The
population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is over
57 million people.
The
population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. The distribution
of the population is quite uneven.
Over
46 million people live in England, over 3 million – in Wales, a little over 5
million – in Scotland and about 1.5 million – in Northern Ireland.
The
most densely populated areas are Greater London, the South and the South-West.
Only London’s population is over 7 million.
Most
of the mountainous parts of the United Kingdom, including much of Scotland,
Wales and the Pennine Chain in Northern England are very sparsely populated.
The
United Kingdom is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish
who constitute the British nation. The British are the descendants of different
peoples who settled in the British Isles at different times.
The
earliest known people of Britain were of Iberian origin.
Then
followed a long succession of invaders, including the Celts, the Romans, the
Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and at last in 1066 the Normans.
It
was the last time Britain was invaded.
Nowadays
one can see people of colours and races in the United Kingdom.
They
are mostly former inhabitants of the former British colonies.
The
official language of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
is English.
Besides
standard literary English there are several regional and social dialects.