The UK today — countries, capitals, currency, and people
The four nations, their capital cities, the currency rules everyone gets wrong, the languages other than English, and how the population has changed.
This section is short on traps and long on facts to memorise. The questions are usually direct: capital cities, currency denominations, population proportions, and which non-English languages are spoken where.
The four capitals
Memorise these as a single block:
| Country | Capital |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom (and England) | London |
| Scotland | Edinburgh |
| Wales | Cardiff |
| Northern Ireland | Belfast |
The handbook also lists the biggest cities as a roll-call, but the test mostly only asks about the four capitals.
The geography one-liner
The handbook offers one specific distance: from John O’Groats (north coast of Scotland) to Land’s End (south-west England), along the mainland, is about 870 miles (~1,400 km). If a question asks for the longest mainland distance, that pair of place names is the answer.
Currency
The currency is the pound sterling (£), with 100 pence in a pound.
- Coins: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2.
- Notes: £5, £10, £20, £50.
Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are valid everywhere in the UK — but shops and businesses do not have to accept them. Both halves of that sentence are testable. They are valid; acceptance is not compulsory.
Languages
English is the dominant language, but two other languages are recognised in specific regions:
- Welsh is spoken in Wales — a language entirely distinct from English, taught in Welsh schools and universities.
- Gaelic has two distinct varieties on these islands. Scottish Gaelic is spoken in parts of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Irish Gaelic is spoken by some people in Northern Ireland.
If a question pairs Wales with “Gaelic,” the answer is wrong — Wales speaks Welsh.
Population — the four-nation split
England consistently makes up about 84% of the UK population. The other three countries split the remaining 16%:
| Country | Share of UK population |
|---|---|
| England | ~84% |
| Scotland | ~8% |
| Wales | ~5% |
| Northern Ireland | <3% |
The handbook also gives a rough population timeline (1600 to ~2010); useful as background, but the precise figures are rarely tested in exact form.
An ageing population
People are living longer (better living standards, better health care) and there is now a record number of people aged 85 and over. The two consequences the handbook flags are pension costs and health-care costs.
An equal society
A few legal facts the handbook treats as testable:
- Discrimination on grounds of gender or marital status is unlawful.
- Married couples have equal rights to work, own property, marry, and divorce.
- Both parents are equally responsible for their children.
- Women make up about half the workforce; on average, girls leave school with better qualifications than boys, and more women than men study at university.
These are values claims the handbook makes, and the test sometimes asks True/False questions about them directly.
What to take from this section
- London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast — UK / Scotland / Wales / Northern Ireland.
- John O’Groats to Land’s End = ~870 miles, longest mainland distance.
- Currency: £, 100p; banknotes from Scotland and NI are valid but not obligatory to accept.
- Wales speaks Welsh; Scotland speaks Scottish Gaelic; NI speaks Irish Gaelic. Don’t swap them.
- 84 / 8 / 5 / 3 — the four-nation population split.