The United Kingdom

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Flag Royal coat of arms
"God Save the Queen"
Location of  United Kingdom  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		London 51°30′N 0°7′W
Official language(s)		English[1][2]
Recognised regional languages		Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Ulster Scots, Welsh, Cornish[nb 2]
Ethnic groups (2001 See: UK ethnic groups list[4])		92.1% White 4.0% South Asian 2.0% Black 1.2% Mixed 0.4% Chinese 0.4% Other
Demonym		British or Briton
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Elizabeth II
-	Prime Minister	David Cameron MP
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	House of Lords
-	Lower house	House of Commons
Formation
-	Acts of Union 1707	1 May 1707
-	Acts of Union 1800	1 January 1801
-	Anglo-Irish Treaty	12 April 1922
Area
-	Total	243,610 km2 (80th) 94,060 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.34
Population
-	Mid-2010 estimate	62,262,000[5] (22nd)
-	2001 census	58,789,194[6]
-	Density	255.6/km2 (51st) 661.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$2,308.503 trillion[7]
-	Per capita	$36,605.022[7]
GDP (nominal)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$2,452.689 trillion[7]
-	Per capita	$38,891.321[7]
Gini (2008–09)		41[8]
HDI (2011)		0.863[9] (very high) (28th)
Currency		Pound sterling (GBP)
Time zone		GMT (UTC+0)
-	Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
Date formats		dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the		left[nb 3]
ISO 3166 code		GB
Internet TLD		.uk[nb 4]
Calling code		44
1	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 (UK) or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and 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] and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The latter three of these are devolved administrations, each with varying powers,^[11][12] based in their capital cities Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff respectively. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies.^[13] The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories.^[14] 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 eighth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country^[15] and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.^[16] The UK remains a great power with leading economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence.^[17] It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth in the world.^[18]

The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946. It has been a member of the European Union and its predecessor the European Economic Community since 1973. It is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G8, the G20, NATO, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization.