Where is the UK? Geographic coordinates of Great Britain

The name of Great Britain in English sounds like Great Britain. Also common is the form of United Kingdom. Full country name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is a public education in the extreme north-west Europe. Further in the article we will find out where the UK is on the map, what place it occupies in the world economy and politics. In addition, consider the internal structure of the territory.

general information

Looking at the place where the UK is on the map, you can clearly see that this is an island formation, consisting of four provinces. They include England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is a unitary state, but the provinces have a significant level of autonomy. The capital is London. This is an important financial and economic center of the planet. They speak in the UK mainly in English. Its status is fixed as state.

Location:

The territory where the UK is located historically and geographically occupy a very advantageous position. Thanks to this, it has always - and earlier, and now - occupied an important place in the global geopolitics. One of the largest states for today, the United Kingdom also has a nuclear status. If we have before us a map of the world, where the United Kingdom and other administrative units are located, we will immediately notice this country, which has freely spread on numerous islands and archipelagoes of the north-western part of Europe. It is washed by the four seas of the Atlantic: Irish, Northern, Celtic, and also Hebrides. The closest neighbor is France, which is separated from the UK by the 35-kilometer Strait of the English Channel.

Latitude and longitude

Is it possible to accurately answer the question, where is the UK? This is not a very difficult task. To do this, you need to know the geographical coordinates of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is located between 49 ° and 61 ° degrees north latitude and between 9 ° west longitude and 2 ° east. It is also worth noting that it is common to consider the zero meridian, which just passes through London, namely through the Greenwich Observatory. It is considered the reference point of the world coordinate network.

England

Having dealt with the question of where the UK is, you can go to its internal arrangement. About half of the entire area of the United Kingdom (over 130 thousand square kilometers) is occupied by England. Its expanses are mostly lowlands, with the highest point - Mount Skofel-Pike (978 meters). The longest rivers of England are the Severn and the famous Thames.

Scotland

This is the second largest part of the United Kingdom, which, according to the upcoming referendum in autumn, can completely separate from it and gain complete independence. Its area is almost 79 square kilometers. Hundreds of islands of different sizes are located along the north-west coast of this amazing country. Among them the most famous are the Shetland, Hebrides and Orkney Islands. As for the relief, the country is clearly divided by the Highland rift into two, and completely different in appearance, region. The first is the North-Scottish Highlands. Here, by the way, is the highest point of the whole of Britain - Ben Nevis (1343 m). The second is the lowland Lowland. For the latter are characterized mainly by flat, low-lying surfaces. It is here that the main part of the inhabitants of Scotland is concentrated, as well as its largest cities - Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Wales

Quite a small country, occupying hardly one tenth of the whole of the United Kingdom. It is characterized by very beautiful landscapes, since almost the entire territory of Wales is a mountainous and hilly terrain. The coastline stretches for 1200 kilometers and includes the large island of Anglesey. The majority of the population lives in the southern part of Wales, where Cardiff and Swansea, its main cities, are located.

Northern Ireland

Finally, the tiniest part of the state that occupies part of the island is Ireland. The area of this territory is almost 14 thousand kilometers. The picturesque hilly regions prevail here. And in Northern Ireland there is Loch Ney Lake, the largest in the UK.

Climatic features

The country of Great Britain is located in a moderately humid climatic zone, characterized by an abundance of rainy days and fogs throughout the year. The temperature ranges from minus 11 degrees in winter to plus 30 degrees in summer. By the intensity of moistening, the western, where the bulk of precipitation falls, and the eastern parts of the United Kingdom, which are the driest, differ sharply from one another. Winter cold in the territories where the UK is located, are significantly softened by the warm Atlantic currents - the Gulf Stream.

Administrative device

The state of Great Britain has a very complex administrative division, and in every country of the Kingdom there is its own system. Therefore, there is no single standard administrative unit for the whole territory. And it is unlikely that it will appear, as the Kingdom countries are increasingly expanding their autonomy.

Features of the organization of local government

The scheme for organizing local government in England is perhaps the most difficult. The legislative basis of the English government is adopted by the state parliament. At the highest level, England is divided into nine government regions. But only one of them, namely, Greater London, has its own elected assembly. At a lower hierarchical level of division - county councils, even lower - district or unitary councils. Members in all structural units are elected by citizens by majority mechanisms. The administrative structure of Scotland assumes a division into 32 regions, which are very different in area. The main criterion that was taken into account when dividing this part of the United Kingdom is the number of inhabitants. So, separate areas are considered such large cities, as Glasgow or Aberdeen. At the same time, there is the Highland area, which occupies about one third of the entire territory of Scotland. The interests of the residents are represented by 1,222 deputies who are elected. They, in turn, elect a chairman. He represents the entire region. The government of Wales has 22 entities. These include the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. Each of these cities acts as an independent entity. Deputies are elected to these unitary formations for a period of 4 years. There are elections in Wales on a majority basis. Its administrative structure Northern Ireland has since 1973. Then the country was divided into 26 districts. Administrative units of Northern Ireland have a very narrow range of powers, which include the export of waste, control of animals, care of park areas. However, in 2008 the decision was made to reorganize this system. Another 11 new districts were also planned.