Customs information of countries around the world

Britain is a world industrial power and maritime hegemon in the19th century, and also the birthplace of early parliamentary democracy. It used to have advanced science and technology and a high artistic level. At its peak, the British Empire once controlled a quarter of the world's territory, which was called the "empire that never sets". However, in the first 50 years of the 20th century, after two world wars, Britain's national strength declined sharply. In the second half century, this huge colonial empire collapsed, and Hong Kong's sovereignty was handed over to the people of China on 1 July, 19971,marking the end of the British colonial era. Britain itself has developed into a modern and prosperous European country. Although she is a member of the European Union, Britain refuses to join the euro zone for domestic political and economic reasons. Constitutional reform is also a problem facing Britain now.

Britain is a member of the Commonwealth (the successor organization of the British Empire), the European Union and NATO. She is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power.

See also: British monarch, British history, English history, Irish history, Scottish history, Welsh history, British royal flag.

[Editor] Politics

See also: British politics

The democracy adopted in Britain is a constitutional monarchy with the capital in London. Britain's current monarch (and head of state) is Elizabeth II, who was crowned in 1953. Today, her role is mostly symbolic, and the political power of the country is controlled by the British Parliament.

In the past, Britain was a very centralized country, and the British Parliament in Westminster Parliament in London was responsible for the political affairs of the whole kingdom. But in recent years, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all established their own decentralized governments with different degrees of autonomy.

See: English law.

[Edit] Administrative Region

See: British boroughs.

Britain is divided into four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and then divided into:

Administrative Regions of England (see List of English Counties)

List of divisions in Scotland

List of divisions in Wales

Northern Ireland partition list

England is divided into nine administrative regions: Northeast England, Northwest England, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East England, Greater London, Southeast England and Southwest England. In addition to the 32 district councils in Greater London, each district has a county or special jurisdiction.

Scotland includes 32 municipalities. There are 22 municipalities in Wales, 24 municipalities in Northern Ireland, 2 cities and 6 counties.

Britain also has several colonies of different natures:

British territory

British colony (British colony)

The British monarch is also the symbolic head of state of other 15 countries, although Britain's political influence on these countries is very limited.

See also: British cities

[edit] geography

See: British geography.

Most parts of England are rugged and mountainous in the north. Major rivers include Thames and Severn River, and major cities include London, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Birmingham. The English Channel Tunnel near Dover Harbour connects Britain and France on the other side of the channel.

The topography of Scotland is diverse, with plains in the south and highlands in the north and west. Welsh terrain is rugged, and most of it belongs to the cambria Mountains. Northern Ireland is mountainous and the main city is Belfast.

[Editor] Territorial dispute

Spain has Gibraltar, Argentina has Falkland Islands and Ireland has Northern Ireland.

[edit] economy

See also: British economy

As an important trading partner and financial center, Britain is one of the largest capitalist economies in Western Europe. In the past two decades, the government has drastically reduced state-owned assets and slowed down the development of social welfare projects. Agriculture in Britain is centralized, highly mechanized and very efficient. 1% of the working population can meet about 60% of the food demand. Britain has a large number of coal, natural gas and oil reserves; Britain's main energy output accounts for about 10% of the total GDP, which is very high among industrialized countries. The service industry, especially banking, insurance and commercial services, accounts for the largest proportion of GDP, while the importance of industry is declining.

[edit] population

See also: British population

According to the statistics in 2000, the population of Britain was about 58 million.

Language [edit]

The official language is British English. There are other official languages outside England, such as Welsh, Scottish Gaelic (Scottish Garcai) and so on. People who immigrate to Britain from all over the world also speak their mother tongue.

[edit] culture

See also: British culture

William shakespeare is one of the most famous playwrights in the world, while other famous English writers include the Bronte sisters, agatha christie, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, J·K· Rowling and Tolkien. In addition, famous British political thinkers include John Locke, who first put forward the theory of "separation of powers", Thomas Moore and robert owen, representatives of utopian socialism.

There are various musical cultures in contemporary Britain. In classical music, famous orchestras from Britain include BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra. Most world-famous musicians were born in England.

Major musicians

The Beatles

Creeping gravel

Led Zeppelin

Dark purple

Black Christmas

queen

sex pistols

police

Pink Floyd

Radio commander

David Bowie

Coldplay

hot chick

Robbie Williams

Motorhead

dark

British theatrical performances are also famous internationally, such as the Royal National Theatre.

Remarks on the Chinese translation of place names on holiday date 1

65438+1 October1New Year's Day ...

65438+1The day after New Year's Day on October 2nd is only applicable to Scotland.

March 17 St. Patrick's Day, a Catholic festival, is only applicable to Northern Ireland.

The Friday before Easter.

..... Easter Monday, the first Monday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, does not apply to Scotland.

..... bank holidays in early May, bank holidays in early May, the first Monday in May.

..... the last Monday in May.

July 12 2 Orange Festival (Boyne Battle Day) is only applicable to Northern Ireland.

..... the last Monday in August.

165438+ bonfire night1unofficial holiday on October 5th.

65438+Christmas on February 25th ...

Boxing Day (Opening Day) on February 26th, 65438. ...

Annotation translation

Unless otherwise stated (see remarks), the above holidays are generally applicable to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The date of the holiday depends on the announcement of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

[Editor] Education

There are two most famous universities in Britain: Cambridge University and Oxford University, collectively known as Oxford and Cambridge. They have trained countless famous scientists, writers, philosophers, politicians and engineers for Britain and the whole world, such as isaac newton, Shelley, Byron, james watt, Charles Darwin and-{zh-CN: Tony Blair; Zh-tw: Tony Blair; Zh-hk: beria}-,Stephen Hawking, alexander fleming, etc.

See also: British universities

References:

Wikiweb

Australia

Guo Tu

Australia is an island country with an area of 7.7 million square kilometers and a coastline of 36,700 kilometers. The population is about180000.

Australia is the lowest and flattest continent in the world. At the same time, it is also the driest continent except Antarctica. According to the division of climatic zones, northern Australia is tropical and central Australia is a vast arid zone. The climate in the south is mild.

human

Australia's population density is very small, with an average of only two people per square kilometer. As far as population distribution is concerned, it is mainly concentrated in cities. Most people live in two coastal areas-one is from South Australia, passing through Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales to the southeast coastal area of Queensland, and the other is the southwest coastal area of Western Australia. In these two regions, people live in central cities, and more than 70% of them live in the capitals of eight states and regions and six other big cities with a population of 65438+ 10,000 or more.

According to the 1995 census, there are 30326 1 aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia, accounting for 1.5% of the total population of China. Only 28% of them live in the capital, and the rest mainly live in northern and central Australia and northern New South Wales. In the northern region, they account for about 23% of the total population.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was established in March at telephone number 1990. It is an important institution for the Australian Government to implement the policy of autonomy for indigenous peoples and Torres Strait Islanders, and it is also a decision-making body to deal with indigenous affairs. In order to promote the management and implementation of the relevant plans of the federal government, the Committee organized indigenous representatives, policy makers and administrators in the same institution.

At the end of 1993, the Australian government enacted "indigenous land ownership" into law, which provided an opportunity for indigenous people, that is, if other citizens can prove that they have a traditional and continuous relationship with this land, they can claim their due land ownership. This historic legislation is the result of the judgment of the Federal High Court on the Mabo case, which overthrew the era when Australians settled in Australia.

Since World War II, the population of Australia has grown at an unprecedented rate due to the government's promotion of large-scale immigration. 1947 was 7.5 million, and 1994 increased to17 million. During the period of 1967, with the large-scale immigration, the government abandoned the "White Australia" policy, and the ethnic composition of Australia changed greatly.

Australian residents come from more than 200 countries. 199 1 year, nearly 25% of the total population was born overseas. About 70% of overseas-born people who have settled in Australia come from non-English-speaking countries. Of the total population 1986, Anglo-Celtic ethnic groups account for about 75%, other European ethnic groups account for 20%, Asian ethnic groups account for 4.5%, and aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders account for 1%. Due to interracial marriage and the current immigration trend (1992- 1993, about 43.2% of immigrants come from Asia), the racial composition of Australian society will continue to change.

The Australian government has comprehensively formulated a series of policies to manage various ethnic groups. These policies inherit the tradition of freedom and democracy in Australia, attach importance to human rights, and especially advocate pragmatic solution to problems rather than relying solely on laws and regulations. These include immigrant settlement and English training programs, ensuring equal services and qualifications of government departments, and organizing multicultural and multi-ethnic language broadcasting activities funded by the public. In addition, we also pay attention to depicting and publicizing ethnic diversity, promoting friendly relations in communities and opposing alienation, and study how to best use languages of other ethnic groups except English. The government has also established a system to fairly recognize skills acquired outside Australia.

1989. On the basis of the above policies, the "Australian Multiculturalism National Plan" was formulated. The guiding principles of this plan are social justice, the right of all ethnic groups to enjoy their own cultural characteristics and paying attention to economic interests. As a result, a society in which different ethnic groups have obviously gained a comfortable mood and cohesion has emerged.

At present, the birth rate in Australia is relatively low, with an average birth rate of 1.85 per woman. However, compared with some developed countries in Europe, North America and Japan, the birth rate is still high. At the same time, Australia has the lowest mortality rate and the longest life expectancy.