Country ID (approximate values):
People: 60 million.
Country Area: 240.000 sq. km.
Capital City: London (pop 6.8 million).
Ethnic divisions: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%.
Religion: Church of England, Methodist, Baptist, Catholic and Muslim.
Government: Parliamentary monarchy.
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice.
GDP per capita: 17.800 USD.
Economy: services 63%, manufacturing and construction 25%, government 9%, energy 2%, agriculture 1% (June 1992).
Major industries: Banking and finance, steel, transport equipment, oil and gas, tourism.
Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica.
Geography
The United Kingdom of Great Britain was established on 1 January 1801 and is composed of 4 major territories (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and a number of small isles and territories under British jurisdiction (like Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Isle of Man...). The island of Britain lies off the north-western coast of the European mainland. It is separated from France by the narrow Channel of Le Mannche and from Scandinavia by the North Sea. England occupies the southern two-thirds of the island and it bounds by Wales to the West and Scotland to the North. At the widest point the island hardly reaches 600 miles north to south and about 300 miles east to west.
Relief
Much of England is flat or low lying, especially eastern parts, but there is a couple of significant ranges of hills, especially the Pennines. Mountain ranges continue also in Wales, but they tend to be modestly high. There are also large areas of moorland or deeply cut narrow valleys. Moorlands can be found in northern and central parts of Scotland too, where they occasionally rise to highlands. The southern third of Scotland is covered by fertile coastal plains and low hills. The highest peak of Britain is Ben Nevis with 1343m.
Climate
Britain's climate is officially called temperate maritime. It is under a strong influence of Gulf Stream and therefor rather unpredictable. The Stream works as an enormous heating system which prevents the temperatures falling below 0C in winter time and rising over 20C in summer. On the other hand humid winds coming from sea, can cover the sky with clouds and rain in relatively short time through all the year. Perhaps that's why discussing the weather is a national pastime.
Landscape
However, continuos showering keep the lawn well watered and in consequence the whole country is covered with a dense green grass carpet. That makes Britain one of the most suitable lands for golf-playing. Also the landscape is just gorgeous: a castle here and there, plenty of old brick-made houses, shrubs, very few woods and a whiskey distillery near the brook. If you have present some fairy-tails, well, this is it.
People & General
From this point of view Britain is certainly something special. It appears that the fact of living mostly undisturbed on own island, right on the edge of Europe, has contributed to their quite unique culture, fairly different from their continental Co-Europeans, but that's something you should check personally on the spot. Be aware that London and some other major cities might not be an adequate place for your research as those areas tend to be very cosmopolitan. That would basically mean you cannot dress extravagantly enough to attract much attention or to make somebody ready to number the rings you wear on your nose. Already in the colonial ages they have got used to the rich diversity of cultures this world offers and they are also too polite to admit you have shocked them.
Couisine
A strange thing in this cultural diversity is the fact that despite a strong presence of Non-British cultures, their cuisine still sticks to overcooked meat-and-two-vegetables and an assortment of eggs & bacon, fish & chips and sausages with mashed potatoes. When speaking about food & drinks we have to mention the pubs as an important meeting point for all generations and most social groups. When surfing the internet links I found it much easier to find out all about the pubs of a certain area than about this area in general. Man, this is a strong drinking tradition!
Internet Sites
However, British internet sites (I intend mostly WWW) are quite well prepared and fairly developed. The most systematic appears to be the government: they produce very detailed lists of offices of a certain ministry, but systematically forget to write something in general about this ministry. The other extremity can be found in some private sites offering in the same menu information about an area in general, a couple of major cities from other areas and a detailed tour through all pubs of some small village. Well, patience, with the time they will improve.
For mor information check out at the following locations: