Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is a prominent member of th EU and one of the largest economies in the world. Bounded by craggy cliffs and rocky shores, the British Isles literally reek of history and dominated the world politics in the first phase of the 20 th century. Perhaps the greatest cultural export of the island is the English language, the current lingua franca of the international community.

The country, formed on January 1, 1801 from the merger of the kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland , is almost double the size of New York State . It comprises four home nations: England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland with the capital being London .

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a queen and a Parliament that has two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Its population in 2004 exceeded 60 million-third largest in the EU, almost one-third of it living in England ’s prosperous and fertile southeast.

As a result of its rich colonial past, the United Kingdom is a melting pot of cultures, races and creeds where people of different ethnic backgrounds live and work peacefully. The island is a blend of contrasts- the quiet countryside with its pub and vicarage and the vibrant cities with pulsating nightlife. Almost every nook and cranny is beautiful making it virtually impossible to list here the hundreds of tourist sites in the UK . However, a visit to the isle is not complete without a trip to the Big Ben, the parks and art galleries of London .

The British are passionate about their football and most are ardent supporters of one football club or the other. Some important events in the cultural calendar are the Chelsea Flower Show at London 's Royal Hospital in the bacchanalian Glastonbury Festival music extravaganza which swamps the village of Glastonbury in June; and the riotous Caribbean carnival in London 's Notting Hill in late August.