Maintaining a Stiff Upper Lip

The United Kingdom (UK), located to the northwest of mainland Europe, is comprised of the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. With the exception of a land border that Northern Ireland shares with the Republic of Ireland, the country is surrounded by water, specifically the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. While there is no shortage of rainfall, the overall temperature throughout the UK is moderate and seasonal, seldom dropping below 10 °C or rising above 35 °C.

By mid-2008, the population of the UK had grown to over 61.3 million. Reasons for the rapid increase included immigration, rising birth rates and longer life expectancies. Unfortunately being an island, space remains limited thus making the UK one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

The UK has the fifth largest economy in the world and the second largest in Europe. Furthermore, London is considered to be one of the three major financial centres of the world along with New York City and Tokyo. While the UK struggles with issues surrounding immigration and integration of its existing immigrants, it does readily admit to a need for continued immigration in order to continue the growth of their economy. Immigration policies remain selective in terms of who will be allowed to immigrate there. Today, nationals of the EU, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are treated as citizens and are not required to obtain resident and work permits. Citizens of countries outside the EU will find it more difficult to immigrate to the UK as resident and work permits are given out to those who have secured employment prior to arriving and who tend to be more highly skilled.

The United Kingdom is characterized as being:
An island onto itself | Surrounded by water on all sides, travel back and forth between mainland Europe must be primarily accomplished by air or water.

Filled with literary giants | World-renowned masters such as William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Blake, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy all called the UK home.

Steeped in a history of tradition | Social customs and traditions known the world over, which have been practiced for hundreds of years including afternoon and high tea, eating fish and chips, playing cricket, watching football at the local pub and drinking warm beer.