The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It comprises the island of Great Britain and the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, together with many smaller islands. The UK is separated by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel ("Chunnel") bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France. Northern Ireland international land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.

The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 245,000 square kilometers. England is the largest country of the United Kingdom, accounting for just over half the total area of the UK. Scotland is second largest, accounting for about a third of the area of the UK. Wales and Northern Ireland are much smaller.

2. The UK has a variety of natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, limestone, chalk, gypsum, silica, rock salt, china clay, iron ore, tin, silver, gold, lead.                                                                                                                                

Its coal, natural gas, and oil reserves are large; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation.

The UK has a small coal reserve along with significant, yet continuously declining natural gas and oil reserves. Over 400 million tonnes of proven coal reserves have been identified in the UK. In 2004, total UK coal consumption (including imports) was 61 million tonnes, allowing the UK to be self-sufficient in coal for just over 6.5 years, although at present extraction rates it would take 20 years to mine. An alternative to coal-fired electricity generation is underground coal gasification (UCG). North Sea oil and gas have supplied much of the UK's energy needs in recent decades.

Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from wave power and tidal power, although these have not yet been exploited on a commercial basis. Great Britain is expected to launch the building of new nuclear reactors to replace existing generators and to boost UK's energy reserves.

3. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy: Queen Elizabeth II is the official Head of State. The Queen rules symbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament. So, although the Queen 'opens' Parliament each year and laws are passed in her name, the Queen herself plays no part in determining decisions made in Parliament. She undertakes various official, ceremonial and representational