Great Britain urban and rural population. Peoples of Great Britain: culture and traditions. Culture and life of the peoples of Great Britain

Four Nations

Some people call Britain England. This is not entirely correct and may cause a negative reaction from representatives of other nations. In addition to the English, the British Isles are also home to the Scots, Welsh and Irish. The political rapprochement of these nations was a difficult process that took several centuries. It formally ended in 1800, when the Irish Parliament joined the Parliaments of England, Scotland and Wales at Westminster and the British Isles became a single state - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, in 1922, most of Ireland seceded to form an independent state.

Initially, the four nations were quite different in almost every aspect. Ireland, Wales and the Scottish Highlands were inhabited by Celts; England and lowland Scotland - mostly Germanic. This naturally manifested itself in language differences. The Celts spoke Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh; The Germans used Germanic dialects, one of which gradually transformed into modern English. The economy and laws were also different.

And although today all these differences have been largely erased, they have not completely disappeared. All people who are British citizens have the same passports and the same government. But at the same time, the Welsh, Scots and Irish largely retain their national identity.

Characteristic features of national identity

Last names, first names, nicknames. The prefix "MAc" or "Mc" indicates a Scottish or Irish surname (eg McCall, MacCarthy, MacDonald).

The prefix “O” certainly indicates that the surname is Irish (O’Brain, O’Hara).

Many surnames indicate Welsh origin, although they are found throughout England; these include Davis, Evans, Jones, Lloyd, Morgan, Price.

In England and Scotland the most common surname is Smith.

Sometimes the name indicates nationality. So, Ian is the Scottish version of the name John, and the Irish version of this name is Sean.

Nicknames are also often used. Thus, friends may call a Scotsman Jock, regardless of his real name. The Irish are called Paddy or Mick, the Welsh are called Dai or Taffy. But in the mouth of a stranger who is not a friend, the nickname sounds offensive.

Cloth. Short plaid men's skirts (“kilts”) are a well-known symbol of Scotland. Scots men still wear them on some national holidays, although, of course, they don’t wear them in everyday life.

Musical instruments. The harp is considered to be a symbol of Wales and Ireland. The bagpipe is a traditional Scottish instrument, although a smaller variety is also used in Irish music.

Stereotypes. Different stereotypes are attributed to representatives of different nations in Britain. Thus, the Irish are considered very talkative, the Scots have a reputation for being careful with money, and the Welsh are famous for their singing abilities. And although these qualities are not inherent in every representative of the nation, they characterize the attitude towards a particular stereotype of behavior among the population.

Briton (British). Citizen of the United Kingdom. This word is used in official documents and situations. "Ancient Britons" (Ancient Britons, Britons) - people who inhabited England before and during the occupation of the Romans (43 - 410). They are the ancestors of the modern Welsh.

Caledonia, Cambira, Hibernia. This is what the Romans called Scotland, Wales and Ireland, respectively. Nowadays, these words are used in academic classifications (for example, the variety of English spoken in Ireland is called Hiberno? English), the names of various organizations (an example is the British Caledonia airline).

Erin. Poetic name for Ireland. There is one more thing - The Emerald Isle, - emphasizing the lush greenery of the territory.

English influence

The Irish, Scots and Welsh have characteristic stereotypes and nicknames, but not the English. Perhaps this is one of the manifestations of the clear predominance of English culture in modern Britain. The country's political system is of English origin. The main language is English. Many aspects of daily life are organized according to English traditions and practices. This predominance was achieved not through mutual agreements, but due to the obvious economic and military superiority of England. In modern life this predominance manifests itself in various aspects. Money flows in the country are controlled by the Bank of England (the Bank of Britain simply does not exist). The Queen's name is Elizabeth II. Elizabeth the First, Queen of England and Wales, reigned from 1553 to 1603, and accordingly Scotland and Ireland never had an Elizabeth the First. In newspapers and on television they talk about Anglo-American relations, meaning the relationship between the governments of Britain and the United States (and not England and the United States).

The distribution of population within the United Kingdom is the result of many years of migration of people from Scotland, Wales and Ireland to England.

Living in England, emigrants, as a rule, retain their national identity. Even second and third generation emigrants who were born in England. This is especially evident in sports. A person from Scotland, even someone who has lived in England all his life, will root for the Scottish team rather than the English team. This also applies to those British citizens whose roots lie outside the British Isles. They usually don't mind being called British (many are even proud of it), but they don't like to be called English. And if the Indian team plays cricket against the English team, then people from India in the overwhelming majority of cases will still root for the Indian team.

Flags

The Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom, is a combination of the cross of St. George, the cross of St. Andrew and the cross of St. Patrick.

Climate

It has already been noted that the British tendency to compromise is associated to a certain extent with the country’s climate. Whether this is true or not is not clear, but it is certain that the climate and landscape of Britain are completely devoid of extreme manifestations. There are mountains in Britain, but none of them are very high; it also has plains, but traveling through any of them you soon encounter hills; it does not have very large rivers; it is usually not very cold in winter or very hot in summer; there are no active volcanoes, although the news sometimes reports small fluctuations in the earth's crust.

The climate of Britain is in many ways similar to the climate of the northwestern part of the European continent. The popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain is completely untrue. The image of a rainy, foggy land was created two thousand years ago by the Romans and then immortalized by Bellywood. In fact, the annual rainfall in London is no higher than that of other major European cities, and in some it is even inferior. In general, the further west you go, the rainier the climate.

Winters in Britain are mild and snow regularly occurs only in mountainous areas. On the plains, winter can pass without any snow at all. Winters in the east of the country are slightly colder than in the west; summers are slightly warmer in the south than in the north.

Why then has the British climate acquired such a reputation? Apparently for the same reason that the British give the impression of people talking about the weather all the time. It's all about climate changeability. The proverb even states that in Britain there is no climate, only weather. Clear sunny weather can persist for many days, and yet there is no certainty that the next day will not rain. July can have cool (and even cold) days, while January can be quite warm.

The extremes are not typical for the British climate, and so if the occasional very hot or very cold day occurs, the country is completely unprepared for it. A little snow and a few frosty days - and trains stop and roads become blocked. Once the thermometer rises above 80°F (27°C), people begin to act as if they were in the Sahara Desert in the midst of a heat wave.

The climate of the British Isles is influenced by the proximity of the ocean and especially the Gulf Stream. The most severe weather conditions are in the mountains of Scotland, Wales and Northern Scotland; In the western part of Great Britain the climate is wetter than in the eastern part due to the prevailing westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean. The oceanic nature of the UK climate is reflected in the prevalence of unstable weather with gusty winds and dense fog throughout the year. Winters are very wet and unusually mild, with a sharp temperature anomaly (about 12–15 °C) compared to mid-latitude values. The average temperature of the coldest month - January - does not fall below 3.5 °C even in the extreme northeast of Great Britain, and in the southwest it reaches 5.5 °C, and plants grow there all year round. Masses of warm sea air coming from the southwest increase winter temperatures, but at the same time bring cloudy and rainy weather with strong winds and storms. When cold air invades from the east and northeast, frosty weather sets in for a long time. Snow falls throughout the country in winter, but very unevenly. In the mountainous regions of Scotland, snow cover lasts at least 1–1.5 months, but in the south of England and especially the southwest, snow falls very rarely and lasts no more than a week. Here the grass is green all year round. The west of Britain typically receives twice as much rainfall in winter as in summer. In the eastern regions, winter is colder and less humid. In spring there are cold northerly winds that significantly retard the growth of crops in the east of Scotland, and sometimes dry easterly winds. This time of year is usually the least rainy. Spring in the British Isles is cooler and longer than at the same latitudes on the continent. In Great Britain, as in other countries with a maritime climate, summers are relatively cool: the average temperature of the warmest month, July, is 1–2 degrees lower than at the same latitudes of the mainland. In the summer months, cyclonic activity decreases, and the distribution of average July temperatures corresponds to latitudinal zonality: in the southeast of the country 16 °C, and in the extreme northwest 12 °C. Maximum temperatures in the southeast of England sometimes rise above 27°C and sometimes reach 32°C. Maximum precipitation here occurs in the second half of summer. In autumn, cyclonic activity intensifies, the weather becomes cloudy and rainy, sometimes with strong storms, especially in September and October. When warm air is carried to the cooled surface of the islands, fog often occurs on the coasts.

View from Matrindale to Lake Ullswater

Irish Sea coast

Most people in Britain prefer to use the Fahrenheit scale. For them, “temperature in the low thirties” means frost, and “temperature in the low seventies” is not at all lethal - just pleasant warmth.

Warm and humid winds blowing from the Atlantic are responsible for the abundance of rain in the western regions of Great Britain. On average, 2000 mm of precipitation falls there annually, while in eastern England, located in the “rainy shadow,” it is only about 600 mm, and in summer in some places even 500 mm. The mountains thus act as a natural barrier, trapping moist air on the western side.

The common word smog, meaning a mixture of smoke and fog, first appeared in Britain. The country, the first in the world to undergo industrialization, was the first to suffer from air pollution. In the 19th century, London's thick smog became widely known thanks to the works of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about Sherlock Holmes. The worst situation occurred in 1952. At the end of the year, particularly toxic smog settled in London for several days, claiming, according to various estimates, from 4,000 to 8,000 lives.

Water pollution was no less of a problem. In the 19th century, there was even a proposal to cover the Houses of Parliament with wet cloth to protect the people inside from the terrible smell emanating from the Thames. In the middle of the century, people who accidentally fell into the Thames were immediately taken to hospital to have their stomach pumped.

As a result, during the 1960s and 1970s, a number of laws were passed prohibiting the heating of houses in cities with open coal flames and significantly limiting the emissions of factories and factories into the environment. In the old days, a Hollywood film only needed to shoot a scene with smog to create an image of London. This image is now outdated, and in the late 1980s it was even possible to catch fish in the Thames in the vicinity of Parliament.

Population and landscape

The absence of high mountains, deep rivers, large plains and forests does not mean that the landscape of Britain is boring. What it lacks in grandeur, it makes up for in variety. The landscape is changing very quickly. It is said that this makes a 100 mile (160 km) trip seem twice as long. The south and east of the country are predominantly flat; The landscape here consists of valleys and small hills. Mountainous regions are found only in the north and west.

Human activity has greatly influenced the overall picture: most of the forests that once covered the earth in abundance have disappeared. Britain has the highest percentage of meadows and pastures in Europe (not counting the Irish Republic). Additional diversity in the landscape is brought by the tradition of fencing off fields with hedges, in which various birds willingly settle. This tradition is especially characteristic of Southern England.

The British Isles are constantly under attack from the sea. The North Sea reclaims small areas of the eastern coast every year. Sometimes the land is swallowed up by the sea gradually, but sometimes completely suddenly, as happened in Scarborough in 1993. The Holbeck Hotel, built on the top of a cliff overlooking the sea, maintained its reputation as the best hotel in the city for many years. Waking up on the morning of June 4, 1993, hotel guests noticed large cracks in the walls. Instead of a large hotel garden, they saw only the sea through the windows. There was no time to even pack our things - we had to leave the hotel immediately. Over the course of the day, the hotel rooms, one after another, broke away from the main building and slid into the sea. The Holbeck Hotel ceased to exist, but finally gave an unforgettable spectacle to hundreds of tourists who watched what was happening for several hours in a row.

Nene Coast, Lincolnshire

Landscape near King's Lynn

Most of Britain is inhabited, but this is not due to high population density. The British tend to be secluded, prefer to live in rural areas and do not like apartment buildings in the centers of large cities. The percentage of people living in apartment buildings is lower than in any other European country. Therefore, in England and Wales, cities are built, if possible, not in height, but in width (this trend does not apply to Scottish cities). For example, Greater London is about three times larger in population than Greater Athens, but has a territory ten times larger.

And yet, despite the fact that approximately 75% of the population lives in cities and cities are built mainly in width, quite large areas are completely free of development, and some mountainous areas remain virtually untouched.

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The population of Great Britain for 2018 is 66,558,737 people (current as of 06/17/2018).

The country name "England" is often considered synonymous with "Great Britain". In fact, England has remained a special part of the United Kingdom, which has its own history and its own ethnicity.

Population in England

Today, the population of the largest administrative and political part of the country is approximately 84-85% of the total population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The population of England in 2016 was 55,268,100 people.

Until 55 BC, the lands of modern England were inhabited by Celts. Then the Romans came there, but after their departure the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who were direct descendants of the Celtic tribes, gained a foothold in the territories.

Only the Scots never belonged to the Celtic group, they were descendants of the Picts and Gaels. Thus, the Germanic tribes have been the indigenous ethnic group of English territories since ancient times. This state of affairs continues today.

In the 19th century, England experienced an outflow of population to other countries. People left for the USA and Europe. The human population was poorly replenished by immigrants. Today, the situation has changed in the opposite direction.

Ethnic composition of England

Thanks to immigration, England now has the following national composition:

English;
Irish;
Indians;
Pakistanis;
Bengalis;
Asians;
Africans;
Mixed races.

The Scots and Irish are also considered full residents of Great Britain, but their largest numbers are located in the territory of modern Ireland and Scotland. There are not as many Irish and Scots living in England as it might seem at first glance.

Great Britain and its population in numbers

Today, the average life expectancy of a Briton hovers around 79 years. Population growth is quite low at just 0.27 percent per year.

The total number of inhabitants of the British Isles exceeds 66 million people. The society is multicultural and multinational. About 2,000 babies are born every day in England. About 1,500 people die per day. The population density per square meter is 269 people.

There are slightly more middle-aged men than women in Britain. The dependency ratio in the country is quite high, and is presented as 51%.

This value suggests that in England people pay high taxes to provide pensions and benefits for the disabled part of the population.

The literacy rate of the UK population is almost 100%. The country is considered developed, and the standard of living of its citizens is recognized as one of the highest in the world.

The current population of England is mixed and diverse. Due to the fact that there is still a huge number of people wishing to move to this state, the government had to introduce strict immigration policies. Overall, the population of England continues to grow, but this is happening slowly, as the younger generation believes that they must first build a career, and only then can they get married and have children.

Great Britain is a multinational country, with different peoples living on its territory. This country is located in the northwestern part of Europe, it has a rich, centuries-old history, and includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In ancient times, the island was inhabited by Celts, and later its territory was under the rule of the Romans. In the middle of the fifth century, tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes moved here and assimilated with the local population. They become the founders of a new state. In 1066, the Normans came to England and gradually mixed with the Saxons.

Peoples inhabiting Great Britain

The main people of Great Britain are the English, they are considered the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons and inhabit England itself, most of Wales and the south of Scotland. The second largest ethnic group is the Welsh. There are also Scots, Irish and Ulsterians living here, who are descendants of the Scots and English in Ireland and the local inhabitants. Ethnographic literature sometimes separately mentions the Gaels, who live in the north of Scotland in the mountainous regions, the inhabitants of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Also in modern Britain live representatives of other peoples of the world, including former British colonies.

Culture and life of the peoples of Great Britain

In modern Britain, the majority of English people live in well-established areas with a large number of cities, so the bulk of them belong to the urban population. The British work in industry, trade, the service sector, and some of them are engaged in agriculture. Their culture and way of life were greatly influenced by Protestantism, which is widespread in Great Britain in the form of Anglicanism. The British are characterized by asceticism, hard work and religiosity, they pay great attention to the preservation of traditions. English families are characterized by isolation.

Various interest clubs are common here, and the British love sports. Meat dishes predominate in English cuisine; oatmeal and puddings are very popular. Among drinks, the British prefer tea, and among alcoholic drinks - beer and whiskey.

Welsh mostly speak English and are Anglican. Modern Welsh people have retained some features of Celtic culture; they are fighting to preserve traditions and the Welsh language. The majority of the population lives in rural areas and is engaged in agriculture; mining villages remain in South Wales. The life of the population remains traditional.

English is also common among the Scots, but it contains a large number of local dialects. The main religion is Presbyterianism, but there are also Anglicans. Most modern Scots are employed in the service sector and industry, and sheep farming is also developed here. The Scottish family is more equal than the English one.

Unlike most other peoples of Great Britain, the Irish are Catholics. Their culture developed under difficult colonial conditions. The Irish are characterized by emigration to England and other countries. In Northern Ireland, conflicts based on ethnic hatred often arise. Most representatives of this people live in rural areas; the main industry in agriculture is livestock raising. The patriarchal order has been preserved in families, this is especially noticeable in rural areas.

The Gaels live in the northern highlands of Scotland, they speak Gaelic, but English is also common, and most are Catholic. The Gaels live very poorly, many of them move to the industrial regions of Scotland and assimilate with the local population.

Ulsterians differ from the native Irish in a number of ways, the main one being religion. But they consider themselves neither English nor Scottish.

Traditions and customs of the peoples of Great Britain

Among all the peoples of Great Britain, traditions are very strong, calendar customs and rituals are preserved, and the Christmas holidays are especially revered. Many remnants of medieval traditions have been preserved in the country's government. The peoples of Great Britain have a rich folklore; ethnic festivals are popular in different regions of the country. So, in Wales they imitate the ancient rites of the Druids.

Celtic festivals are popular in Scotland, where folk songs and dances are performed and bagpipes are played. On holidays, many men wear traditional Scottish kilts. Among the traditional holidays, St. Andrew's Day is especially popular here; it is celebrated in November. This saint is considered the patron saint of the Scots.

Northern Ireland also has strong national traditions; many ancient Celtic holidays are celebrated here. They are accompanied by songs, dances, and folk festivals. The national color is green.

Among the Gaels, “Gel rallies” are popular, which are parades with clan marches. A large number of folklore works have been preserved; the bagpipe is considered a national instrument.

The United Kingdom, or Great Britain, is four united states: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Consequently, the main peoples of Great Britain are the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish. All peoples have different roots, and everyone is proud of their history, culture and language, and tries to preserve them. This is especially true for the Scots, Welsh and Irish, who do not like to be called English. Below in the article we will consider from which peoples the peoples of Great Britain originated, and their main occupations.

English

Modern Englishmen are the descendants of the assimilated Anglo-Saxons and Normans, from whom they adopted the language, culture and standard of living. Today they live in England itself, most of Wales and the south of Scotland. According to a 2011 study, there are approximately 45 million English people living in the UK.

The professed religion is Protestantism in the form of Anglicanism. The family structure remains patriarchal.

When people talk about the British, they first of all remember their restraint towards new people, their reluctance to change the old for the new, and their confidence in their superiority over other peoples. Today, such a characteristic is nothing more than a stereotype, since the degree of individuality of the British is no higher than that of any other people on Earth.

Scots

Scots are associated throughout the world with bagpipes, kilts and tweed playing. Today they are the most numerous of all the peoples inhabiting Great Britain. The north-west of the island and the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland Islands adjacent to the coast are their territory of residence. In total, approximately 5 million Scots live in the UK today.

The Scots are a different people from the English in many ways: they have their own language, culture, laws, government, school system, currency and church, despite the fact that they are part of the same country. The Scots' struggle for independence from the English throne continues to this day, which is currently being waged by the Scottish National Party within the European community.

The Scots, like other peoples inhabiting Great Britain, do everything possible to preserve their language, which is a mixture of the northern dialects of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian languages. The phonetics and vocabulary of Scots differ from standard English.

The main religion of the Scots is Presbyterianism, but there are also Anglicans among them. The family, unlike the British, is more equal.

The national symbol of the country is the thistle.

Welsh (Welsh)

The Welsh, or Welsh, consider themselves to be the true British and are the oldest of all the peoples in the British Isles. But quantitatively they are far behind the British and Scots - only 2.8 million people.

The Welsh, like the Scots and Irish, are also fighting England for independence - the main objectives of the nationalist party “Plaid Camry” are the self-government of Wales, the preservation of its original culture and language. By the way, the Welsh have the most in Europe, and they do everything possible to preserve it - programs are broadcast on television and radio in their native language, all inscriptions in Wales are written in Welsh, music festivals are held annually, it is taught in schools, office work in government agencies should conducted in two languages, knowledge of Welsh is required for teachers and social workers.

Today, according to the latest census data, there are 1.5 million Welsh people in the UK, most of whom live in rural areas. The Welsh, like the English, profess Anglicanism. The family structure and life of the Welsh remained traditional.

A narcissist appears.

Irish

The ancestors of the Irish are Celts. Today they speak their native language - Gaelic - and cherish their culture and traditions. Many world-famous representatives of English literature were of Irish origin: D. Swift, O. Wilde, D.B. Show.

Today there are very few people in the UK who consider themselves Irish - only 1.5 million people living in Northern Ireland. In addition, there are immigrants from Scotland and the British on its territory. All three groups are hostile to each other, and the authorities, albeit unofficially, encourage this split.

Ireland has its own parliament.

The main religion of the people is Catholicism. The patriarchal system has been preserved in the family. This trend is especially observed in rural areas.

The symbol of Northern Ireland is the shamrock.

Ulstermen

Ulsters live in Northern Ireland. Despite the fact that they trace their origins to the English and Scots, they do not consider themselves to be either one or the other. Relations between the Ulstermen and the Irish were formal, and mixed marriages were the exception rather than the rule. These peoples of Great Britain, despite living on the same territory, developed independently, and hostility between them was no exception. The last time it worsened was at the beginning of the 20th century, when the Irish again began to fight for independence from the English throne, and the Ulsterites did not support it, choosing an alliance with Great Britain.

Most of the believers are Protestants, in contrast to Irish Catholics.

Gaels

The Gaels live in the north of Scotland in the mountainous regions. They speak an ancient language, but according to the latest data, it will soon be replaced by English and Anglo-Scottish languages. The English call the Gaels Highlanders. They are a very poor people; today many Gaels are moving from the highlands to Scotland.

Most Gaels profess Catholicism.

Migrants

The peoples of Great Britain are not only the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish, but also other peoples, of which there are fewer in the country than the main ones. Most of them are migrants from Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean Islands, and the East, and their total number is 3 million people. For migrants, Great Britain, its peoples and their activities are interesting not so much from a cultural point of view, but from an economic one, since many leave their homeland in search of a better life. According to UN data, the UK ranks 5th in the number of migrants after the USA, Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia. So, what kind of migrant peoples inhabit the UK?

According to the National Statistics Office, in 2014 alone, about 90 thousand Chinese came to the country for long-term residence. The second largest number (approximately 86 thousand) are Indians. US citizens occupy third place - approximately 36 thousand people. About 21 thousand Australians also changed their place of residence to the British Isles. They are followed by immigrants from Saudi Arabia - about 18 thousand people. Approximately this number of people are people with Pakistani citizenship. Seventh on the list are Nigerians - their number does not exceed 17 thousand people. Slightly fewer migrants include Russians (15 thousand), Turks (13 thousand) and Filipinos (12 thousand).

Classes

According to the above-mentioned 2011 census, the majority of the English working population is employed in areas such as industry, trade and services. You can find fewer English people in the agricultural sector.

The main activities of the Scots are the service sector and industry, and to a lesser extent sheep farming.

Most Welsh people live in rural areas, so their main activity is agriculture. The situation is somewhat different in where, thanks to the mines that have survived in the south, the population is also involved in coal mining.

Most Irish people live in rural areas and are involved in livestock farming.

The sphere of employment of migrants, like that of the indigenous population, is very different. African Americans, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Indians and Filipinos are employed in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs. As for the rest of the migrants, these are representatives of business and intellectual work.

It is worth mentioning the spiritual life of migrants. As noted above, the vast majority of the population are churchgoers. What other religions does Great Britain have? The peoples inhabiting the country have the opportunity to practice other religions besides the official one - Islam, Buddhism, Judaism.

Conclusion

Thus, we can say that the peoples inhabiting Great Britain are not only the indigenous population, but also a large number of migrants who influence its culture and history.

From 1348 to 1450, England experienced population decline largely due to periodic plagues.

Due to the current unstable economic situation, a large number of UK residents are moving to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the USA and other countries. In many ways, there is an outflow of the intellectually employed population.

Population dynamics

Population dynamics of the British Isles according to census data since 1801. Pre-1922 data includes the population of Ireland. After 1922, Ireland became an independent state and only Northern Ireland is included in the census.

Year	Population
	2 500 000
	600 000
	2 500 000
	5 000 000
	10 000 000
	18 500 000
	21 000 000
	24 100 000
	26 900 000
	27 500 000
	29 100 000
	31 600 000
	35 000 000
	37 900 000
	41 600 000
	45 400 000
	42 800 000
	44 800 000
	50 200 000
	52 700 000
	55 500 000
	56 300 000
	57 800 000
	58 800 000
	63 200 000

Population density

Ethnic composition of the population

The largest group in the UK population is English who inhabit England, most of Wales and form compact settlements in some areas in the south of Scotland. Scots inhabit mainly Scotland - the northwestern regions of the island of Great Britain and the Shetland, Orkney and Hebrides islands adjacent to their coast. In the mountains of the northwestern part of the island lives a unique ethnic group that preserves its original traditions and culture - Gaels(highlanders). Welsh- inhabit mainly Wales. There are 500 thousand indigenous people living in Northern Ireland - Irish(Catholics) - as well as 1 million Anglo-Irish and Scots-Irish. The Isle of Man (Irish Sea) is home to a small Celtic people - the Manx, numbering 47 thousand.

Nationalities according to the 2001 census

“White” by skin color - 92.1% (54,153,898), including British (“white” by skin color) - 85.7% (50,336,497).

Of these, they are distinguished (by historical regions):

Main ethnic groups according to the 2001 census:

nationality	interest ratio	number
Irish	1,2 %	691 232
Indians	1,8 %	1,053,411
people from Pakistan	1,3 %	747,285
mixed race	1,2 %	677,117
Bengalis	0,5 %	283,063
Asians (not counting Chinese)	0,4 %	247,644
people from the Caribbean	0,8 %	565,277
people from Africa	0,8 %	485,277
other nationalities with “black” skin color	0,2 %	97,585