The United Kingdom is composed of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain includes Britain, England, Wales, and Scotland, excluding Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom covers approximately 94,400 square miles; Great Britain covers 89,000 square miles, while Northern Ireland only covers 5,400 square miles. Even though this country lies on the western Atlantic they still maintain tempered climate due to the Gulf Stream being so close (Ember, 2001, p.2332). .
Traditionally, married couples have two children per family, making the family's quiet small. Recently there have not been as many people getting married at an early age, they are waiting until they are older to get married and are having fewer children once married. People in the UK are much like Americans, although, when dating they only date one person at a time and not anyone else. You may legally get married at the age of 16 when living in the UK but most wait until their twenties (Anonymous, 2002, p.39). Working class and middle class are two ways that people characterize themselves in the UK. People that characterize themselves as working class normally have been born into a family that is supported by a worker in the manufacturing or agricultural industries. Many of these families rent their homes because they bring in a low amount of income per year. In a typical working class family, neither parent has a college education. On the other hand, middle class families normally consist of college-educated adults that have white-collar jobs. Most of the middle class families own their own houses in the suburbs close to the city (Ember, 2001, p.2337-2338).
People who reside in the UK enjoy many different recreational activities such as: football, know to us as soccer, rugby, horse racing, cricket, modern lawn tennis, badminton, sailing, swimming, snooker, darts, and squash (Anonymous, 2002, p. 39).