| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Anthem:  "God Save the Queen"[note 1] |
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 Location of United Kingdom (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
London 51°30′N 0°7′W / 51.5°N 0.117°W |
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| Official language(s) | English[1][2] | |||||
| Recognised regional languages | Irish, Ulster Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Welsh, Cornish[note 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 |
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| Demonym | British or Briton | |||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary democracy and 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 |
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| - | 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 |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.253 trillion[7] (7th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $35,974[7] (21st) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.480 trillion[7] (6th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $39,604[7] (22nd) | ||||
| Gini (2008–09) | 41[8] | |||||
| HDI (2011) | 0.863[9] (very high) (28th) | |||||
| Currency | Pound sterling (GBP) |
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| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) | ||||
| Date formats | dd/mm/yyyy (AD) | |||||
| Drives on the | left[note 3] | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | GB | |||||
| Internet TLD | .uk[note 4] | |||||
| Calling code | 44 | |||||
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 5] (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the 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][11] and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[12] There are three devolved national administrations, each with varying powers,[13][14] situated 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] and fourteen overseas 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.
