Natural Resources

About 75 per cent of the land area is suitable for agriculture. Around 40 per cent of
this is suitable for arable farming, concentrated mainly in eastern and south-central
England, and eastern Scotland. The majority of land is under grass and given over
to livestock grazing. Most sheep and cattle are reared in the Scottish Highlands,
and on the hill and moorland areas of Wales, Northern Ireland, and northern and
south-western England.
Forests and woodlands cover about 10 per cent of the UK (it is way below the 25
per cent average for Europe). The managed forest area has doubled since the
founding in 1919 of the Forestry Commission that is responsible for the protection
and development of Britains forest and woodland resources.

Britain has relatively few mineral resources; natural gas and oil dominates the
production over construction (gypsum, clay, etc.) and industrial (salt, potash, etc.)
minerals. The coal deposits of north-central England, Wales, and Scotland, and the
iron ore deposits of the Pennines area played an important role in Britains
development as the worlds first industrial nation. Since the end of World War II
the iron-ore and tin-mining industries have been declined by the exhaustion of
reserves. The last surviving Cornish tin mine continued a 3,000-year-old tradition,
dating back to the
Phoenicians, until its closure
in 1998.
In contrast, Britain has the
richest energy resources of the
EU - including large deposits of
coal, mined for more than 300
years (however coal production
is down to one fifth compared to
its peak at the beginning of the
20th century.), and oil and
natural gas, both primarily found
in the British sector of the North Sea, off eastern Scotland and eastern England respectively.
Oil was first discovered in 1969 and production began in 1975; by 1980, 15 fields were
producing almost all of Britains requirements. In the mid-1990s over 100 fields were in

production, and Britain was within the worlds top-ten oil producers (now the 13th).
Production of natural gas began in 1967; today Britain is the worlds fourth-largest gas
producer.

Coal(Non-Renewable Resources)
For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, coal was
England's richest natural resource, meeting most
of the nation's requirement for energy. Today,
coal can be produced more cheaply in other
countries and so many British factories and mines
have closed.In 1970 we were the third largest
producer of coal but coal production has declined
rapidly sine then. In 2000, only 35 million tonnes
of coal was produced compared to 145 million in
1970.Areas like south Wales, central Scotland, the north of England (the Midlands,
Merseyside, Manchester, West Yorkshire and Newcastle) and London were important
industrial centres.

In 2012 the oil and gas industry in the United

Kingdom produced 50 million cubic metres of
petroleum, of which 98% was produced from offshore fields.
[1]
Almost all UK oil and gas production comes from
offshore, where there is a network of 14,000 km of
pipelines linking 107 oil platforms, 181 gas platforms
and a large number of subsea installations. There are
383 producing offshore fields, including 17 which
started production in 2008.[2]From the late 1970s to the
early 2000s, the United Kingdom was a major exporter
of oil and gas. The UK is now a net importer of oil and gas.

National Parks in the United Kingdom

Ten National Parks were created in England and Wales at during the 1950s; three in Wales
and seven in England. The establishment of National Parks in Scotland (for long one of only
four countries in the world without) has just finished. Altogether they cover more than 10%
of the land in the United Kingdom. National Parks aim both to protect the outstanding
countryside within their boundaries and to provide opportunities for outside recreation for
their many thousands of visitors each year. The largest Park is The CairngormsN.P. in
Scotland (3,800 sq km). The three National Parks in Wales account for about the 20 per cent
of the total land area. They are so called "working" or lived in landscapes, where people
and nature co-exist.
England
[1] Dartmoor
[2] Exmoor
[3] Lake District
[4] North York Moors
[5] Northumberland
[6] Peak District
[7] Yorkshire Dales
[8] The Broads*
[9] The New Forest, 2005
[10] South Downs**
Wales
[11] Snowdonia
[12] Brecon Beacons
[13] Pembrokeshire Coast
Scotland
[14] Cairngorms National Park, 2003
[15] Loch Lomond, 2002

The Cairngorms National Park officially opened on the 1st of September

2003. It is Scotland's second national park, and the U.K's largest at 3800
square kilometres (1400 square miles).

Physical Tourist Attraction

The physical geography of the UK varies greatly. It

includes the chalk cliffs of Kent [1] and Dorset [2], the
rolling hills and fields of southeast England, the granite
cliffs of Cornwall [3], the mountains of Wales [4], the
uplands of the Peak District [5] and the Pennines [6],
the lakes and mountains of Cumbria [7], the Scottish
lowlands [8], highlands [9] and islands, and the fields,
lakes and mountains of Northern Ireland [10]. The
country can be roughly divided into highland and
lowland along the Tees-Exe line (on the map) that links
the mouth of the River Tees, the north east of England
with the mouth of the River Exe in Devon, the south
west.

Scotland
Wales
England
Northern Ireland

The highest mountains are in...

1344 m
Ben Nevis
1085m
Snowdon
978 m
Scafell Pike
852 m
Slieve Donard

The largest lakes are in...

Loch Lomond
Scotland
Lake Vyrnwy
Wales
Windermere
England

71 sq km
8.3 sq km
14.8 sq km

Northern Ireland

Lough Neagh

The longest rivers are in...

River Tay
Scotland
River Towy
Wales
River Thames
England
River Bann
Northern Ireland

382 sq km (

65% of lake

Balaton)

188 km
103 km
346 km
122 km

The longest river in the UK is the River Severn (354 km) which flows through both
Wales and England. As a result of its industrial history, the United Kingdom has an
extensive system of canals, mostly built in the early years of the Industrial
Revolution, before the rise of competition from the railways. The United Kingdom
also has numerous dams and reservoirs to store water for drinking and industry.

There are many types of physical tourist attraction to United Kingdom

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.

Natural Landscape
Plateau
Island and Beaches
River and Lake
Hill and Mountain
Dessert and Valley
Sea and Oceans
Artificial waterways
Coastline

Artificial waterways

As a result of its industrial history, the United Kingdom has an extensive system
of canals, mostly built in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, before the rise
of competition from the railways. The United Kingdom also has
numerous dams and reservoirs to store water for drinking and industry. The
generation of hydroelectric power is rather limited, supplying less than 2% of British
electricity mainly from the Scottish Highlands.

A canal boat traverses the longest and highest aqueduct in

the UK, at Pontcysyllte in Denbighshire, Wales

Coastline[edit]

United Kingdom maritime claims

The UK has a coastline which measures about 12,429 km. [13] The heavy indentation of the
coastline helps to ensure that no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters.
The UK claims jurisdiction over the continental shelf, as defined in continental shelf orders or in
accordance with agreed upon boundaries, an exclusive fishing zone of 200 nmi (370.4 km;
230.2 mi), and territorial sea of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).

The cliffs are on on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a
geological wonder of the UK

Demography

At the April 2001 census, the United Kingdom's population was 58,789,194
(This has risen to 60,441,457 according to July 2005 estimates) - the thirdlargest in the European Union (behind Germany and France) and the 22st-

largest in the world. The total population of England is estimated at 49.1 million
(84%), Wales is estimated at 2.9 million (5%), Scotland (8%) at 5.1 million and
Northern Ireland at 1.7 million (3%) people. Its overall population density is one

of the highest in the world. Almost one-third of the population lives in

England's prosperous and fertile southeast and is predominantly urban and
suburban - with about 7.2 million in the capital of London. England has the
highest population density and Scotland has the lowest. In 2001 there were 61
cities in the UK: 49 in England, five in Scotland, four in Wales and three in
Northern Ireland. City status is a mark of distinction granted by the personal
Command of the Sovereign, on the advice of his or her Ministers.
The population of Britains major
cities is as follows (2001 census):

Age 0-14 years: 17.7% (

structure: 15-64 years: 66.5% (

England
London 7,172,091
Birmingham 970,892
Liverpool 469,017
Leeds 443,247
Sheffield 439,866
Bristol 420,556
Manchester 394,269

Scotland
Glasgow 629,501
Edinburgh 430,082
Aberdeen 184,788
Dundee 154,674

Wales
Cardiff 305,340
Swansea 225,000
Newport 139,500

Northern Ireland
Belfast 276,459
Derry 90,736

15.6%)
69.2%)

65 years and over: 15.8% (

15.2%) (2005 est.)

Population 0.28% (
-0.25%) (2005 est.)
growth
rate:
Life total population: 78.4 years (
expectancy
68.5%)
at birth: male: 75.9 years (
female: 81.0 years (

72.7%)

77.1%) (2005 est.)

Ethnic 2001 census:

groups:

Religions:
The United Kingdom has one of the lowest levels of worship in the
world, with less than 8% of people actually attending any form of
worship on a regular basis (of whom the majority are of middle-aged
and older generations).
The main religion in the UK is Christianity, first introduced by the

Romans.
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church
in England. It was established in 597 by Augustine of Canterbury on
behalf of Pope Gregory I, but split from Rome in 1534 during the reign
of Henry VIII of England. The Church of England is a state church, and
its bishops sit in the House of Lords. The British monarch is required
to be a member of the Church of England under the Act of Settlement
1701 and is the Supreme Governor. The Church of England is based at
Canterbury Cathedral and the Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior
clergyman. The Church in Wales was disestablished in the 1920s,
although remains in the Anglican community.
The Church of Scotland (known informally as The Kirk) is the
national church of Scotland. It is a Presbyterian church and is not
subject to state control. The British monarch is an ordinary member,
although the monarch is required to swear an oath to "defend the
security" of the Church at their coronation. Splits in the Church since
the reformation have led to the creation of various other Presbyterian
churches in Scotland.
The Catholic Church in Great Britain is the second largest
denomination of Christianity in the UK. Although after the
reformation, strict laws were passed against Catholics; these were
removed by the Catholic Emancipation laws in the 1850s.
In the latter half of the 20th century, large scale immigration from the
Commonwealth countries has led to the introduction of other religions
that are popular amongst ethnic minorities. This has included religions
such as Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism.

United Kingdom Demographics Profile 2014

Population

63,742,977 (July 2014 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 17.3% (male 5,660,891/female 5,380,448)

15-24 years: 12.6% (male 4,116,859/female 3,945,146)
25-54 years: 41% (male 13,299,731/female 12,843,937)
55-64 years: 11.5% (male 3,621,110/female 3,702,717)
65 years and over: 17.5% (male 4,990,024/female 6,182,114)
(2014 est.)

Dependency
ratios

total dependency ratio: 54.8 %

youth dependency ratio: 27.2 %
elderly dependency ratio: 27.6 %
potential support ratio: 3.6 (2014 est.)

Median age

total: 40.4 years

male: 39.2 years
female: 41.6 years (2014 est.)

Population
growth rate

0.54% (2014 est.)

Birth rate

12.22 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Death rate

9.34 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Net migration
rate

2.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 79.6% of total population (2011)

rate of urbanization: 0.76% annual rate of change (2010-15
est.)

Major cities population

LONDON (capital) 9.005 million; Birmingham 2.272 million;

Manchester 2.213 million; West Yorkshire 1.625 million;
Glasgow 1.137 million; Newcastle upon Tyne 874,000 (2011)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
Infant mortality
rate

total: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 4.86 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy
at birth

total population: 80.42 years

male: 78.26 years
female: 82.69 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.9 children born/woman (2014 est.)

Contraceptive
prevalence rate

84%
note: percent of women aged 16-49 (2008/09)

HIV/AIDS - adult
prevalence rate

0.2% (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS people living with

HIV/AIDS

85,000 (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS deaths

fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)

adjective: British

Ethnic groups

white 87.2%, black/African/Caribbean/black British 3%,

Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%, Asian/Asian British: Pakistani
1.9%, mixed 2%, other 3.7% (2011 est.)

Religions

Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian,

Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, none
25.7%, unspecified 7.2% (2011 est.)

Languages

English
note: the following are recognized regional languages: Scots
(about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic
(about 60,000 in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the
population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of
Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 in Cornwall)
(2012)