United Kingdom
Capital: London · Northern Europe
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland.
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London City Airport with Canary Wharf skyline
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St. Paul's Cathedral, 4 March 2010
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Did you know?
The British Isles have been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic. In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began. The Roman departure between 383 and 410 was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement beginning around 450. In 1066 the Normans conquered England. Over the 17th century the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War. In 1707 the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.
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The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) from the dome on Methodist Central Hall , which is only open to the public once a year on Open House London weekend.…
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Etymology and terminology
The Acts of Union 1707 declared that the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The term "United Kingdom" has occasionally been used for the former Kingdom of Great Britain, although its official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain". The Acts of Union 1800 formed 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 in 1927 to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
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Balmoral Castle
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A tourist stall selling London/United Kingdom/etc souvenirs on the edge of Trafalgar Square on the Strand.
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History
Settlement by Cro-Magnons of what is now the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. The island has been continuously inhabited since the last retreat of ice around 11,500 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland.
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Buckingham Palace
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Taken by Paul Collins
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Canterbury Cathedral: West Front, Nave and Central Tower. Seen from south. Image assembled from 4 photos.
Photo: Hans Musil, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Geography
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2), with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km2). It occupies the major part of the British Isles and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands, meaning it comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Geographically, the United Kingdom lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.
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Traditional english breakfast.
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Façade of the British Museum
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Government and politics
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy operating under the Westminster system, otherwise known as a "democratic parliamentary monarchy". It is a centralised, unitary state wherein the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign. Parliament is made up of the elected House of Commons, the appointed House of Lords and the Crown (as personified by the monarch). The main business of Parliament takes place in the two houses, but royal assent is required for a bill to become an act of Parliament (that is, statute law).
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Fish and Chips, photo taken in November 2018 in Blackpool
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An elderly British couple in a park
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Economy
The United Kingdom has a highly developed social market economy. With an estimated nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of £2.819 trillion in 2025, it is the fifth-largest national economy in the world and the second-largest in Europe. Its currency, the pound sterling, is the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and the world's fourth-largest reserve currency, after the United States dollar, the euro and the yen. The pound sterling maintains its high nominal value through both its long history of stability and by never undergoing formal redenomination.
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Illustration to Robert Burns' poem Halloween by J.M. Wright and Edward Scriven. The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing the Poems, Songs, and Correspondence.…
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1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II - yellow with blue leather in Beverly Hills, CA, USA June 2019
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Derry/Londonderry Station, the North-western terminus of the line.
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Demographics
Whereas the censuses of England and Wales and of Northern Ireland went ahead as planned in 2021, the census in Scotland was delayed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office for National Statistics has estimated that the total population of the United Kingdom recorded in the census would have been 66,912,637 had it been conducted in all parts of the UK on 21 March 2021. The UK population is the fourth-largest in Europe and the 22nd-largest in the world.
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Bank Junction, London
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British length measures - 1 yard (3 feet), 2 feet, 1 foot, 6 inches (1/2 foot), 3 inches(?). Etalons on the wall of Royal Observatory Greenwich, London, Great Britain.
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Culture
The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by the nation's island status, its history, and being a political union of four countries with each preserving distinctive traditions, customs and symbolism. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies, in particular the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, a common culture known as the Anglosphere. Most of its former colonies are Commonwealth countries, bonded by a shared British inheritance. A global survey in 2024 ranked the UK third in the 'Most Influential Countries' rankings, behind the US and China.
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The view of the eastern façade of Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial, seen from the gardens.
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