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GB is situated on the British Isles. It consists of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The capital of GB is London. UK has an area of about 240.000 km2. The country is surrounded by seas on all sides and it's separated from the continent by the North sea and English Channel.
There are many rivers in Britain. They are not long, but some of them are deep. The longest river is The Severn, the most famous - The Thames. There are many mountains in the north of England and in Scotland, but they are not very high. The highest mountain is Ben Nevis (1344 m). The country is covered with the net of lakes. The most beautiful is Loch-Lomond.
Thanks to Gulf Stream the climate of GB is mild. It's often foggy and rainy. The summer is not very hot, and the winter is not very cold.
UK has a population of about 55 mln people. The official language is English.
The country is rich iron, coal, copper, lead, zinc, slate and limestone. GB is a highly developed industrial country. It lives by manufacture, trade and agriculture. The main branches of British economy are: engineering, mining, textile, chemistry, electronics, aircraft and navigation equipment. The industrial centers of GB are London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield and others.
The British Parliament is the oldest in the world. It consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen as its head.
The party which wins the elections forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. The second largest party becomes the official opposition. The Parliament and the monarch have different roles in government and they only meet together on symbolic occasions, such as coronation of new monarch or the opening of the parliament.
In reality the House of Commons is the one of three which has true power. It plays the major role in law-making.
GB has always been considered one of the leading country in the world.
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