The position of Great Britain in relation to neighboring countries. Economic and geographical characteristics of the country of Great Britain

1. Compare on the map the EGP of Germany and Great Britain. What are the benefits UK EGP?

Germany and the UK occupy a favorable EGP, although there are certain differences between them. Germany is at the crossroads transport routes, the most important of which have a latitudinal direction. They shortcuts from Western Europe to Central Europe. Of particular importance for the country is direct access to the North Sea, on the coast of which there are several ports of world importance (Hamburg).

Great Britain is an island state. It is located at the crossroads of international sea ​​routes. EGP of the country improved after the completion of the tunnel, which is laid in the narrowest part of the English Channel and connects about. Great Britain with the mainland.

2. What factors contributed to the development of the country's economy? To answer, involve knowledge of geography, history.

Great Britain is an island state. The nodal position on the most important lines of shipping and world trade, passing through the English Channel and Pas de Calais, provides extensive links with the regions of the world.

Mild winters and cool summers, a significant amount of precipitation make it possible to grow all crops temperate zone although the soils are not very fertile.

The mineral resources of Great Britain are diverse (coal, metal ores, etc.), but their long-term exploitation has led to the exhaustion or depletion of many of them. The “gift” for the country was the discovered oil and gas fields in the North Sea, thanks to which the UK (along with Norway) has become the largest producer and exporter of oil and gas among European countries.

Until the end of the XIX century. this country was the most powerful empire in the world, the birthplace of capitalism and the earliest industrial revolution.

3. Choose the correct statements:

1) In the UK, 9/10 of cargo turnover is in the navy.

2) The structure of agriculture in the UK is dominated by crop production.

3) The country is characterized by low natural population growth.

4) 90% of UK residents live in cities.

4. What causes the aging of the country's population?

The aging of the country's population is due to low birth rates.

5. Give a description of one of the UK industries (optional) according to the plan given on p. 119-120.

In the largest branch of British industry - engineering, 25% of all employed in the manufacturing industry work. Transport engineering dominates. Now, in terms of car production, Great Britain ranks 8th in the world (1296 thousand cars and 273 thousand trucks). On average, 40% of automotive products are exported. The UK is the world's largest exporter of trucks. Some brands of British cars (Land Rover, Rolls-Royce) have become the standard of the automotive industry. Almost all mass-produced cars and trucks are produced by several major British Leyland automobile companies, factories of the international American company Chrysler U.K. and subsidiaries of the American firms Vauxhall and Ford. The first major automotive industry in the British Isles was the West Midlands, centered on Birmingham. The second area was the south-east of England (with centers in Oxford, Luton and Dagenel). In connection with the government measures to decentralize industry, three new car factories were built in Merseyside and two in Scotland (outskirts of Glasgow and Edinburgh). One of the fastest growing branches of engineering is aircraft manufacturing. The dominant company here is British Airspace. Helicopters are manufactured by another large firm, Wesland Aircraft. Almost all the production of aircraft engines in the country is concentrated in the hands of the Rolls-Royce company, which has factories in Derby, Bristol, Coventry and the cities of Scotland. In terms of aircraft production, Great Britain is second only to the United States in the world. It produces about 20 types of vehicles: military, passenger, cargo and small planes for special purposes. Together with the French, the Concorde supersonic passenger liner was created. Great Britain is also known for its shipbuilding. Shipbuilding is varied and of high quality, but the British build ships slowly and are very expensive. From the stocks of British shipyards tankers descend, passenger liners, barges, excavators, trawlers, submarines, icebreakers, seabed drilling rigs, yachts. The largest center of shipbuilding in the British Isles is the mouth of the River Clyde in Scotland. Two others major centers located on the rivers Wear and Tyne. In Northern Ireland, the largest shipyard in Europe has been built on Queens Island. However, this industry is currently British economy is in crisis.

6. What is the structure of agriculture? What is it due to?

The country's agriculture is highly commercial, specialized, capitalist. The share of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the structure of GDP (1991) - 1.8%. Agriculture employs 2% of the population. 19 million hectares are used for agricultural production. Almost all land is cultivated by farmers. The area of ​​land occupied by one farm is approximately 100 hectares. However, there are also huge agricultural associations, the lands of which reach 1600 hectares. The main branch of animal husbandry is the breeding of highly productive beef and dairy cattle. Animal products provide 70% of the value of agricultural products. Livestock areas - the highlands of Wales, Northern England and Scotland. The main part of arable land is located in the eastern part of the island of Great Britain, where there is relatively little rainfall, low-lying and fertile soils. Oats, barley and wheat are sown from grain crops. Areas under corn have increased. The traditional crop - potatoes - is widespread everywhere. Fodder beet and cabbage are also grown for livestock feed. Kitchen gardens, orchards and greenhouses occupy 1.5% of agricultural land and provide 12% of the value of agricultural products. An important branch of crop production is the cultivation of flowers - pale yellow daffodils, "Dutch" tulips, hyacinths, etc. Fishing plays an important role in the country's economy. The main fishing ports are located on east coast, not far from which in the North Sea is the shoal of Dogger Bank, where about 2 million tons of fish are caught per year. The fishing fleet consists of 11 thousand vessels.

The area is 244.8 thousand km2. Population - 60.4 million people

A constitutional monarchy is a unitary state with autonomous entities (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). Capital -. London

EGP

Great Britain is an island state in the northeastern part. Atlantic Ocean, from the mainland. Europe is separated by a strait. English Channel. Except the island. Great Britain, it includes the north-eastern part of the island. Ireland and a number small islands. In the west, the state borders with. Ireland, which was a colony for more than 700 years. UK her. The nearest neighbors on the mainland -. France i. B elgium. UK is a member. EU,. NATO and other integration associations, which contributes to the development of pan-European cooperation.

Great Britain is a central state. The Commonwealth is a political and economic association of countries and territories that were previously part of. British. Empires (49 states and territories) in the composition. The Commonwealth includes 14 states, among them such highly developed ones as. Canada,. Australia,. New. Zealand*.

Location. Great Britain on the islands contributes to the development of maritime transport and access to international maritime trade routes. A tunnel laid at the narrowest point of the strait. English Channel, connects. Great Britain with the mainland. This greatly improves it. EGGP.

Population

In terms of population, the country ranks second among European states after. Germany. For. Great Britain has long been characterized by low natural population growth, which today is more than 1 per 1,000 people per year. For several years, even a slight decrease in the population of the state was observed. Now in. Britain's population is slowly growing due to the insignificant nature of one increase and the influx of foreigners. The low birth rate against the background of a significant average life expectancy (78 years) leads to the aging process of the nation.

The national composition of the population is motley. More than 80% are British, about 4% - Welsh (Welsh), 2% - Irish, about 5.2% - Scots and over 4% - immigrants from the states. Commonwealth and others. From the middle of the XX century about. 3000 people from Ukraine. Residents by religion. Great Britain belong to three denominations: the British and the Welsh are supporters of the Protestant Anglican Church; the Irish are Catholics; Scots are Protestants (Presbyterians).

Placed population. Great Britain on the territory unevenly. Average density The population is about 240 people per 1 km2. The highest population density in England (350 people per 1 km2), the smallest in. Scotland India (more than 100 people per 1 km2). More than 90% of the population lives in cities. For. Great Britain is characterized by large agglomerations with a population of over 1 million people, in which one third of the urban population lives. Together with smaller agglomerations (about 30 in all) they form. English metropolis with population. 3 million people. Bridge-millionaire two -. London (7.6 million people) i. Birmingham. The countryside, in terms of the way I live, differs little from Miss Mist.

In the structure of employment of the population, about 80% are employed in the service sector, 19% - in industry and 1% - in agriculture. There is unemployment in the country, on average it reaches 5.5% annually.

Natural conditions and resources

. Island. Great Britain is rich in coal resources, whose reserves are currently very depleted. Largest coal basins -. Yorkshire, Newcastle (Northern England) and. Welsh. Oil and gas reserves are significant (shelf. North Sea). B. British sector. The North Sea contains significant deposits of oil and natural gas. Great Britain is the only European country of the "Big Seven" that fully meets its needs with its own oil and natural gas

The Nadra Islands contain small reserves of iron ore in the central coastal parts of the state, lead-zinc and tin ores on the peninsula. Cornwall (southwest. Great Britain). In the central parts. England has deposits of table and potash salts.

The state is relatively rich in water resources (the humid climate contributes to the full flow of the rivers). Only in the center. England is in short supply water resources. Insignificant water resources are concentrated in the rivers. S. Scotland and. Wales.

Forest reserves in the country are insignificant. Only 10% of its territory is covered with forests and only 15% of the timber demand is covered by its own resources.

The country is dominated by a flat terrain. Significant areas are occupied by old destroyed mountains (Cambrian, Peninsky), which do not have a significant impact on the nature of the development of the territory

The country's climate is temperate maritime with mild winters and cool summers. It contributes to the cultivation of all crops of the temperate zone. On the western coast of the island, 2000 mm of precipitation falls, and on the eastern coast - 600 mm of precipitation on the river.

The UK has limited farmland resources. The soils of the state are quite fertile (brown forest, podzolic), but require a significant amount of mineral and organic fertilizers.

In the north. Scotland hosts a large lake district, characterized by significant recreational resources

In the most ancient times, the island was inhabited by island Celts, which included such a people as the Britons. In 43 AD the southern and eastern part of the island was conquered by the Roman Empire, whose power lasted for about 400 years. In the 5th-6th century, the territory was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons (the Romans left the island). These are German tribes. They conquered mainly the center and the east. In the 9th century, the state of England was formed here. Later, England was conquered by the Normans, who brought feudalism here. In the 13th century, Wales was annexed to England and a centralized state began to form, which finally took shape in the 15th-16th centuries. In the middle of the 17th century, Ireland was captured by the British, which in 1921 received the status of a dominion and only its northeast became part of Great Britain. In the 17th century, earlier than in other states, a bourgeois revolution took place, which replaced the feudal system with a capitalist one. Earlier, the development of capitalism created the conditions for the production of a huge amount of goods, new markets were required. Therefore, Great Britain began an active policy of capturing new overseas territories and turning them into its rich colonies. By the end of the 18th century, Great Britain had become the greatest maritime power and the greatest metropolis in the world. In the middle of the 19th century, the first in history carried out an industrial revolution. By the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, Great Britain was ahead of the USA and Germany in terms of development rates. In the 1930s, the gradual disintegration of the colonial system began, which hit the country's economy. The First and Second World Wars lead to a serious crisis in the economy. In the 1940s and 1950s, the country's economy was almost completely dependent on the United States. The country emerged from the crisis by the 60s, and in the 70s began restructuring the economy, taking into account scientific and technological innovations.

EGP. Great Britain is located on the islands and is located in the northwestern part of Europe. It has a favorable neighborly position, since the first-order maritime neighbors are the highly developed countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Western and of Eastern Europe. They are all members of the EU, with which the UK has close economic ties. The country is washed by the non-freezing waters of the seas of the North Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain is separated from the mainland by the English Channel and the Pas de Calais. In various historical periods, the coastal position of the country was either very beneficial (especially during the period of the Great Geographical Discoveries) or served as a certain isolating factor. Communications with the rest of Europe improved with the construction of the Eurotunnel in 1994 between Calais in France and Dover in the UK.

Natural resource potential

The orographic conditions of the country are such that, in fact, along the line of New Castle-Shelfield-Bristol, the country is divided into mountainous northern and western and hilly-flat eastern. Orography influenced the development of agriculture and resettlement. The territory of the country is more favorable for the development of animal husbandry.

Mineral resources. Of the industrially significant, only fuel resources can be noted. Coal reserves are allocated (180 billion tons). There are about 6 large basins in total, only 3 are the most significant: Yorkshire, Northumberland, Wales. Mostly coal seams are represented. Oil and gas reserves were discovered in the 60-70s of the 20th century on the shelf of the North Sea. The total oil reserves are 2 billion tons, gas - 2 trillion cubic meters. Iron ores, in fact, are not mined. Rock and potash salts are mined in the Yorkshire region. Uranium ore is mined in Scotland.

Agro-climatic resources. The climate is temperate oceanic with western drift, there is a lot of precipitation (600-3000 mm), winters are mild with positive temperatures. Vegetation is poor, grain crops ripen poorly, but meadows and pastures are juicy.

Land resources. Podzolic and brown forest soils predominate under natural pastures. The best lands are concentrated in the southeast of Great Britain, where the climate is most comfortable for the country. 77% of the territory is suitable for agricultural work. In the structure of agricultural land, arable land - 65%, pastures - 32%.

Forest resources. Natural forest cover is 9% of the territory. Broad-leaved species predominate, conifers in Scotland. The volume of forests satisfies the needs of the country by 15%.

Water resources. Due to the peculiarity of the cool climate in the country, there are a huge number of rivers and lakes. The rivers are full-flowing, but short. The largest: Thames, Severn, Trem. Used for shipping.

Ministry of General and Vocational Education

Sverdlovsk region

State educational institution

initial vocational education

Vocational school for the training of trade workers

Economic-geographical

country profile

Great Britain

Essay

Executor:

Telitsyna M.M.

student of group No. 21

Supervisor:

geography teacher

Khorzova T.V.

Ekaterinburg

Introduction……………………………………………………………….…3

1. Territory, borders, position of the country…………………………....4

2.natural conditions and resources……………………………………......5

3.Population………………………………………………………………….7

4.Economy and industry………………………………………...8

5.Agriculture…………………………………………………….11

6.Transport………………………………………………………………….12

7. Science and finance………………………………………………………….13

8. Recreation and tourism …………………………………………………….......15

9. Security environment and environmental problems…………....18

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….19

Annex 1…………………………………………………………….20

Annex 2…………………………………………………………….21

Annex 3…………………………………………………………….22

Annex 4…………………………………………………………….23

Appendix 5…………………………………………………………….24

References…………………………………………………………25

Introduction

I chose the topic "Economic and geographical position of the UK" because it is the UK that is closer to me than all other countries, of course, not counting Russia. I would like to visit this country, its cultural places and learn more about it than my superficial knowledge.

To write an essay on this topic, you need to study four sources that accurately describe the position of Great Britain. And based on these sources, it is necessary, on the basis of the questions raised, to show the current state of the country and draw a conclusion about its state.

Great Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is an irregularly shaped archipelago with a very diverse landscape and nature. The area of ​​the UK is about 240,842 sq. km. Most of it is land, and the rest is rivers and lakes. The area of ​​England is 129,634 sq. km., Wales - 20,637 sq. km., Scotland - 77,179 sq. km. and Northern Ireland - 13,438 sq. km. The southern tip of the island of Great Britain, the Cornwall peninsula, is located at 50 ° N, and the most Northern part archipelago Shetland Islands- at 60° N The length of the island of Great Britain from north to south is 966 km, and its greatest width is half that. Great Britain has a complex administrative-territorial 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 districts); Scotland (12 regions); independent administrative units are the Isle of Man and the Channel 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. From the south, Great Britain borders on France - the closest and most developed neighbor, which has common water borders with it. The shortest distance to north coast France - the Strait of Dover, but the main communication between the states is carried out through the English Channel, called the English Channel by the British, along the bottom of which a tunnel for high-speed rail traffic was laid at the end of the twentieth century. Prior to this, communication between the two countries was carried out by water or by air. Also, the closest neighbors of Great Britain are Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway are located much further. Thus, the UK EGP is both neighboring and seaside, which is extremely beneficial for economic development country, although it has some disadvantages in strategic and military terms.

The total population (according to 2008) is 61,113,205 people. Age structure: up to 14 years - 16.7%, 15-64 - 67.1%, from 65 and older - 16.2%. The average age of men is 39 years, women - 41 years. The average composition of a family is 2 children and parents. population rural population- 11%, rural population density - 242 people. per 1 km sq. The total number of economically active population is 29 million people. In cities with a population of St. 100 thousand people almost half of the country's population lives. The largest cities in terms of the number of inhabitants: London (6,803,000 people), Birmingham (935,000 people), Glasgow (654,000 people), Sheffield (500,000 people), Liverpool (450,000 people), Edinburgh (421 000 people), Manchester (398,000 people), Belfast (280,000 people). In the UK, the birth rate exceeds the death rate, the rapid birth rate can be seen in the table (Appendix 1) from 1976 to 2009. Indigenous people make up 92% of the population (2001, census), of which:

British - 83.6%,

Scots (mainly in Scotland) - 8.5%,

Welsh (mainly in Wales) - 4.9%,

Irish (mainly in Northern Ireland, Ulsters) - 2.9%.

Immigrants and their children live mainly in conurbations Greater London, West Midlands and Merseyside. They make up about 8% of the country's population, including:

• immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - 3.6%,
• China - 0.4%,
• African countries - 0.8%,
• black people from the islands caribbean - 1 %

The current monarch is Elizabeth II, who began her reign on February 6, 1952. Her eldest son, Prince Charles, is her heir. The Prince of Wales performs various ceremonial functions, as does the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In addition, there are several more members of the august family: children, grandchildren and cousins. Thus, the population is growing due to labor immigrants from countries that have recently entered into European Union, which, after the enlargement of the EU in May 2004, was allowed free entry to work in the UK. Nevertheless, the birth rate in the country still exceeds the death rate, although natural increase is no longer the dominant factor in the increase in the British population.

Features of the EGP. The country is located in the British Isles in the northwest of Europe. Let’s look at the UK PGP – first
its geographical aspect. Great Britain consists of
four large provinces: England, Wales, North
Ireland and Scotland. UK EGP in many ways
its insular position. British
The islands are the largest archipelago in Europe. In its composition
includes two major islands(Ireland and UK) and
more than five thousand small. Southern part of the island
Great Britain is in the fiftieth and northern
part of the archipelago (Scottish Islands) - on the sixtieth
degrees north latitude. Distance from the northernmost
points of the island of Great Britain to its southernmost point
equals 966 kilometers, and its greatest width is 508
kilometers. Geographical position Great Britain
such that it is washed by the waters of the North Sea and
Atlantic Ocean, and South part its coasts
located only thirty-five kilometers from
north coast of France. They are separated by the English Channel. The area of ​​Great Britain is 243,810
square kilometers.

Natural resource potential.

characteristics of the UK population.

Characteristics of the population of Great Britain.

Great Britain: population and economy

Ecological problems.

External economic relations of Great Britain