The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of

constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom

of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707
formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. Its 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which
formally adopted that name in 1927.[note 3]
The nearby Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown
Dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international
representation.[30] There are also 14 British Overseas Territories,[31] the last remnants of
the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the
world's landmass and a third of the world's population, 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.[32][33][34][35][36]
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.[37][38] Today the UK remains one of the
world's great powers, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific,
technological and political influence internationally.[39][40] It is a recognised nuclear state and is
ranked fourth globally in military expenditure.[41] 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 Group of Ten, the G20, the United Nations, NATO, the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol, and the World Trade
Organization (WTO). It was a member state of the European Communities (EC) and its
successor, the European Union (EU), from its accession in 1973 until its withdrawal in
2020 following a referendum held in 2016.

Contents

 1Etymology and terminology

 2History
o 2.1Prior to the Treaty of Union
o 2.2Kingdom of Great Britain
o 2.3From the union with Ireland to the end of the First World War
o 2.4Interwar years and the Second World War
o 2.5Postwar 20th century
o 2.621st century
 3Geography
o 3.1Climate
 4Government and politics
o 4.1Administrative divisions
o 4.2Devolved governments
o 4.3Dependencies
o 4.4Law and criminal justice
o 4.5Foreign relations
o 4.6Military
  5Economy
o 5.1Overview
o 5.2Science and technology
o 5.3Transport
o 5.4Energy
o 5.5Water supply and sanitation
 6Demographics
o