Lecture 1: The Demographics of the United Kingdom Jason Downs British and American Culture

The “Four Countries” of the UK

Geography of the UK

Most Populous Cities  1. London  2. Birmingham  3. Manchester  4. Leeds  5. Liverpool  6. Glasgow

Population Density Map

UK Population  Population: approx. 63 million  One-third of the population live in the southeast  Formerly, the UK population was almost all white European ethnicity; however in the 20th and 21st centuries it has become increasingly diverse.

Country of Birth for Immigrants to the UK (2011 Census) India722,433 Poland654,010 Pakistan502,796 Ireland468,142 Germany299,746 China284,069 Bangladesh214,091 South Africa203,477 Nigeria201,184 United States197,355 Jamaica160,775 Of course, there are also many people who are of foreign ethnicity but were born in the U.K., which are not included in this chart.

Sources of Immigration to UK

Religion in the UK

Average income map North-South divide

Social Class Divisions  Although British society makes great efforts to promote social equality and equality of opportunity, there are still persistent social divisions  “Social class” is often an important identity in the UK  These class divisions often result in cultural and political divisions  One’s social class is often not based on how much money one has

Differences in Speech based on Geographic and Social Class Divisions  Upper and lower classes can be easily distinguished based on accent  “RP – Received Pronunciation” – this is the upper-class accent, used for example by BBC presenters  “Cockney” – this is a working-class accent that originated from the east side of London  Ak

UK Map Quiz Know all of the cities on this map, along with the four countries of the UK and the Thames River.

UK Map Quiz  Also, know these regions of England

UK Map Quiz  You can use this blank map of England to practice remembering the regions.

UK Map Quiz  You can use this blank UK map to practice remembering the cities, four countries, and Thames.

Homework  Read and understand the class syllabus  Unit 1, all (pages 1-21)  Unit 2, Sections 1-2 (pages 22-24)  King Arthur text  Study for U.K. Map Quiz