Independent Uzbekistan

United Kingdom
GREAT BRITAIN.Great Britain is situated on the British Isles. They lie to the west of Europe and include two large islands (Great Britain and Ireland) and many small ones. Great Britain is formed of three parts: England, Scotland and Wales. The official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Now about 61 million people are living in Great Britain.The climate of the country is milder than that of Europe. It is warm in winter and it is cool in summer in Great Britain. It rains more often than it snows. The highest mountains are in the north and west of the country. There are a lot of beautiful lakes and rivers in Great Britain. London, its capital, is situated on the river Thames. It is a large seaport and an industrial and cultural centre.Great Britain is a highly developed industrial state. At the present time the main branches of industry are: ship- building, machine-building, and electronic engineering. Great Britain is a country with a high level of culture and education. The names of the great English writers and poets (William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, George Byron and others) are widely known. Education in Great Britain has a bour¬geois character and the working people struggle for more democratic educational system.
Industry. The original base of British Industry is coal-mining, steel and textiles. England is a steel producer for shipbuilding and car manufacture.Approximately 25 million tons of steel are produced annually. Leeds and sheffield are important steel centers. Glasgow and Newcastle became great centres of shipbuilding. Liverpool and Birmingham are the centres of chemicals and car manufacture. Cardiff is important for its seaports. Manchester‘s industries also include machinery and electronics. Cambridge is famous for bio￾chemical and bio-genetic products. Grimsby is the mainest fishing port. Southampton is the largest passenger port. Besides all, today one of the most developed branches of Britain‘s industry is the international tourism.Great Britain is a monarchy. But the power of the Queen (or the King) is limited by the Parliament. At present the main political parties in Great Britain are: the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party.