Characteristics of UK

• Population density is highest in cities, in London its about 5500 people per km^2
• High population density around major cities
• low population density in mountainous regions such as Scotland and central wales
• problems of high population density:

  • Shortage of available housing
  • In London 60,000 new homes needed yearly
  • Causes prices to raise drastically
  • Pressures on health care services and schools
• north and west UK get high rainfall

  • NW Scotland has average annual rainfall of 1500mm
• south and east have lower rainfall

  • London gets 560mm annually
• rainfall higher in coastal areas
• rainfall is higher in areas of higher elevation
• 70% of the UK is agricultural land

  • arable farming = growing crops, more in south and east of the UK
  • grazing animals in the north and west
• Buildings are concentrated in large urban areas

  • less than 10% of the UK is built on
  • urban areas are expanding
• forests cover 13% of land