The country's official name is the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It's population is 56 million. It consists
of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
There are many small
islands. The state system is a constitutional
monarchy.
The supreme authority is Parliament which consists of
two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of
Commons is elected. There
are four main political parties: the Labour, Conservative,
Liberal and Communist parties. The party, which wins the majority of
seats at a General Election, forms the cabinet. The leader of the majority party is appointed by Prime Minister. Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Its main
industries are coal mining, machinery, textiles and clothing,
shipbuilding, vehicles, metal manufacture, electronics, chemicals.