Britain’s geographical position is marked by latitude 50 °N in southern

England and latitude 60° N across the Shetlands. It lies within 10 ° of latitude and

has a small and compact size when compared with other major European

countries. Yet it also possesses a great diversity of physical features, which surprises

those visitors who may expect a mainly urban and industrialized country.

The many recreation areas and beauty spots, such as the fifteen National Parks in

England (for example, the Lake District), Wales (for example, Snowdonia) and

Scotland (for example, the Cairngorms), and other areas of natural beauty may

be easily reached without much expenditure of time or effort.

Britain’s physical area covers 93,025 square miles (242,842 square kilometres).

Most is land, with the rest comprising inland water such as lakes and

rivers. England has 50,052 square miles (129,634 sq km), Wales has 7,968

(20,637), Scotland has 29,799 (77,179) and Northern Ireland has 5,206 (13,438).

England is larger than the other countries and has the biggest population (51,

446,000 or 84 per cent) in an estimated UK total of 61, 383,000 in mid-2008,

up by 408,000 since 2007. These factors partly explain the English dominance in

British history and the often hostile attitudes of Scotland, Ireland and Wales

towards their neighbour.