The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the

United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,[note 10] is a sovereign country in north-western

Europe, off the north-�western coast of the European mainland.[15] The United
Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-�eastern part of the island
of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles.[16] Northern Ireland
shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise, the United Kingdom is
surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English
Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-
longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland.
The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,000 square miles (240,000 km2).

The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional

monarchy.[note 11][17][18] The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952.
[19] The capital is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area
population of 10.3 million.[20] The United Kingdom consists of four countries:
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[21] Their capitals are London,
Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. Other than England, the constituent
countries have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers.[22][23]
[24]

The union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of
Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, followed by their union in
1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland, created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present
formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which
formally adopted the name in 1927 to reflect the change.[note 12]

The nearby Isle of Man, Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK,
being Crown Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and
international representation.[25] There are also 14 British Overseas Territories,
[26] the last remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s,
encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and was the largest empire in
history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and the legal
and political systems of many of its former colonies.[27][28][29][30][31]

The United Kingdom has the world's fifth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic
product (GDP), and the tenth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a
high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 13th in
the world. The UK became the world's first industrialised country and was the
world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[32][33] Today the
UK remains one of the world's great powers, with considerable economic, cultural,
military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally.[34]
[35] It is a recognised nuclear weapon state and is ranked sixth globally in
military expenditure.[36] It has been a permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council since its first session in 1946.

The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of

Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), Interpol and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was a
member of the European Union (EU) and its predecessor, the European Economic
Community (EEC), from 1973 until withdrawing in 2020.

Contents
1 Etymology and terminology
2 History
2.1 Prior to the Treaty of Union
2.2 Kingdom of Great Britain
2.3 From the union with Ireland to the end of the First World War
2.4 Interwar years and the Second World War
2.5 Postwar 20th century
2.6 21st century
3 Geography
3.1 Climate
4 Politics
4.1 Government
4.2 Administrative divisions
4.3 Devolved governments
4.4 Dependencies
4.5 Law and criminal justice
4.6 Foreign relations
4.7 Military
5 Economy
5.1 Overview
5.2 Science and technology
5.3 Transport
5.4 Energy
5.5 Water supply and sanitation
6 Demographics
6.1 Ethnic groups
6.2 Languages
6.3 Religion
6.4 Migration
6.5 Education
6.6 Health
7 Culture
7.1 Literature
7.2 Music
7.3 Visual art
7.4 Cinema
7.5 Cuisine
7.6 Media
7.7 Philosophy
7.8 Sport
7.9 Symbols
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
Etymology and terminology

See also: Britain (place name) and Terminology of the British Isles
The Acts of Union 1707 declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were
"United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".[37][38][note 13] The term
"United Kingdom" has occasionally been used as a description for the former kingdom
of Great Britain, although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great
Britain".[39][40][41][42] The Acts of Union 1800 united the kingdom of Great
Britain and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of the
Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the
island of Ireland within the United Kingdom, the name was changed to the "United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".[43]

Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland are also widely referred to as countries.[44][45] The UK Prime
Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the
United Kingdom.[21] Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1
regions of the United Kingdom refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as
"regions".[46][47] Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province".[48][49]
With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial,
with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".[50]

The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or
politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination.[51][52][53] It is
sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole.[54]

The term "Britain" is used both as a synonym for Great Britain,[55][56][57] and as
a synonym for the United Kingdom.[58][57] Usage is mixed: the UK Government prefers
to use the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" on its own website (except
when referring to embassies),[59] while acknowledging that both terms refer to the
United Kingdom and that elsewhere '"British government" is used at least as
frequently as "United Kingdom government".[60] The UK Permanent Committee on
Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and
abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes 'it is
only the one specific nominal term "Great Britain" which invariably excludes
Northern Ireland.'[60] The BBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand
only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position
except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland.[61][62]

The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United
Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship and matters to do
with nationality.[63] People of the United Kingdom use a number of different terms
to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British,
English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, or Irish;[64] or as having a combination
of different national identities.[65][66] The official designation for a citizen of
the United Kingdom is "British citizen".[60]

History
Prior to the Treaty of Union
Main articles: History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, History
of Ireland, and History of the formation of the United Kingdom
See also: History of the British Isles

Stonehenge consists of a ring of standing stones, each around 4 m (13 ft) high and
2 m (7 ft) wide and weighing approximately 25 tonnes; erected between 2400 BC and
2200 BC
Settlement by anatomically modern humans of what was to become the United Kingdom
occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago.[67] By the end of the
region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged, in the
main, to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic
Ireland.[68] The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of
southern Britain, was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers,
reducing the Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales, Cornwall and, until
the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England
and parts of southern Scotland).[69] Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons
became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century.[70] Meanwhile,
Gaelic-speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of
Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in the 5th century)
[71][72] united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th
century.[73]

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to
it.
In 1066, the Normans and their Breton allies invaded England from northern France.
After conquering England, they seized large parts of Wales, conquered much of
Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism
on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture.[74] The Anglo-Norman ruling
class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with, each of the local
cultures.[75] Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and
made unsuccessful attempts to annex Scotland. Asserting its independence in the
1320 Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland maintained its independence thereafter,
albeit in near-constant conflict with England.