Overview of the UK

England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are the four countries that form the United Kingdom. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh, respectively. The term “Great Britain” refers to the landmass that is home to England, Wales, and Scotland. It’s called “Great” because it’s the largest island in the British Isles. This is why the formal name of the UK is “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

The capital of the entire UK is London. Other major cities in the UK include Manchester, Liverpool, and Birmingham in England, Cardiff and Swansea in Wales, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland.

The UK has a long, rich history and is a major player in foreign relations. At the beginning of the 20th century, the UK commanded a worldwide empire as the foremost global power. Its position was reduced by two world wars and the end of its empire, but the United Kingdom remains an economic and military force with significant political and cultural influence all over the world. Britain was also the first industrialized nation in the world. Its economy remains one of the biggest, but rather than manufacturing, it now focuses on service industries.

The UK, partially as a result of the empire's stretch and growth, is ethnically diverse. Since the heyday of the Beatles and Rolling Stones in the 1960s, the country has also been a significant force in global youth culture.

Some of the most famous landmarks in the UK are the following:

England: The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, the White Cliffs of Dover, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Hadrian’s Wall, Sherwood Forest, Roman Baths

Wales: St. David’s Cathedral, Henrhyd Falls, Caernarfon Castle, Mount Snowdon

Scotland: Edinburgh Castle, Loch Ness, Fingal’s Cave, Forth Bridge, Ben Nevis, The Scott Monument

Northern Ireland: The Derry Walls, Titanic Belfast

The UK has a rich literary heritage, like the works of famous authors such as Charles Dickens, Robert Burns, Dylan Thomas, Seamus Heaney, and of course William Shakespeare. There are also highly acclaimed writers in the Gaelic and Welsh languages, like Dylan Thomas and Sian James.

The United Kingdom is also home to some of the world’s most prestigious institutions of learning. These universities and colleges are located in the following UK towns and cities:

• London - UCL (formerly University College London), Imperial College London, King’s College London, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Queen Mary University of London
• Oxford - University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University
• Manchester - University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Liverpool - University of Liverpool
• Warwick - University of Warwick
• Brighton - University of Sussex
• Exeter - University of Exeter
• Leeds - University of Leeds
• Cambridge - University of Cambridge
• Bristol - University of Bristol
• Coventry - Coventry University
• Nottingham - University of Nottingham
• Sheffield - University of Sheffield
• Birmingham - University of Birmingham
• Southampton - University of Southampton
• Edinburgh - University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College)
• Glasgow - University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian University
• Belfast - Queen’s University
• Swansea - Swansea University
• Cardiff - Cardiff University, Cardiff Metropolitan University.