Country Profile

ENGLAND

1. Location

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It limits with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. The England`s capital is London

2. Population Currency

With over 53 million inhabitants, England is by far the most populous country of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84% of the combined total. England has the fourth largest population in the European Union and would be the 25th largest country by population in the world. With a density of 407 people per square kilometer, it would be the second most densely populated country in the European Union after Malta

3. Landscape Weather

Geographically England includes the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain; England is closer to the European continent than any other part of mainland Britain. It is separated from France by a 34-kilometre (21 mi). Sea gap, though the two countries are connected by the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone. England also has shores on the Irish Sea, North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The ports of London, Liverpool and Newcastle on the tidal rivers Thames Mersey and Tyne respectively. At 354 kilometres (220 mi), the longest river entirely in England is the Thames, which is 346 kilometres (215 mi) in length. They contain three national parks, the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland, and the Peak District. The highest point in England, at 978 metres (3,209 ft.), is Scafell Pike in Cumbria. Straddling the border between England and Scotland are the Cheviot Hills. The English Lowlands are to the south of the Pennines, consisting of green rolling hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs—where they meet the sea they form white rock exposures such as the cliffs of Dover. The granite Southwest Peninsula in the West Country includes upland moorland, such as Dartmoor and Exmoor, and enjoys a mild climate; both are national parks

4. Government

The government in England is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional Monarch as Head of State, but the parliaments decides the laws and make decisions on running the UK. (Some issues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are now dealt with by their respective parliaments and assemblies.), and the leader is the first prime minister.

5. Tourist attractions

This country is very famous and the best time to visit England is in summer, because there are the most British holidays. England is a land of ancient cities, royal palaces, massive cathedrals, and legendary sites. Mighty castles, stately homes, glorious gardens, and tiny picturesque villages enhance the natural beauty of the countryside. The most wonderful and important places are: Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Hadrian’s Wall, The White Cliffs of Dover, Blackpool Tower, Buckingham Palace, The Palace of Westminster, Tower of London, The London Eye and St Paul's Cathedral.

6. Food

British food has traditionally been based on beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish and generally served with potatoes and one other vegetable. The most common and typical foods eaten in Britain include the sandwich, fish and chips, pies like the Cornish pasty, trifle and roasts dinners. Some of our main dishes have strange names like Bubble & Squeak and Toad-in-the-Hole.

7. Music

England has produced some of the world best music throughout history. In fact, as a country, England has spearheaded some of the world’s most significant musical movements and trends. Since its earliest days, English music has been particularly diverse and culturally relevant. It was made up of religious music, folk music, classical music and many other styles. England has a long and rich musical history. The Beatles became the most popular musicians of their time, and the composing duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, popularized the concept of the self-contained music act. Before the Beatles other English acts such as the Rolling Stones, Cream, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Who, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Iron Maiden, The Police and Pink Floyd to the globe. Some of England's leading contemporary artists include Eric Clapton, Elton John, George Michael, The Spice Girls, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, Def Leppard, Take That, Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Muse, Mumford and Sons, Amy Winehouse, and Adele.

8. Sport

Popular team sports in England: football, cricket and rugby. Major individual sports include badminton, athletics, tennis, golf, motorsport and horseracing. Football: Is the most popular sport in the UK, association football, was first codified in 1863 in London. Cricket: was invented in England and is widely covered in the media; England is a pioneering nation in the sport of Cricket. Rugby, The Rugby Football League developed after a number of leading clubs, that wished to be allowed to compensate their players for missing work, formed their own governing body in 1895 and subsequently the two organizations developed somewhat different rules.

9. Festivals

Traditional Holidays: England has various holidays January: 1st New Year's Day, 5th Twelfth Night. February: 1st Candlemas Day, 14th Valentine's Day. March: 1st St David's Day (Wales National Day), 17th St. Patrick's Day, (Ireland's Special Day). April: 1st April Fool's Day 23 St George's Day (England's National Day) May: 1st May Day. June: Trooping the Colours Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. July: Swan Upping. August: Notting Hill Carnival. September: Harvest Festival. October: 31st Halloween. November: 5th Bonfire Night ,11th Remembrance Day, 30th St Andrew's Day , (Scotland's National Day). December: Advent, 25th Christmas, 26th Boxing Day

10. Art – Religion

Religion Christianity is the most widely practiced and declared religion in England, After Christianity, the religions with the most adherents are Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, the Baha’i Faith, the Rastafari movement, Wicca and other neopagan movements. Many of England's most notable buildings and monuments are religious in nature, including Stonehenge, the Angel of the North, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. The festivals of Christmas and Easter are still widely commemorated in the country. Art English art is the body of visual arts made in England. Although medieval English painting, mostly religious, had a strong national tradition and was at times influential on the rest of Europe, it was in decline from the 15th century. The Protestant Reformation, which was especially destructive of art in England, not only brought the tradition to an abrupt stop but resulted in the destruction of almost all wall-paintings. Only illuminated manuscripts now survive in good numbers.

11. History

England has one of Europe's oldest and most influential national territories. What is now England, a country within the United Kingdom, The earliest evidence for modern humans in North West Europe is a jawbone discovered in Devon at Kent’s Cavern in 1927. Continuous human habitation dates to around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period. England, like all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth, was inhabited by the Celtic people known as the Britons, but also by some Belgae tribes in the south east. In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Romans maintained control of their Britannia through to the 5th century. The end of Roman rule in Britain enabled the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, which is often regarded as the origin of England and the English people. The Anglo-Saxons, a collection of various Germanic peoples, established several kingdoms that became the primary powers in what is now England and parts of southern Scotland They introduced the Old English language, which displaced the previous British language. The Vikings were frequent after about AD 800, and the Norsemen took control of large parts of what is now England. During this period several rulers attempted to unite the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, an effort that led to the emergence of the Kingdom of England by the 10th century. In 1066, the Normans invaded and conquered England. There was much civil war and battles with other nations throughout the middle Ages. The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state until the reign of Richard I who made it a vassal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1194. In 1212 during the reign of his brother John Lackland the Kingdom instead became a tribute-paying vassal of the Holy See, until the 16th century when Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church. During the Renaissance, England was ruled by the Tudors. England had conquered Wales in the 12th century and was then united with Scotland in the early 18th century to form a new sovereign state called Great Britain. Following the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain ruled a worldwide Empire, the largest in the world. Following a process of decolonization in the 20th century the vast majority of the empire became independent; however, its cultural impact is widespread and deep in many countries of the present day.