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United Kingdom
-- A modern and prosperous European nation |
The United Kingdom (U.K.) is a modern and prosperous European nation as well as one of the world's
favorite leisure travel and business travel destinations because of its rich history and attractions, museums, luxury hotels,
as well as its trading power and financial role in the world.
The United Kingdom is located in Western Europe, between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, and northwest
of France. The U.K. includes England, Wales, Scotland and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland with total land
area about 241,590 sq km, slightly smaller than Oregon of the United States.
England lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the
English Channel.
The United Kingdom has 60,270,708 (July 2004 estimate) population, including English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%,
Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%. English is the official
language in the United Kingdom. Other languages used by U.K. people include Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales),
and Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland).
Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing
parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over
one-fourth of the earth's surface. Today, the U.K. is a modern and prosperous European nation.
As a leading trading power and financial center, the United Kingdom deploys an essentially capitalistic economy, one
of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly
reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs.
Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs
with only 1% of the labor force. The U.K. has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production
accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking,
insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to
decline in importance.
London,
the capital of the U.K., is a world favorite travel destination because of its world-class museums, historical
attractions, famous theaters, luxury hotels,
great shopping and fashion. The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge are some of the
tourist attractions in London.
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Changing of the Guards, London
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London Bridge, United Kingdom
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Royal Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland
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Vale Hotel Golf & Spa Resort,
Cardiff, Wales
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Discount reservation for:
 London Hotel
Edinburgh Hotel
Cardiff Hotel
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