Great Britain position in relation to neighboring countries. Position in relation to neighboring countries. Major economic regions

EGP characteristic

Great Britain (United Kingdom) - island state, most of which is located on two large islandsx, separated by the waters of the Irish Sea. total area UK is 244,017 sq. km. The population of Great Britain is 58 395 thousand people.

The country is officially called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consists of four countries: England, Scotland and Wales, located on the island of Britain, and Northern Ireland. The latter is located on the same island as the Independent Republic of Ireland. Thus, Great Britain has a common land border only with Ireland.

The British Isles lie off the northwest coast of Europe. The British Isles are surrounded by many small islands. The Isles of Scilly are located southwest of the Isle of Britain and the Isle of Anglesey to the north of Wales. On the west and north coasts of Scotland there are numerous small islands that make up the UK. The most important of these are the Orkney Shetland Islands.

From the west, Great Britain is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east - by the waters of the North Sea.

In the south, Great Britain borders on France - the closest and most developed neighbor, having common water borders with it. The shortest distance to the northern coast of France is the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between the states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a high-speed rail tunnel was built at the end of the twentieth century. Prior to this, communication between the two countries was carried out by water or air.

Also, the closest neighbors of Great Britain are Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway are located much further.

Thus, the EGP of Great Britain is both a neighborly and a seaside one, which is extremely beneficial for the country's economic development, although, undoubtedly, it has certain disadvantages in strategic and military terms.

The administrative map of Great Britain has changed several times, because the accession of the countries that make up the United Kingdom lasted for centuries. Each once independent state has its own capital or administrative center. The official capital of Great Britain is London, since the unification of lands took place around England.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Great Britain, being in first place in the world in terms of economic development, created a colossal colonial power, occupying almost a quarter of the planet's territory. The British colonies included India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and much of Africa. In the twentieth century, the English colonies became independent states, but many of them are part of the British Commonwealth, headed by the British monarch. In 1921 the southern part of Ireland seceded from Great Britain and became an independent state.

Modern administrative division UK

The UK is one of the most densely populated and highly urbanized countries in the world. On average, there are 230 people per 1 square meter. However, the population is distributed very unevenly across the country. The bulk of the UK population is concentrated in England, which has the most convenient geographic location, favorable natural conditions and playing a leading economic role throughout the history of the British Isles. Here the average density increases to 356 people per 1 sq. km. Within England itself, the country's main industrial belt, stretched along the London-Liverpool axis, is most densely populated: half of the entire population of Great Britain lives in this belt. The most sparsely populated areas are in Scotland, with its harsh natural conditions compared to other parts of the country and less developed economy. For 1 sq. km. It has an average of 86 people, with the population concentrated mainly on the coasts, valleys and lowlands (especially around Glasgow and Edinburgh), while some highland areas are practically deserted.

By the end of the nineteenth century. 3/4 of the population of Great Britain lived in cities, and the prevailing type of population was already large conurbations. Since the beginning of the twentieth century. there is an intensive relocation of rural residents to cities, where almost 4/5 of the country's population now live. It is difficult to draw a line between urban and rural settlements in a highly urbanized country like the UK. Many villages have turned into "dormitories" for nearby cities: villagers travel to the cities every day to work.

There are about a thousand cities in the UK. Half of the country's urban dwellers are concentrated in seven conurbations. One of them - Central Clydesad (1.7 million people) - is in Scotland, and the rest in England. These are Tynesad, which is home to 0.8 million people, West Midlands (2.4 million), Southeast Lancashire (2.3 million), West Yorkshire (1.7 million), Mersnside (1.3 million) and Greater London (7 million). More than 1/10 of the townspeople live in cities with a population of more than 200 thousand people in each, of which Sheffield and Edinburgh each have more than half a million inhabitants. The average in the UK includes 75 cities with a population of 50 to 100 thousand people. Five conurbations and half of all large and medium-sized cities in the country are concentrated in the industrial belt along the London-Liverpool axis, which is partly called the metropolis.

One of the consequences of the development of conurbations, and especially of their central cities, is the excessively high population density. In this regard, measures are being taken to unload them: part of the surplus population is moving to the suburbs or to new expanding medium-sized cities.

In the "hierarchy" of British cities, London undoubtedly occupies a leading position as the capital, the main political and cultural Center country, one of its largest industrial centers, the largest seaport and the leading city in the most important economic region of Great Britain - South England. In addition to London, many more "metropolitan" functions are performed by 10 more cities of Great Britain: Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively; Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and Bradford, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool are central cities of conurbation and regional centers. In addition, over 150 cities in terms of the number of inhabitants and the role they play in the life of the surrounding territories are higher than the bulk of cities. These cities are called "City", all the rest - "town".

There are few countries in the world in which seaside towns occupied such an important place as in Great Britain, in which 44 out of 100 large cities are seaside. London emerged primarily as a seaport for trade with continental European states; Through Gul (Hull), trade has long been conducted with the countries of the basin Baltic Sea; Bristol and Liverpool served as gateways to New World... Near large industrial centers are the seaside resort cities: Brighton and Margate - near London, Blacknool - near the Lankshire coal basin, Scarborough - on the coast of Yorkshire. All the original buildings gravitated towards the sea. All specialized apartments were built along the coast, and then - housing.

Much faster than other cities, in the past two centuries, the largest industrial centers have grown near coal and iron ore deposits: Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Belfast, Middleborough, etc. The developing industry demanded more and more workers, and workers' quarters hastily built up by speculators were often slums from the start. Homes for workers were built to a single standard. Most often these are monotonous "terraces" - rows of adjacent houses of the same type. The monotony of workers' quarters in industrial cities is disturbed only by the huge smoky buildings of factories and plants, warehouses and gas distribution stations. The railway here, as a rule, goes to the very center of the city and serves as its "skeleton". The old quarters of industrial cities are overgrown with new buildings, in which the industrial zone is separated from the residential.

Until very recently, all cities in Great Britain grew mainly in breadth, since low-rise buildings are cheaper and more in line with the tastes and traditions of the British. Until now, some are still reluctant to settle in apartment buildings, since this means living without their own, even tiny, garden. Cities are increasingly expanding their territory due to the growth of suburbs, absorbing already scarce land resources. Only in the last decade, multi-storey apartment buildings have begun to appear in British cities, but housing in them is very expensive. Therefore, most Britons continue to live in old houses, many of which were built in the last century. An acute housing crisis, accompanied by an increase in rents, is one of the most serious socio-economic problems in the country.

In Great Britain, there are mainly two types of rural settlements. In the low-lying eastern part of England, the population lives mainly in the villages. The forms of villages are varied: more often with a star-shaped plan, less often with an ordinary one, with a street plan.

There are many medium-sized farms everywhere that operate without the use of hired labor. Smallholder farming is concentrated mainly in Scotland and Wales. The densest network of villages is in northeast Yorkshire, where they are often no further than 2.5 km. apart. The density of rural and semi-rural settlements is exceptionally high in the main industrial belt of the country and around the Tynesad and Clydeside conurbations. Here, the settlements in which workers employed in industrial enterprises of conurbations live, interspersed with villages, farms and individual farms.

EGP characteristics of Great Britain

1) Great Britain (United Kingdom) is an island state, most of which is located on two large islands separated by the waters of the Irish Sea.

It consists of four countries: England, Scotland and Wales, located on the island of Britain, and Northern Ireland. Great Britain has a common land border only with Ireland.

From the south, Great Britain borders on France - the closest and most developed neighbor, having common water borders with it.

Also, the closest neighbors of Great Britain are Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway are located much further.

2) The Isles of Scilly are located southwest of the Isle of Britain, and the Isle of Anglesey to the north of Wales. On the west and north coasts of Scotland there are numerous small islands that make up the UK. The most important of these are the Orkney Shetland Islands. From the west, Great Britain is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east - by the waters of the North Sea.

The shortest distance to the northern coast of France is the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between the states is through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a high-speed rail tunnel was built at the end of the twentieth century. Prior to this, communication between the two countries was carried out by water or air.

3) The main sources of energy are coal and oil, to a lesser extent - natural gas. The coal mining industry is one of the oldest industries in the UK. The main mining areas are Cardiff, South Wales and Central England (Sheffield).

The UK is characterized by a temperate and fairly humid climate. Therefore, most of the used rural land is occupied by pastures (about 80%). A smaller part of the territory is occupied by agricultural crops, which are mainly grown in East Anglia. One of the main crops is sugar beet grown in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, where the main sugar refineries are located. Other important crops are wheat, barley and oats grown in England, Northern Ireland and the east coast of Scotland.

Dairy farming also plays an important role in UK agriculture. Dairy cattle are raised mainly in the southwest of England.

Since the United Kingdom has been a maritime power since ancient times, fishing is considered a traditional trade. The main fishery is cod, flounder, herring, whitefish, trout, oysters and crabs.

4) The administrative map of Great Britain has changed several times, because the accession of the countries that make up the United Kingdom lasted for centuries. Each once independent state has its own capital or administrative center. The official capital of Great Britain is London, since the unification of lands took place around England.

The country is located in the British Isles in northwest Europe. Consider the UK's EGL - first its geographic aspect. Great Britain is made up of four major provinces: England, Wales, and Scotland. The EGP of Great Britain is largely determined by its insular position. The British Isles are the largest archipelago in Europe. It includes two large islands (Ireland and Great Britain) and more than five thousand small ones. The southern part of the island of Great Britain is located at latitude fiftieth, and the northern part of the archipelago (Scottish Islands) is at sixtieth degrees north latitude. The distance from the northernmost point of the island of Great Britain to its southernmost point is 966 kilometers, and its greatest width is 508 kilometers. The geographic location of Great Britain is such that it is washed by the waters of the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and the southern part of its coast is located only thirty-five kilometers from the northern coast of France. They are separated by the English Channel. equal to 243,810 square kilometers.

Areas of England located on the plains are of great importance for agriculture. A little later, the mountainous terrain began to be mastered. An important incentive for this was at first the pastures, and then the mineral resources. Historically, in the course of geological evolution, various minerals began to form in the bowels of the British Isles. Almost all known minerals are found on the territory of the country, only diamonds are missing.

In the central part and in the north of England are the Pienin Mountains, which are composed of coal rocks. Karst sediments are widespread in their northern part. The foothills of these mountains are rich in coal deposits. On the basis of these deposits, large mining and industrial centers of the Yorkshire, Lankshire and other coal basins were formed, the estimated reserves of which amount to more than four billion tons.

In most of England, flat plains and hilly cuesta ridges alternate. Cuestas are most often composed of limestone or writing chalk, and the plains are represented by looser rocks: sand, clay, marl. All of these sedimentary rocks have accumulated in ancient marine basins.

Small elevations in the Midland plains are associated with deposits of iron ore and coal. Here is one of the largest deposits of iron ore - 60% of all its reserves are concentrated in the East Midlands.

Consider now the economic side of the UK EGP .

The country's agriculture is characterized by a very high intensity. It is well equipped and produces 60% of the food the UK needs with just 2% of its human resources. The leading ones are chemical and petrochemical, and oil, oil refining, mechanical engineering, ferrous metallurgy.

The per capita is $ 36,600 per year. The 13th place in the world in terms of living standards is occupied by Great Britain. The country's economy is one of the most developed in the world. The country has a developed mechanical engineering, which is focused mainly on the production of non-standard equipment, as well as different types and types of machines.

The country has well-developed electronic and electrical engineering, large-scale automobile manufacturing, aircraft engineering, shipbuilding, and machine tool manufacturing. The chemical and petrochemical industries, the production of lifting and transport equipment and industrial equipment, as well as the oil refining and pharmaceutical industries, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy are widely represented. Great Britain is in one of the first places in the world for the export and production of dyes, and plastics, detergents, chemical and mineral fertilizers.

Thus, we have presented in the article information reflecting the EGL of the UK.

The position of the country in relation to neighboring countries is often called This is a rather complex and multifaceted category. She will be discussed in this article. What are the characteristics of the economic and geographical position of the leading states of Eurasia - Japan, Great Britain, France? And how profitable is it?

Country position in relation to neighboring countries

The countries of our planet differ significantly from each other. And not just in terms of size, population, or cultural background. There are other factors that largely determine the welfare of the state. So, some countries have extensive access to the ocean, while others are closed inside the continent. Some states are located at the intersection of important transcontinental transport routes, which gives them enormous benefits in the form of profits from the transit of goods by other subjects of the world economy. All these factors can be attributed to the concept considered in this article.

So, the position of the country in relation to neighboring countries is called the economic and geographical position of the state (abbreviated as EGP). However, this is a very narrow interpretation of the concept. EGP is a very complex and multifaceted geographical category. In a broad sense, EGP is the position of a country (as well as a city or region) relative to those geographic sitesthat can have an impact (positive or negative) on its economic development.

EGP can be central, peripheral, deep or marginal. It can be assessed globally or regionally.

When characterizing the EGL of a particular state, many factors should be taken into account. It:

access to the sea (the World Ocean);
number of neighboring countries;
sales opportunities for their products;
the presence of large fuel and raw material bases;
position in relation to important transport routes, etc.

Interestingly, some countries are successfully taking advantage of their geographic location. Other states have not yet learned this art. The Soviet scientist-geographer Nikolai Baransky was the first to seriously study the theoretical aspects of the concept of EGP.

The situation in relation to neighboring countries is often also called. However, in this case, it is exclusively about political factors, the nature of the relationship of a particular state with its neighbors, and the like.

EGP characteristics of France

France is one of largest countries in Europe. It includes Corsica, as well as a number of small islands in the Mediterranean. In addition, France owns overseas departments and territories virtually all over the world.

France's position in relation to neighboring countries can be described as advantageous. It borders on eight states. France maintains good-neighborly and close relations with each of them.

The country is located in Western Europe and has access to Mediterranean Sea in the south and towards the Atlantic in the west and northwest. The coastline within the state is indented by numerous bays, convenient for the entry of large international ships.

EGP characteristics of Japan

Japan is an archipelago country in East Asia, which consists of six thousand islands of various sizes. From the east, the territory of the state is washed by the Pacific Ocean, from the west - by the waters of three seas, which separate it from the "mainland".

The position of Japan in relation to neighboring countries can be generally considered advantageous. Due to its location at the junction of the largest continent and the largest ocean on the planet, the country has received many opportunities for establishing international contacts and marketing its products.

Japan is frankly unlucky with natural resources and relief. About 80% of its territory is not suitable for the development of the economy and the construction of residential buildings (due to mountain landscapes). In addition, there are practically no minerals in the country.

EGP Assessment UK

Great Britain resembles in many ways This country is also located on, however, not on the eastern, but on the western edge of Eurasia.

Great Britain is washed by the waters of the Atlantic and two seas - the North and the Irish. It is separated from the mainland by the 35-kilometer English Channel. It has a common land border with only one country - Ireland.

Thanks to its geographical position, England received the unofficial status of the "sea queen of Europe" several centuries ago. The relief and natural and climatic conditions also contribute to the development of the country's economy.

Conclusion

The term EGP refers to the position of a country in relation to neighboring countries. It can be central, deep or marginal, profitable or disadvantageous. Moreover, not all states make effective use of their geographic location.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is located in the British Isles. It is the largest archipelago in Europe. It includes two large islands - Great Britain and Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, and another 5 thousand small islands, among which three groups of islands in the north stand out: Hybrid, Orkney and Scottish. The territory of the country is 244.1 thousand square meters. km, this is half the size of the largest states in Western Europe - France and Spain.

Great Britain has a complex administrative division. It consists of 4 historical and geographical regions: England (45 counties and a special administrative unit - Greater London); Wales (8 counties); Northern Ireland (26 counties); Scotland (12 regions); independent administrative units - the Isle of Maine and the Channel Islands.

To a certain extent, fast economic development Great Britain was promoted by a favorable geographic position. This sea power, in the past "great sea power", is located on the continental shelf. The British archipelago is separated by the shallow North Sea from the developed countries of the Western and Northern Europe (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany), narrow English Channel (20 km) and Pas-de-Calais (33 km) from France. A railway tunnel running along the bottom of the English Channel connects the UK and France, and it ends the country's maritime isolation.

The country's role in the international arena is great. Great Britain - a member of the UN since 1945, a permanent member of the Security Council, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1949, a member of the European Union since 1973, the Western European Union since 1954 Head of the British Commonwealth, created in 1931 and includes 50 states, former British dominions and colonies, maintaining close economic and political ties with Great Britain. Great Britain has been a member of the military-political organization NATO since 1949 and possesses nuclear missiles. Plays an important role in such international economic organizations as the Paris Club and the London Club, which regulate the monetary and financial problems of the West and largely determine the policy of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Natural conditions and resources. The natural resource factor had a great influence on the formation of the territorial structure of the economy.

Great Britain has a variety of landforms: mountainous relief prevails in the north and west, and flat - in the east. Highest point country - Mount Ben Nevis (1343 m) is located in mountainous Scotland. The Penninsky Ridge, stretching from north to south, has the greatest length. A vast hilly plain occupies the southeast and center of the country, and the flattest lowland, Fenland, surrounds Wash Bay. In Scotland, the Lowlands stretches between the North and South Highlands.

The climate of Great Britain is temperate, oceanic, very humid with mild winters and cool summers. The British Isles are characterized by frequent fogs and strong winds. The temperate oceanic climate and the influence of the warm North Atlantic Current create favorable conditions for the development of agriculture (in the southwest, plants grow all year round). High soil cultivation is an important factor in increasing the productivity of agricultural crops.

Rivers in the British climate are full of water. The largest are the Thames, Severn, Trent, Mersey.

The importance of estuaries of rivers, which protrude far into the land, is very important, as well as the general large ruggedness coastline... This allowed the creation of many ports. Rivers as a source of energy are used only in the highlands of Scotland and North Wales.

In general, the country does not have significant reserves of minerals, with the exception of fuel and energy. Coal reserves are estimated at 190-200 billion tons. Total and recoverable reserves amount to about 50 billion tons (first in Western Europe). The main deposits are located in the Mid-Scotland Lowlands.

In the 60s, oil fields were discovered on the North Sea shelf, the explored reserves are estimated at 2.4 billion tons, which is approximately 35% of the oil reserves of the entire North Sea shelf (2% of world reserves). About 50 deposits have been found, the largest among them - Brent and Fortis together account for 33% of the total production volume.

Large natural gas fields were discovered in the western part of the North Sea in 1959. In 1965, 70 km. commercial gas production began to the east of Clintorpes. Its total reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion. cub. m. Currently, 37 out of 60 natural gas fields are being developed.

The UK also has other minerals. Iron ores, mostly phosphorous, of low quality

The UK has minor reserves of tin in Cornwall, lead-zinc ores in Wales and uranium ores in Scotland.

Kaolin is mined in Cornwall; rock salt in Cheshire and Durham; potassium salts - in Yorkshire.

UK population. The main productive force of society is the population. In 2000, the total population of Great Britain was 58.6 million people, natural population growth - 0.1% per year.

The dominant and most numerous nation of Great Britain is the British; they make up 80% of the population (about 46.9 million people). They inhabit England proper, most of Wales and form compact settlements in some areas in the south of Scotland. English language belongs to the northwestern group of Germanic languages. English is also spoken by the majority of the country's population of Celtic origin - Scots and Welsh.

Of the Celtic peoples of Great Britain, the most numerous are Scots, whose number exceeds 5.1 million people (10%). They inhabit mainly the northwestern regions of the island of Great Britain and the Scottish, Orkney and Hebrides islands adjacent to their coast.

The Scottish language is based on one of the northern dialects of the Anglo-Saxon language. The Scottish language included many words from the Gaelic that it supplanted, in addition, the influence of the Scandinavian languages \u200b\u200bwas noticeable on it.

From the XIV to the XVII century he was the state language Scottish state. With the loss of Scotland's independence, the Scottish language is gradually being replaced by English.

IN last years in Scotland, a national movement took on a large scale. The nationalist ideas of this movement are developed by the Scottish National Party, created in 1928, which is fighting for a democratic solution to the social and national problems of Scotland.

The historical fate and ethnic development of the Welsh (about 2.1 million people, less than 4% of the total population) were different from that of the Scots.

Wales was conquered early by the British; its population was more assimilated than the Scots.

For many years, there has been a fierce struggle in Northern Ireland, annexed to the British state in 1922, while the rest of Ireland has achieved independence. The United Kingdom then included six counties from the nine Irish provinces of Ulster. The ethnic composition of the population of this area is heterogeneous. It is home to about 500 thousand indigenous inhabitants of the island (these are Irish Catholics) and more than 1 million Anglo-Irish and Scotch-Irish. Such a composition of the population developed here in the 17th - 18th centuries. during the period of intensified colonization of Ireland by the British government.

Unlike the rest of Ireland, where land was distributed to large English owners - landlords, in Ulster, plots of land were allocated to small and medium-sized tenants, British and Scots from the southern part of Scotland.

Thus, in Ulster, historically, there were three groups of the population that differed among themselves in religion and culture, and were wary, and sometimes even hostile, towards each other. The eastern regions of Northern Ireland were occupied by immigrants from Scotland - Presbyterians, the central and northern provinces were settled by the British, belonging to the English Church, in the extreme western and border areas with Ireland lived the remnants of the indigenous population - Irish, Catholics in their religion.

Over time, there was a rapprochement between the English and Scottish settlers on the basis of common interests, and now they are already opposing the indigenous Irish Catholics with a united front. Power in Northern Ireland is concentrated in the hands of this Protestant majority, and Irish Catholics are discriminated against in a wide variety of areas. Very often this is presented in the media as a simple religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants. In fact, the causes of the struggle in Northern Ireland represent a complex knot of national, socio-economic and regional contradictions, the roots of which go back centuries.

A fairly large group of the population (about 500 thousand people) in the UK are Jews, who live mainly in London and other large cities.

After the Second World War, in connection with large-scale reconstruction work and the development of productivity, the influx of workers from European countries to England increased. Now in the UK there are 1 million immigrants from various European countries, and the total number of foreign citizens in the UK is over 2.5 million people, or less than 5% of the total population of the country. In addition, from 50 to 60 thousand temporary workers from Europe arrive in the country every year (most of all from Italy, and now from Eastern Europe). Since the 1950s, the flow of immigrants from the Commonwealth countries, from the West Indies, India and Pakistan has increased dramatically. The position of this category of citizens is very difficult. Most of them are employed in unskilled jobs, in the service sector, etc.

The rise in the number of immigrants from the former English colonies gave rise to the question of racial relations. The government, in its special acts, is attempting to restrict immigration from its former colonies.

Great Britain is one of the most densely populated and highly urbanized countries in the world.

On average, 1 sq. km accounted for in 2000, 246.3 people. However, the population is distributed very unevenly across the country. The bulk of the inhabitants of Great Britain are concentrated in England, which has the most advantageous geographical position and favorable natural conditions. Here the average density per 1 sq. km exceeds 356 people. Half of the UK population lives in the London-Liverpool belt. The most sparsely populated areas are in Scotland, with its harsh natural conditions compared to other parts of the country. The population density here is less than 90 people per 1 sq. km, with the population concentrated mainly on the coasts, river valleys and lowlands (especially around Glasgow and Edinburgh).

In 2000, 89.4% of the population lived in cities. The growth rate of the urban population is 0.4% per year. The so-called English metropolis is being formed, uniting the metropolitan areas of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and other cities, in total there are 30 urban agglomerations. The total area of \u200b\u200bthe metropolis is 50 thousand square meters. km, population - 30-35 million people.

The average life expectancy is high, for men - 75 years, for women - 80.5 years.

The total number of labor resources is about 30 million people. A positive trend in the economy is that the number of people employed in physical and low-skilled labor has decreased, and, on the contrary, the number of people employed in jobs requiring high qualifications has increased.

In 2000, the unemployment rate was 6.3% (1,812 thousand people).

The share of the population living below the poverty line, according to UN experts, is 10.6%; living below the average income - 50%, 13.1% - have an income of $ 14.4 per day.

Political system. Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. The country does not have a constitution in the form of a single basic law. Legislative acts adopted by parliament and judicial precedents have constitutional significance.

The head of state - Queen Elizabeth II (from 6.02.1952), who belongs to the Hanoverian dynasty of English monarchs, is the 40th British monarch since the Norman conquest of England (1066). The Queen is considered the supreme bearer of executive power, the head judicial system, the supreme commander of the armed forces, the secular head of the Anglican Church, has the formal right to convene parliament in session, to dissolve the House of Commons, to authorize bills passed by parliament, to ratify international treaties. In practice, however, all major royal prerogatives are exercised by the cabinet and parliament.

The state legislature is the parliament, which consists of two chambers. The House of Lords includes about 1,200 hereditary and life peers, lords - judges of appeal and "spiritual lords" (two archbishops and 24 bishops, of the Church of England) and the highest court of appeal. The House of Commons is an elected body of 649 deputies, elected for a five-year term by a plurality majority, by direct and secret ballot on the basis of universal suffrage.

In the absence of a constitution and according to the provision of "parliamentary sovereignty", the parliament is not bound by previously adopted decisions and can annul acts of constitutional significance. British courts are deprived of the right to revise or repeal acts of parliament and are obliged to apply not the provisions arising from the UK's international legal obligations, but the norms of parliamentary status.

The general elections in May 1997 gave the Labor Party an absolute majority in the House of Commons (418 seats). The Conservatives have 165 seats, the Liberal Democrats 46, the Ulster Unionist Party 10, the Scottish National Party 6 and the Welsh National Party 4.

The government is formed by the leader of the party that won the majority of seats in the House of Commons. In 1997, Tony Blair became prime minister. The Laborites replaced the Conservatives who had been in power for 18 years.

Political parties. The Conservative Party took its organizational form in 1867 (about 1.5 million members). Domestically, the party pursued a course of broad social and economic reforms, including decentralization and privatization of the economy. In foreign policy, conservatives are characterized by an all-NATO approach to solving international problems. The party shares the concept of "nuclear deterrence", stands for the preservation of "special relations" with the United States, for the modernization of Britain's nuclear potential, for the continuation of the country's membership in NATO and the EU. Differences remain in the ranks of the Conservatives on the issue of European integration, which made it difficult for the Maastricht Agreements to pass through parliament, which are regarded by the majority in the party leadership as a worthy compromise that takes into account British national interests.

The Labor Party of Great Britain (LPV) was formed in 1890 and unites 6.4 million collective and individual members. As an ideological basis, he puts forward the principles of "democratic socialism", in economic policy he adheres to the concept of a mixed economy.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was formed in 1988 through the merger of the liberal and social democratic parties, which since 1981 have acted in the political arena in the alliance, unites about

60 thousand people. The LDP's political platform is centrist, largely a compromise (between the two main parties) and vague. Its main components: the need to preserve the UK's nuclear weapons and the country's membership in NATO. In internal matters, the LDP also follows an intermediate line, advocates the fight against unemployment, the priority solution of social problems, the cessation of further denationalization, but in general it relies on a market economy and the development of competition.