"UK" redirects here. For other uses, see

K_%28disambiguation%29" title="UK (disambiguation)">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"[note 1]
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 / 51.5°N 0.117°W / 51.5; -0.117
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
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
-	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)		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)
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.