Study abroad in United-kingdom

Study in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom Statistics

Geography-Population

Official name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Area: 244.101 km ²

Population: 60.7 millions of inhabitants, foreigners included (estimated in July 2009)

Capital: London

Main cities: Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Edinburgh

Currency: Pound (£1 = € 1.26)

National holiday: 14^th of June (the day of the ‘Queen’s official birthday’)

Government-Economy

GDP: $2.231 trillion (2008 est.)

GDP – per capita (PPP): $36,600 (2008 est.)

Growth rate (2007): + 3.1%

Unemployment rate (2007): 5.3%

General consulate of France: London and Edinburg

French community in the UK: 4.5%100, around 200.000 people

Information for International Students in the United Kingdom 

Housing

- for hostels and other accommodations, a weekly budget is to be foreseen; you need to count on average £85 to £140 per week, for a one bed room in the centre of London. So it is advised to calculate between €125 and €250. To get more information regarding hostels, you can ask London Students Directory. If you rather choose a student hall, go on www.lcos.org.uk website. In case you struggling in finding an accommodation, you can use LHA hall network (London Hostels Association, 53 Eccleston Square, London SW1, at Victoria station). Some of these halls include meals in their fees, but the menu does not change from a day to the days after.

- you can also rent a room in someone’s house, then the reference will be the Loot. It is also available on the Internet at www.loot.com; it is a website where private individuals can do business with each other.Roommate remains the cheapest solution.

Transportation

If you live away from your school or university, don’t forget to consider this cost in your budget. In the United Kingdom, the cities that are equipped with an underground transport are London and Glasgow. The one that have a streetcar network are: Birmingham, Blackpool, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. In general, transportation networks are well-organized within the UK and propose student fees.

Telephone

You go abroad while leaving your family and friends in France. You can take advantage of the large offer of mobiles phone companies that have more attractive prices than they have in France. You think that using prepaid phone cards is more cautious:, there are many of them but the way they work is not clear, and this could be more expensive for you.

Food

If you eat out in London, you can easily find some food for less than £15; but in general it costs between €15 and €27 for a hearty meal.