iament?
What were the causes behind the English Reformation?
What was the historical significance of the Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights?
How did the Industrial Revolution change the face of contemporary Britain?
When was the Welfare state established in Britain?
What was the political aftermath of the breaking down of the British Empire?
What is Britain , s role in modern Europe?
. POPULATION OF BRITAIN TODAY: THE SOCIAL FRAMEWORK
Ethnic Composition
Language Variation
Demographic Trends
Age and Sex Structure
Distribution of Population
The Family. Marriage and Divorce
The Status of Women
Ethnic minorities
Living Standards
Housing
Language variationis the main language spoken in Britain, although with many regional variations in terms of accept and phraseology. It is also one of the most widely used in the world; recent estimates suggest that over 337 million people speak it as their first language, with a similar number speaking it as a second language. Modern English derives primarily from one of the dialects of Anglo-Saxon, but has been very greatly influenced by other languages ​​over time.one-fifth of the population of Wales speak the Welsh language, which is of Celtic origin. They are concentrated in the rural north and west, where Welsh remains the first language of most of the population. Both the Government and voluntary groups have taken steps to revive the use of Welsh. Bilingual education in schools is encouraged and there has been an extended use of Welsh for official purposes and in broadcasting. In the context of dealing with public authorities and the administration of justice in Wales, Welsh and English are treated on an equal basis. , Also a language of Celtic origin, is still spoken by some 70,000 people in Scotland; the greatest concentration of Gaelic speakers is in the islands of the Hebrides. People in the central lowlands of Scotland have for centuries spoken Scots, a dialect derived from the Northumbrian branch of Old English. This has its own recognised literary tradition and has seen a revival in poetry in the 20 th century. Many words and phrases from the Scots tongue are retained in the everyday English which is spoken throughout Scotland. other languages ​​are spoken by the minority ethnic communities living in Britain. trends has a population of about 59 million people, the 17 th largest in the world. The great majority, 49.3 million, live in England; Scotland has just over 5 million people, Wales 2.9 million and Northern Ireland about 1.7 million. population density is well above the European Union average. England is the most densely populated, with 373 people per sq km, and Scotland the least, with 67 people per sq km. The great majority of people are concentrated in towns and cities, although there has been a trend, especially in the capital London, for people to move away from congested urban centres into the suburbs. 1997 there were 726,000 live births in Britain, compared with 633,000 deaths. The birth rate is relatively low at 12.3 live births per 1,000 population. This in part due to a trend towards later marriage and towards postponing births. average age of women having children has risen to over 28 years in England and Wales. There is also a greater preference for smaller families than in the past, which has led to a significant decline in the proportion of families with four or more children. In addition, more widespread and effective contraception has mode it easier to plan families. expectancy for men in Britain is about 74 years and for women 79 years (compared with 49 years for men and 52 years for women at the start of the century). The general death rate is 10.4 per 1,000 of the population. There has been a decline in mortality at most ages, particularly among children, reflecting better nutrition, rising living standards, medical advances and improved health measures, wider education and the smaller size of families. caused by circulatory diseases (including heart attacks and strokes) now account fo...
