The economy of England is the largest part of the UK's economy, which has the 18th highest GDP PPP per capita in the world. England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the manufacturing side of the software industry. London, home to the London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe, is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations being based there. London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2014 is the second largest in the world. Manchester is the largest financial and professional services sector outside London and is the mid tier private equity capital of Europe as well as one of the growing technology hubs of Europe.
State primary schools and secondary schools exist. These consist of academy schools, grammar schools, foundation schools, faith schools, free schools, studio schools and city technology academies. The most common specialist schools are performing arts schools, science schools, maths schools and technology schools. Independent public or prep schools also exist. Eton College and Harrow School are the best known independent schools.
The National Curriculum was introduced in 1988, to give pupils a broad and balanced curriculum. The school curriculum aims to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. Its purpose is to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. Learning generally covers English literature, English language, maths, science, art and design, religious studies, geography, history, citizenship, computing, design and technology, drama, ancient and modern foreign languages, business studies, food technology, music and physical education.
Many prominent people who have reached the top in their fields have been products of English higher education. The two oldest and most prestigious universities are Oxford and Cambridge. Imperial College, University College London and Manchester University are also highly rated by independent lists. There are now about a hundred universities.
Road traffic in the United Kingdom drives on the left hand side of the road (unlike the Americas and most of Europe), and the driver steers from the right hand side of the vehicle. The road network on the island of Great Britain is extensive, with most local and rural roads having evolved from Roman and Medieval times.
The system of rail transport was invented in England, so it has the oldest railway network in the world. It was built mostly during the Victorian era. The British Rail network is part privatised, with privately owned train operating companies providing service along particular lines or regions, whilst the tracks, signals and stations are owned by a Government controlled company called Network Rail. The system of underground railways in London, known as the Tube, has been copied by many other cities around the globe.
England is home to the largest airport and is one of the most important international hubs in the world.
The BBC is an organisation in the United Kingdom. It broadcasts in the United Kingdom and other countries on television, radio and the Internet. The BBC also sells its programmes to other broadcasting companies around world. The organisation is run by a group of twelve governors who have been given the job by the Queen, on the advice of government ministers. The BBC is established under a royal charter, which allows the BBC to broadcast.
See English literature,
English Heritage,
Aldeburgh Festival,
The Royal Society
English culture can be compared with Northern European countries, in the way that it is considered a bad thing to show off, as opposed to the US, where this is more acceptable. Humour, tradition and good manners are characteristics commonly associated with being English.
The English football team won the World Cup in 1966. They came close in Italy 1990, closely losing in the semi-final against West Germany on penalties. In the 2006 World Cup they got to the quarter finals, then lost to Portugal after penalty kicks. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they came close again only to be knocked out in the semi-final, losing 2-1 to Croatia.
English people invented:
Origin partly in England:
There are many well known English people. Here are just a few of them:
England is divided into 48 ceremonial counties, which are also known as geographic counties. The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The original county structure has its origins in the Middle Ages.
The historic counties of Yorkshire, Cumberland, Westmorland, Huntingdonshire and Middlesex are the five defunct ceremonial counties which were historically counties.
With their abolition as ceremonial counties, Yorkshire is divided for that purpose into the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, Cumberland and Westmorland were combined with a former exclave of Lancashire to form Cumbria, Huntingdonshire merged into Cambridgeshire, and the vast majority of Middlesex became part of Greater London.
There is no well-established series of official symbols or flags covering all the counties. From 1889 the newly-created county councils could apply to the College of Arms for coats of arms. A recent series of flags, with varying levels of official adoption, have been established in many of the counties by competition or public poll. County days are a recent innovation in some areas. There are seventeen first-class county cricket teams that are based on historical English counties.
Twelve of the 51 cities in England are in metropolitan counties and their city councils are single-tier metropolitan district councils. Outside the metropolitan counties eleven cities are unitary authorities, and fifteen have ordinary district councils, which are subordinate to their local county council.
Wales
Wales (;  [ˈkəm.rɨ] (come-ree) is a country on the island of Great Britain. It is one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. It is west of England, and east of the Irish Sea and Ireland.
Wales is one of the six Celtic nations. The native people of Wales, the Welsh, have their own culture and traditions. They have their own Celtic language, Welsh. Although not all Welsh people can speak Welsh, it is a real living language for about 20% of Welsh people. Nearly all Welsh people can speak English. Some of them speak only English. The Welsh language has official status in Wales.
Three million people live in Wales. Most of them live in the southern and eastern parts of the country. In this area is the capital and largest city of Wales, Cardiff, and the next largest city, Swansea.
People have lived in Wales for at least 29,000 years. The Romans first entered Wales in 43 AD, and took it around 77 AD.
The English words "Wales" and "Welsh" come from the old Germanic word "Walh" (plural: "Walha"). "Walh" itself came from a Celtic tribe, called the "Volcae" by the Romans. That was eventually used for the name of all Celts and later to all people who lived in the Roman empire. The Anglo-Saxons who lived in England and who spoke Old English called the people living in Wales "Wælisc" and the land itself "Wēalas". Other names that come from these origins Wallonia, Wallachia, and Vlachs.
In the past, the words "Wales" and "Welsh" were used to mean anything that the Anglo-Saxons associated with the Celtic Britons. That included Cornwall, Walworth, and Walton, as well as things associated with non-Germanic Europeans like walnuts.
The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru which is the Welsh name for Wales. These words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning "fellow-countrymen"