The United Kingdom is made up of four regions: Scotland, England, Wales, and

Northern Ireland. The government is a constitutional monarchy. Today, the British

king or queen is only a symbol of power. Parliament has the actual power to govern.
Two world wars and the end of empire diminished its role, but the UK remains an
economic and military power, with considerable political and cultural influence
around the world.
Britain was the world's first industrialized country. Its economy remains one of the
largest, but it has for many years been based on service industries rather than on
manufacturing.

History and politics

The King had absolute power until a revolt among high-ranking citizens in 1215.
Parliamentary government was established in 1689 by a Bill of Rights.
Scotland and England were joined in an Act of Union in 1707. Men and women got
the right to vote in 1918, although this was not on an equal basis until 1928.

British
The United Kingdom has controlled other countries and territories for a long time. It
has been exporting its culture around the world for hundreds of years.
Britain and the English language have been shaped by other cultures. Roman and
French invaders brought roads, law, and a strong Latin and French input to the
English language.
the early 18th century is known as the Augustan Age of English literature. The
poetry of the time was highly formal, as exemplified by the works of Alexander
Pope, and the English novel became popular, with Daniel Defoe's Robinson

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), by Mary Wollstonecraft, is one of the

earliest works of feminist philosophy.
In the 19th century, major poets in English literature included William Blake,
The Victorian period was the golden age of the realistic English novel, represented
by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens,
World War I gave rise to British war poets and writers such as Wilfred Owen,
Who wrote expectations of war, and/or their experiences in the trenches.
The most widely popular writer of the early years of the 20th century was arguably
Rudyard Kipling, the youngest ever recipient of theNobel Prize for Literature. His

novels include The Jungle Book, The Man Who Would Be King and Kimis a national
favourite
William Shakespeare is perhaps the most famous English playwright. He wrote plays in the late
16th century including Romeo and Julietand Macbeth. In the 19th century, Jane
Austen and Charles Dickens were popular novelists. Twentieth century writers include the
science fiction novelist H.G. Wells and J.R.R. Tolkien. The children's fantasy Harry Potter series
is written by J.K. Rowling. Aldous Huxley was also from the United Kingdom.
English literature is written by authors from many countries. The UK has eight Nobel
laureates in literature. Seamus Heaney is a well-known writer who was born in Northern Ireland.

Sport is an important part of British culture; numerous sports originated in the

country, including football. The UK has been described as a "cultural superpower",
[3][4] and London has been described as a world cultural capital.[5][6][7][8]

Society
Social Class System
was once a class-ridden society. Today, multiculturalism and a changing economy
aregradually eroding the British class system, but some features of the system still
remain
The British society has often been considered to be divided into three main groups
of classes:
the Upper Class
Often people with inherited wealth. Includes some of the oldest families, with many
of them being titled aristocrats.
the Middle Class
The majority of the population of Britain. They include industrialists, professionals,
business people and shop owners.
Lower or Working Class
People who are agricultural, mine and factory workers.
The British Class System today Although some people in the UK still refer to
themselves as "working-class", "lower-middle" or "upper-middle" (and of course
there are those who think of themselves as the "elite" class), to the majority of the
British the meanings don't seem to matter much these days.
People in the UK

21st century Britain has a very diverse population. The UK has always welcomed
immigrants and in the past fifty years numbers have dramatically increased, initially
from former British Empire countries and more recently from EU partners. Britain
has also welcomed many refugees.
The biggest changes have been in cities, where shops and restaurants sell food
from many different cultures. Pupils in some London schools have more than 50
different home languages.
Smaller towns and villages may retain a more traditional British culture. It is illegal
to discriminate against people in the UK because of their race, gender, sexuality or
disability. The UK is a very tolerant society and most people live happily side by
side.

Family life
Two-thirds of mothers of young children go out to work in the UK, often part-time.
Marriage rates are at their lowest since records began, as people increasingly live
together. On average, women marry at nearly 30 and men at 32.

Education
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have separate, but similar, systems of
education. They all have rules that education is required from ages five to eighteen. The
majority of children attend state schools but a small amount attend private schools.
Britain's most well known universities include the University of Cambridge and University of
Oxford,
Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each country having a
separate education system. About 38 percent of United Kingdom population has a
university or college degree, which is the highest percentages in theEurope, and
among the highest percentages in World.[427][428]