United Kingdom

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"UK" redirects here. For other uses, see UK (disambiguation). This article is about the sovereign state. For other uses, see United Kingdom (disambiguation).

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Flag

Royal coat of arms

Anthem:

"God Save the Queen"[nb 1]

Location of United Kingdom (dark green) in Europe (green & dark grey) in the European Union (green) [Legend] Capital (and largest city) Official language(s) Recognised London
5130N 07W

English[1][2] Irish, Ulster Scots,Scottish

regional languages Ethnic groups (2001

See: UK ethnic groups list )
[4]

Gaelic, Scots,Welsh, Cornish[nb 2] 92.1% White 4.0% South Asian 2.0% Black 1.2% Mixed 0.4% Chinese 0.4% Other

Demonym Government

British or Briton Unitary parliamentaryconstitutional monarchy

Monarch Prime Minister Legislature

Elizabeth II David Cameron MP Parliament House of Lords House of Commons Formation

Upper house Lower house

Acts of Union 1707 Acts of Union 1800 Anglo-Irish Treaty

1 May 1707 1 January 1801 12 April 1922 Area

Total

243,610 km2 (80th) 94,060 sq mi

Water (%)

1.34 Population

Mid-2010 estimate 2001 census Density

62,262,000[5] (22nd) 58,789,194[6] 255.6/km2 (51st) 661.9/sq mi

GDP (PPP) Total Per capita

2011 estimate $2.253 trillion[7] (8th) $35,646[7] (22nd) 2011 estimate $2.480 trillion[7] (7th) $39,459[7] (22nd)

GDP (nominal) Total Per capita

Gini (200809) HDI (2011) Currency Time zone Summer (DST) Date formats Drives on the ISO 3166 code Internet TLD Calling code
1

41[8] 0.863[9] (very high) (28th) Pound sterling (GBP) GMT (UTC+0) BST (UTC+1) dd/mm/yyyy (AD) left[nb 3] GB .uk[nb 4] 44

A second coat of arms is used in Scotland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[nb 5] (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain) is a sovereign statelocated off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Irelandand many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right[10][11] and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[12] There are threedevolved national administrations, each with varying powers,[13][14] based in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies.[15] The United Kingdom has fourteenoverseas territories.[16] These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories. The UK is a developed country and has the world's seventh-largest economy by nominal GDP and eighthlargest economy by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country[17] and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[18] The UK remains a great powerwith leading economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence.[19] It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks third or fourth in the world.[20] The UK has been a permanent member of

the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946; it is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union, the G7, the G8, the G20, NATO, the OECD and the World Trade Organization.
Contents
[hide]

1 Etymology and terminology 2 History

o o

2.1 Prior to 1707 2.2 Since the Acts of Union of 1707

3 Geography

o o o

3.1 Climate 3.2 Administrative divisions 3.3 Dependencies

4 Politics

o o o o o

4.1 Government 4.2 Devolved national administrations 4.3 Law and criminal justice 4.4 Foreign relations 4.5 Military

5 Economy

o o o

5.1 Science and technology 5.2 Transport 5.3 Energy

6 Demographics

o o o o o o

6.1 Ethnic groups 6.2 Languages 6.3 Religion 6.4 Migration 6.5 Education 6.6 Healthcare

7 Culture

7.1 Cinema

o o o o o o o

7.2 Literature 7.3 Media 7.4 Music 7.5 Philosophy 7.6 Visual art 7.7 Sport 7.8 Symbols

8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

Etymology and terminology

See also: Name of Britain, Terminology of Great Britain, and Terminology of the British Isles The name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" was introduced in 1927 by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act to reflect the granting of independence to the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland still within the UK.[21] Prior to this, theActs of Union 1800, that led to the uniting the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, had given the new state the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain before 1801 is occasionally referred to as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain".[22][23][24][25] However, Section 1 of both of the 1707 Acts of Union declare that England and Scotland are "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". [26][27][nb
6]

The termunited kingdom is found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the new state but only

became official with the union with Ireland in 1801.[28] Although the United Kingdom, as a sovereign state, is a country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also referred to as countries, whether or not they are sovereign states or have devolved or other self-government.[29][30] The British Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom.[11] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences."[31] Other terms used for Northern Ireland include "region" and "province".[32][33] The United Kingdom is often referred to as Britain. British government sources frequently use the term as a short form for the United Kingdom, whilst media style guides generally allow its use but point out that the longer term Great Britain refers only to England, Scotland and Wales.[34][35][36] However, some foreign usage, particularly in the United States, uses Great Britain as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom.[37][38] Also, the

United Kingdom'sOlympic team competes under the name "Great Britain" or "Team GB".[39][40] GB and GBR are the standard country codes for the United Kingdom (seeISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) and are consequently commonly used by international organisations to refer to the United Kingdom.[citation needed] The adjective British is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom. Although the term has no definite legal connotation, it is used in legislation to refer to United Kingdom citizenship.[41] However, British people use a number of different terms to describe their national identity. Some may identify themselves as British only, or British and English, Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish. Others may identify themselves as only English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish and not British. In Northern Irela