The Welsh flag has a picture of a dragon! The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

Northern Ireland is a part of Ireland. Ireland is an island in the West of Britain. Around 2 million people live there. The Giant’s Causeway is a very popular tourist attraction. There are huge rocks made by lava from a volcano, but an old story says, that a giant built it! The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

The Union Jack is the name of the UK flag. The UK is the only country in the world with four national football teams.