ENGLAND
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England (in English, England) is one of the four constituent nations of the UK. Its territory is geographically formed the southern and central Great Britain, an island that shares with Scotland and Wales, and about 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. Bordered on the north by Scotland, west Wales-its two land borders, in the northwest with the Irish Sea to the southwest with the Celtic Sea, to the east by the North Sea and on the south by the English Channel.
The territory of modern England has been inhabited by various cultures for about thirty-five thousand years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled in the place during centuries V and VI. It became a unified state in 927 and since the Age of Discovery, which began in the fifteenth century, has had a large cultural and legal impact worldwide. The English language, the Anglican Church and the law of England, taken as a basis for the legal systems of many other countries around the world-developed in England, and the parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations.
Government and politics
Since England is one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, the political system is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government based on the system Westminster.8 There has been no Government of England since 1707, when the Act of Union of that year certified the union of England with Scotland, creating the Kingdom of Great Bretaña.9 Before the union England had its own king and its own parliament dealing with his government. Currently England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although other countries have developed their own constituents gobiernos.10 The House of Commons, the lower house of the British Parliament, which is headquartered in the Palace of Westminster, is composed of 532 MPs representing different constituencies located in England, with a total of 650.11
In the UK general election, 2010 the Conservative Party won an absolute majority if you count only 532 posts for England, gaining 61 seats more than all other parties combined. However, if you add up the results of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the result in England was not enough to secure an overall majority, resulting in a situation known as a hung parliament or parliament colgado.12 This situation forced the Conservatives , led by David Cameron, to compromise with the Liberal Democrats to form a government and to proclaim to Cameron as Prime Minister.
Following the decentralization of powers, in which each of the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom-Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has its own parliament or assemblies for local materials, there has been a debate on how to compensate for this in England . Originally it was proposed that various regions of England counted with an assembly itself, but the rejection of this idea in a referendum held in 2004 in the Northeast of England stopped this reform.
CLIMATE
England has a temperate oceanic climate and humid, with temperatures not much lower than -5 ° C in winter and not much higher than 32 ° C in verano.13
The coldest months are January and February being the warmest month is July. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year, with the western region is the one most precipitaciones.13 Since weather records began, the highest temperature was 38.5 ° C on August 10, 2003 at Brogdale, 14 while the lowest was -26.1 ° C on January 10, 1982 in Edgmond.15.
Demographics
With over 51 million inhabitants according to the census (Statistics) 2001, England is the most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84% of the total population. These figures become to England in the 25th most populous country in the world, if it were a sovereign state, as well as the fourth largest by population in the European Union. In turn, with a density of 395 people per square kilometer would be the second most densely populated state of the European Union after Malta.
Languages
As its name suggests, the English language spoken by millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, is the third most spoken language in the world after Chinese (Mandarin) and Spanish.
Religion
After Anglicanism (with 55% of the population), the Catholic Church is the religion with the highest number of faithful, assuming they (along with Wales) 4.2 million people, approximately 7.8% of the English population and galesa.17
Especially since the 50s, various religions practiced in the former British colonies began to appear due to immigration, Islam being the most common among them, representing about 3.1% of the population. They follow Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, which were introduced from India and South East Asia, which together reach 2%. In the 2001 census, about 14.6% of the population profess no religion said.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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United States of America (English: United States of America, abbreviated USA or U.S.) in shorthand, United States, USA or EE. UU.; 1 is a constitutional federal republic composed of 50 states and a federal district. Most of the country is located in central North America, where its 48 contiguous states and Washington D. C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and is the only U.S. state that is not in America. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
With 9.83 million square kilometers and with over 308 million people, is the third or fourth largest country by total area and the third largest by both land area and by population. It is one of the nations of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-escala.6 immigration is, on the other hand, the largest national economy in the world, with a GDP estimated at $ 14.3 trillion (a quarter part of nominal global GDP) and a fifth of global GDP at purchasing power parity adquisitivo.
Government and politics
United States is the world's oldest federation. It is a constitutional republic and representative democracy, "in which majority rule is governed by minority rights protected by law" .48 The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution , which serves as the supreme legal document país.49 the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state and local local government's duties are commonly split between county governments and municipalities. In almost all cases, officials of the executive and legislative branches are directly elected by citizens of the district.
South facade of the White House residence and workplace of the President of the United States.
The federal government is divided into three branches:
Legislative branch: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives. Their role is to federal laws, make declarations of war, approve treaties, administer public funds and has the power of impeachment, by which they can dismiss government officials.
Executive: The president is the commander in chief of the military, can veto bills before they become law, and appoints official cabinet members (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
Judiciary: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and suppress those deemed unconstitutional.
WEATHER
Flora and fauna
United States is considered a megadiverse country: about 17,000 species of vascular plants live in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants can be found only in Hawaii, few of which grow in the continente.83 The country is home to more than 400 species of mammals, 750 species of birds and 500 species of reptiles and anfibios.84 Here also have discovered more than 91,000 different kinds of insectos.85
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats, which are monitored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States. In total, the federal government owns 28.8% of the total area of the country.86 The majority of this percentage is made up of fifty-eight national parks and hundreds of other protected areas managed by federal and state authorities. 87 the rest of government land, some are leased for oil and natural gas for mining, agriculture and livestock, only 2.4% is used for purposes militares.
Religion
Education, science and technology
American public education is operated by state and local governments, regulated by the Department of Education of the United States. It is mandatory that children attend school from age six or seven (generally, kindergarten or first grade of primary school) until they turn eighteen (generally up to attend the twelfth grade, the end of the school), some states allow students to leave school at sixteen or seventeen años.128 Approximately 12% of children are enrolled in private schools, while 2% are educated in the hogar.129 There are many private institutions public and higher education as well as community colleges with open admission policies. Of the twenty-five years older, 84.6% graduated from high school, 52.6% attended some college, 27.2% earned a bachelor's degree and 9.6% had a graduate degree. 130 The literacy rate is approximately 99% .77 The UN assigned the country an education index of 0.97, the 12th highest in the mundo.131 According to Unesco, the United States is the second largest more institutions of higher education in the world, with a total of 5,758 and an average of more than 15 for each estado.132 The country also has the largest number of university students in the world, amounting to 14,261,778, ie , nearly 4.75% of the population total.133 Finally, here are some of the most prestigious universities and higher worldwide fame. Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, Stanford and MIT are considered the best universities for several publicaciones.
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United States is a leader in scientific research and technological innovation since the nineteenth century. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received the first U.S. patent for the telephone. Thomas Edison's laboratory developed the phonograph, the first incandescent lamp and the first movie projector. Nikola Tesla pioneered alternating current experiment, the AC motor, and radio. In the twentieth century, the automobile companies of Ransom Eli Olds and Henry Ford promoted mass production. In 1903, the Wright brothers made the first powered flight in the Wright aircraft Flyer.
The rise of Nazism in the 1930s led many European scientists, including Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, to immigrate to the country. During World War II, the Manhattan Project had already developed the first nuclear weapons, announcing the beginning of the nuclear age. The space race also produced rapid advances in the construction and development of rocketry, materials science and computing. The country was responsible for the development of the ARPANET and its successor, the Internet. Today, most of the revenue for research and development, 64%, come from industry privado.138 The country leads the world in scientific research papers and impacto.139 factor Americans possess consumer goods technologically avanzados140 141 142 and nearly half of households have broadband Internet access ancha.143 is also the leading developer and grower of genetically modified organisms, more than half of the land of biotech crops in the world are in the United States
CANADA
Canada (pronounced in English / kænədə / and French / kanada /, and writing Canada in both languages) is a federal constitutional monarchy in America, located in the far north of North America. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west and north to the Arctic Ocean. It borders with the United States to the south and northwest Alaska with their status. It is the second largest country in the world after Russia, and also the northernmost. Occupies about half the territory of North America.The land occupied by Canada was inhabited by various indigenous groups of the population over the millennia. From the late fifteenth century, several British and French expeditions explored along the Atlantic coast, where he later settled. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the French and Indian War.
In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provincias.4 5 This began a collection of provinces and territories and a process of autonomy from the United Kingdom . This increasing autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982, which broke the vestiges of legal dependence on the parliament británico.
The Canadian federation consisting of ten provinces and three territories. It is governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II as head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level.
Canada is an industrial nation and pioneering technologically advanced, largely self-sufficient in energy due to their relatively extensive deposits of fossil fuels and nuclear power generation wide and hydropower. Being one of the most developed countries, has a diversified economy, which makes it independent for its large deposits and abundant natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States and Mexico. Currently a member of the OAS, G-8, G-20, NATO, OECD, WTO, APEC, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie and the United Nations. It is considered one of the countries with better quality of life.
Government and politics
Canada has a parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. The parliament consists of the Crown, a House of Commons elected by the people and a Senate appointed. Each Member of Parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple majority in a constituency or equivalent. The Prime Minister is convened general elections, which must be more than five years after the previous election, or may be triggered by the government to ask the censure motion in the parlamento.
Members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned by region, are chosen by the prime minister and formally appointed by the Governor-General and may be in office until the age of 75 years.69 In the 2008 elections, four parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament: the Conservative Party of Canada (governing party), the Liberal Party of Canada (the Official Opposition), the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois.
The federal structure divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the ten provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate similarly to the House of Comunes.70 The three territories also have their own legislatures, but with fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces and with some structural differences (eg, the legislatures of the territories northwest and Nunavut do not obey political parties operate under a consensus) .
Geography and climate
Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between meridians 60 ° W and 141 ° W, 117 but this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in the country (and the world) is warning station of the FC, located on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island at 82.5 ° N, only 817 kilometers from Polo Norte.118 Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost. It is also the country with the world's longest coastline: 202,080 kilómetros.
The population density of 3.3 inhabitants per square kilometer is among the lowest in the world. The most densely populated area of the country is the Quebec City and Windsor Corridor, (situated in Southern Quebec and Ontario) to the shore of the Great Lakes and the St. Lorenzo.The Niagara Falls are one of the mightiest waterfalls in the world, plus they provide energy hidráulica.
Canada has a long coastline to the east, north and west, and from the last glacial period has eight distinct forest regions, including a large area on the Shield taiga Canadiense.121 The vastness and variety of geography, ecology, vegetation and topography in Canada have resulted in a wide variety of climates throughout the país.122 Also because of its size, Canada has more lakes than any other country, so it also contains much of the water There mundo.123 sweet fresh-water glaciers in the Rocky Mountains and Coastal Mountains.
The average temperature in winter and summer varies by location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, especially in inland provinces and prairie, which experience a continental climate, with average daily temperatures of -15 ° C, but can reach below -40 ° C .124 landlocked regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months (more in the north). The coast of British Columbia has a temperate climate with a winter warmer but rainy. On the east and west coasts, average temperatures usually do not exceed 20 ° C, while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges between 25 and 30 ° C, with occasional heat waves inside exceeding 40 ° C.125
The beaver is one of the country's own animals, to the extent that it is considered a national symbol.
Canada is also geologically active, and that the country will have earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes such as Mount Meager, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley and Mount Edziza.126 Volcanic Complex In 1775, the volcanic eruption caused a cone Tseax disaster, killing 2,000 Nisga'a people of ethnic and causing the destruction of their village in the Nass River valley in northern British Columbia, the eruption produced a lava flow of 22.5 kilometers, and according to Nisga'a legend, blocked the river course Nass.
Flora and faunaGiven its huge size, the country has a varied topography and important differences in climate, providing a very diverse flora and fauna. Much of the Canadian territory is covered by forests of timber trees, highlighting the pine, cedar and maple and there are also large areas dominated by grasslands. The fauna is very similar to northern Europe and Asia, so you may encounter bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, among other carnivorous animals. In the Arctic wildlife is typical of the tundra and live in it variety of seals and polar bears, while the flora is dominated by mosses and lichens. In some regions may see beavers, porcupines, moles and numerous rodents. Some areas of Canada are also habitat for antelope, reindeer and alces.
Economy
Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high per capita income, and a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the G8.129 The country has a mixed economy classified above of the United States in economic freedom index of the Heritage Foundation, which also outperformed most European nations occidentales.130 The largest importers of Canadian goods are the United States, the United Kingdom and Japón.131 In 2008, the goods imported into Canada totaled more than U.S. $ 442.9 billion, of which U.S. $ 280.8 billion came from the United States, 11.7 billion and Japan's $ 11.3 billion dollars came the United Unido.In October 2009, the unemployment rate in Canada was 8.6%. Provincial unemployment rates vary from 5.8% in Manitoba to a high of 17% in Newfoundl
and and Labrador.132 In 2008, the public debt was the lowest among members G8.133 Between 2008 and 2009, this debt increased 6.100 million to a total of 463,700 million dólares.134 In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to a more industrial and urban . Like other First World nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service sector, which employs about three quarters of the canadienses.135 Among developed countries, the country offers an unusual importance to its primary sector, in which the petroleum and wood are two of the most sobresalientes.Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energía.137 Atlantic Canada has large natural gas deposits off its coast, and Alberta has significant reserves of oil and gas. The Athabasca oil sands give the country's third largest oil reserves in the world, behind those of Venezuela and Saudi Saudita.138
The Tower National Bank of Canada, in Montreal, one of the major financial centers of the country.
It is also one of the global providers of major agricultural products: the Canadian Prairies are one of the leading producers of wheat, canola and other cereales.139 is also the largest producer of zinc and uranium, and is a major source of many other resources minerals such as gold, nickel, aluminum and plomo.137 Many cities in the north, where agriculture is difficult, are supported by the proximity of mines and mills. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector, concentrated in southern Ontario and Quebec, with the automotive and aeronautical most importantes.
Canadian Government representatives, U.S. and Mexican signing the Free Trade Agreement of North America in 1992.
Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II. This worries many Canadian nationalist groups that are interested in cultural autonomy and economic independence in an era of globalization, as most of the goods and American media have become ubiquitous throughout the país.141 The Treaty Automotive Products Trade of 1965 opened the borders to trade in the auto industry. In the 1970s, speculation about energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors led the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, created the National Energy Program (NEP) and the Agency for Foreign Investment Review (FIRA) .In the 1980s, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney abolished the NEP and changed the name of FIRA to "Investment Canada" in order to encourage investment extranjera.143 The Free Trade Agreement United States - Canada 1988 removed barriers tariffs between the two countries, while in the 1990s, the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free-trade zone to include México.139 the middle of that decade, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien began to post annual budgetary surpluses and started the debt nacional.144 The economic crisis of 2008 caused the collapse of the economy in a recession, which could increase the unemployment rate up to 10% .145 It also has a treaty free trade agreement with Colombia since 2008, where it is one of the main investors in the South American nation
Education, science and technology
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Each of the provinces and territories are responsible for education, each of these systems are similar, while reflecting the history, culture and geography of each región.146 The age at which children begin their education ranges between 5 and 7 years, 146 contributing to an adult literacy rate of 99% .115 Higher education is also administered by provincial and territorial governments, which provide most of its funding, the federal government provides scholarships, student loans and additional research grants. In 2002, 43% of Canadians aged 25-64 years old had a post-secondary education, for those of 25-34 years old, the rate of post-secondary education reached 51% .Canada is an industrial nation with a sector highly developed science and technology. Nearly 1.88% of GDP is allocated to research and development (R & D) 18 148 Canadians have won a Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry and medicina.149 is considered the 12th country with more Internet users the world, with 28 million users, ie, 84.3% of the population total.
The Canadian Space Agency's main function space and planetary exploration, aviation research, and developing rockets and satellites. In 1984, Marc Garneau became Canada's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-41-G. Canada is a participant in the International Space Station and a pioneer in the field of space robotics, thanks to the development of the Canadarm, Canadarm 2 and Dextre. He was ranked twenty third countries in the field of science espacio.151 Since the 1960s, Canada Aerospace Industries have designed and built ten satellites, including RADARSAT-1, RADARSAT-2 and MOST.152 The country also produced one of the most successful sounding rockets, the Black Brant, more than 1,000 of these rockets have been launched since they were initially produced in 1961,153 Canadian universities are working on the first national project of landing a spacecraft: the Northern Light, designed to search for life on Mars and investigate the environment of the planet on issues of electromagnetic radiation and atmospheric properties. If Northern Light is successful, Canada will be the third country to land a spacecraft on another planet.
Religion
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