The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of four countries, three of them on the Island of Great Britain (Scotland, England and Wales), and one of them in the northeast of Ireland (Northern Ireland). Among these four, England is the biggest and the most populated one - with its 51,000,000 inhabitants it's home to 83% of the total population of the UK. Economically, England is the most developed part of the kingdom, but it also comprises its most heavily urbanized and polluted parts. The northern third of Great Britain belongs to Scotland, the second largest country in the UK. Scotland is the home to 5.2 million people and it posses the second strongest economy in the United Kingdom - Scotland has the largest oil reserves in the EU and Edinburgh is an internationally important financial centre. Unlike in England, large parts of Scotland are comprised of untouched, mountainous landscape. In the north and the northwest the Scottish sovereignty extends over 790 islands in the North Sea. Wales, the smallest country on the Island of Great Britain, occupies the southwester part of the kingdom. Wales used to be an independent Celtic nation, but it has been under the dominance of its powerful neighbour England since the 13th century. As of 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales was created, a high degree of autonomy was granted to this country. The capital of Wales, Cardif, is today the second most important media centre in the UK after Lodnon. The smallest country in the UK, Northern Ireland, is home to only 3% of the UK population. Due to its specific location and its majority Irish population, Northern Ireland heavily gravitates towards the Republic of Ireland and its capital Dublin. Economically it's the least developed part of the UK which brings it into stark contrast with the exceptionally wealthy Republic of Ireland in the south.
