England

            England is located in Western Europe, between the North Atlantic and the North Sea. It is also Northwest of France. England has a total area of 244,820 sq km. The land area is 241,590 sq km. and the water area is 3,230 km. The weather in England is mostly controlled by the southwest winds over the North Atlantic making it cold and damp.

 The capital of England is London, and the government is the Constitutional Monarchy. Constitutional Monarchy is where the ruler’s powers are limited to those granted by the constitution and the laws of the nation.

Background History

          At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over 1/4 of the Earth. The first half of the 20th century saw the strength of England fall in World War 1 and 2, also through the Irish republic withdrawing from the union. The second half of the 20th century witnessed the falling of the Empire. Great Britain was a member of the EU, it chose to stay outside, for that moment, of the Monetary and Economic Union.  

Economy

             London is still one of the world's greatest ports. England exports manufactured goods. It imports metals, butter, raw sugar, meat, timber, wool, tea, and petroleum. Tourism is as important as engineering and scientific research.

Natural Resources

            England’s natural resources are coal, iron, ore, natural gas, petroleum, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silicate sand, slate, and arable land. 

Military

            You must be 16 or older of voluntary military services. Women also can join but they can’t be placed in ground combat positions and some naval positions.

Population

            England has a population of 60,609,153. The birth rate is 10.71 for every 1,000 people. Then the death rate is 10.13 for every 1,000 people. There are three main religions which are Christian 71.6%; Muslim 2.7%; Hindu 1%. Also there is other which has 1.6%; and unspecific or none is 23.1%. The ethnic groups are White which is 91.1%; Black 2%; Indian 1.8%; Pakistani 1.3%; mixed 1.2%; and other 1.6%.

Holidays

            England does not have a National Holiday but it does have holidays. Which are New Year’s Day January 1; Good Friday April 6; Easter Monday April 9; May Day May 7; Spring May 28; Christmas Day December 25; and then Boxing Day December 26.

Transportation

            In England there are 471 airports; then there are 137 airports with unpaved runways. There are 334 airports with paved runways. For railways there are 17,156 in all; there are 16,814 electric railways; 342 railways are left that are not electric. Lastly, there are 387,674 roads in England.

Education

        The English school year runs for September to July and is divided into Autumn, Spring, and Summer term. The Autumn term lasts from September to mid-December. Spring Term lasts from January to late March. The Summer Term lasts from mid-April to late July. There are two school systems and they are State and Private. The State goes to year 13, then the Private goes to Upper 11th . The objectives are English, Math, Design and Technology, Geography, Information Technology, Music, Science, Art, History, Physical Education (P.E.), and Modern Foreign Language.

Food

          Many of the dishes in England are based on meat, fish, potatoes, flour, butter, and eggs. Some of the most famous foods in England are Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. There is also Toad-in-a-hole, which is sausages covered in batter and roasted. Roast meats like lamb, beef, pork, or a whole chicken. Fish and chips are also popular, the chips are not like the chips we eat here in America, the chips that are eaten in England are what we call fries. More popular foods are a Ploughman's lunch, which is a piece of cheese, a bit of pickle, chunk of bread, and pickled onion. Also there is Shepherd's pie, Cottage pie, Gammon Steak (Ham) and egg, and many, many others.

Desserts

          There are many desserts, but I am going to name only a few. To start things off there is Spotted Dog, Trifle, Hasty Pudding, Bakewell pudding or Bakewell Tart. Also there are Custards, Bread and Butter pudding, Semolina Pudding, Roly poly and many, many more.

Clothes

         The clothes that people wear in England are much the same that we Americans wear. Like jeans, t-shirts, for shoes there are Nikes, and other sneakers to Wingtips. For the women there are boots, heels and flat shoes. At schools the kids have to wear uniforms, some uniforms have ties and jackets at other schools the kids wear more casual uniforms.