THE FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRITISH NATION 1 The notion of ethnic identity (Scotland, Wales, Nr. Ireland) 2 British population 3 Immigration

The notion of ethnic identity SCOTLAND (NATIONAL) Scottish people have constant reminders of their distinctiveness: several important aspects of public life are organized separately, and differently, from the rest of Britain - education, law and religion the Scottish way of speaking English is very distinctive

The notion of ethnic identity SCOTLAND Gaelic, a language of Celtic origin, is still spoken by 70,000 people in Scotland Gaelic is spoken in everyday life by most of the working classes in the lowlands. It has many features which are different from other forms of English and cannot usually be understood by people who are not Scottish

The notion of ethnic identity SCOTLAND there are many symbols of Scottishness which are well-known throughout Britain: 1) KILTS

The notion of ethnic identity SCOTLAND 2) THISTLE

The notion of ethnic identity SCOTLAND 3) Tartan worldwide mark of Scottishness

The notion of ethnic identity SCOTLAND 4) Scottish bagpipe

Bagpipe player

The notion of ethnic identity WALES (REGIONAL) About one-fifth of the population of Wales speak the Welsh language, which is of Celtic origin too. They are concentrated in the rural north and west, where Welsh remains the first language of most of the population.

The notion of ethnic identity WALES

The notion of ethnic identity WALES Bilingual education in local schools is encouraged and there has been an extended use of Welsh for official purposes and in broadcasting There aren’t many reminders of Welshness

The notion of ethnic identity WALES a large minority of the people in Wales do not consider themselves Welsh at all. In the nineteenth century large numbers of Scottish, Irish and English people went to find work there, and today many English people still make their homes in Wales or have holiday houses there. As a result, a feeling of loyalty to Wales is regional rather than nationalistic.

The notion of ethnic identity NORTHERN IRELAND (NATIONAL) there are two communities living on both sides of the divider

The notion of ethnic identity Northern Ireland On one side of the divider are people whose ancestors came from lowland Scotland or England. They are Protestants and want Northern Ireland to remain in the UK On the other side of the divide are people whose ancestors were native Irish. They are Catholics and would like Northern Ireland to become part of the Irish Republic

The notion of ethnic identity ENGLAND As for English identity, most people who describe themselves as English make no distinction between “English” and “British”.

British population about 59 million people the 17th largest in the world the great majority, 49,3 million, live in England Scotland has just over 5 million people Wales 2,9 million Northern Ireland about 1.7 million

British population The population density is above the European Union average: England is the most densely populated, with 373 people per sq km, Scotland, the least, 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 urban centres into the suburbs

British population The birth rate is relatively low: at 12.3 live births per 1,000 population Life 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) Britain has one of the highest marriage and divorce rates in the European Union.

British population One of the most significant changes in the age structure of British population over the last 30 years has been the increasing proportion of people over retirement age (65 for men and 60 for women ) – 11 million today and their number continues to grow

British population The home is the central focus of most young people's lives in Britain After the home, school is the main social environment where children not only receive their formal education but also develop their identities

British population The Sex Discriminations Acts 1975 and 1986 make discrimination between men and women unlawful in employment, education, training and the provision of housing goods, facilities and services.

IMMIGRATION For centuries people from overseas have settled in Britain to escape political or religious persecution or in search of better economic opportunities: 1 The Irish 2 The Jewish who came to Britain towards the end of the 19 century and in the 1930s

IMMIGRATION 3) European refugees after 1945 4) the Caribbean and the South Asia immigration dates principally from the 1950s and 1960s (Australians, Chinese, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Italians Spaniards ) 5) Latin America, Indo-China and Sri Lanka refugees (more recently )

IMMIGRATION In 1989-91, according to the results a survey, average ethnic minority population of Great Britain numbered about 2.7 million of whom 46 per cent were born in Britain. Just over half of the ethnic minority population was of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin; less than one-fifth was of Afro-Caribbean ethnic origin; and over one in ten was of mixed ethnic origin.