UK and NZ

• The United Kingdom consists of the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales) and Northern Ireland. It is also informally referred to as "Britain" or "the UK".
• The British flag, the so-called Union Jack, is a combination of the English, Scottish and Northern Irish flags.
• The UK is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. The Queen is the official head of state, and although she has quite a few political functions, her role is mainly ceremonial.
• The Queen and the rest of the royal family are important identification figures, however, as can be seen in the popularity of events such as royal weddings or the hype around the births of royal babies.
• Most of the actual political power in Britain lies in the hands of the Prime Minister and his or her cabinet, who have a relatively dominant position and can take far-reaching decisions.
• The work of the government is controlled by Parliament, which is made up of two chambers, the House of Commons (consisting of elected Members of Parliament) and the House of Lords (consisting of bishops or "peers" who either inherited their seat or were nominated by the monarch).
• MPs are elected by means of a majority vote or "first-past-the-post": The candidate who wins a simple majority of the votes in a constituency (Wahlkreis) becomes the MP for that district, the votes for the other candidates are ignored.
• This system tends to benefit big parties (such as the Conservatives or the Labour Party) and makes it relatively hard for smaller parties to win seats.
• In 1998, some power was handed over from the central parliament in London to regional parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a process known as "Devolution".
• British Empire


  An important imperial power that colonised and exploited other countries
• At the beginning of the 20th century, the British Empire covered over a quarter of the world's surface
• From the late 19th and early 20th century onwards, more and more countries wanted to break free from British rule
• After India gained its independence in 1947, the empire gradually came to an end
• Commonwealth of Nations


  A loose and voluntary organisation of 53 independent states that cooperate economically and politically, share the same values (such as democracy and human rights) and are connected by the English language
• As a result of Britain's imperial past, English is now spoken in many parts of the world and has become a lingua franca
• Cultural "exports" from Britain

  • Political system
  • Famous works of literature (e.g. by William Shakespeare or Charles Dicken's)
  • Sports such as rugby or cricket
• After the Second World War and the end of the British Empire, lots of people from the former colonies immigrated to Britain to find work there
• Most of the immigrants came from Asia (mainly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), the Caribbean and Africa
• In the following decades, Britain repeatedly restricted its immigration laws
• About 13 per cent of the British population belong to an ethnic minority group
• Ever since their arrival, there have been discussions (both within the minority groups themselves and in the larger society) whether they should keep their cultural traditions or rather adapt to a British lifestyle
• Although most members of ethnic minorities are well-integrated, they still sometimes face discrimination, for example on the job market or in housing
• In recent years, prejudices and hate crimes against ethnic minority groups have increased, especially against people of Muslim faith
• Britain joined the EEC in 1973
• Just two years later, the first referendum was held about whether or not the UK should really stay in the EEC
• Although a majority voted "yes" at the time, a lot of Britons never really identified with Europe
• Many had the impression that the UK paid more to the EU than it got back or were worried that the European influence would grow too strong
• Euroscepticism increased dramatically when more and more immigrants from Eastern Europe came to the UK in the early 2000s
• In the European elections in 2014, the right-wing UK Independence Party won the most votes
• On 31 January 2020, the UK formally ended its EU membership, and in 2021, the new "Trade and Cooperation Agreement" (Handels- und Koopera-tionsabkommen) between the UK and the European Union came into effect
• It exploited people's fear of immigration and xenophobic prejudices and created a strongly anti-EU climate
• The majority of young Britons had voted to remain in the European Union and is not happy at all about Brexit
• In some parts of the UK, such as Scotland or Northern Ireland, the majority of people would also have liked to remain in the EU
• As a result, the wish to become independent from the UK might become stronger in these countries
• It is difficult to predict the economic consequences of Brexit but so far, they do not look good for the UK
• In 2016, a referendum was held in which a very small majority of the British population voted in favour of leaving the European Union
• Many workers who had immigrated from Eastern European countries left the UK following Brexit, leading to a lack of lorry drivers who would usually deliver food and fuel, leaving UK supermarket shelves empty and petrol stations in short supply
• British children have to attend school

  From the ages of 5 to 16
• Primary school


  Ages 5 to 11
• Secondary school


  Ages 11 and up