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"UK" redirects here. For other uses, see UK (disambiguation).
For other uses, see United Kingdom (disambiguation).
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Great Britain,See British Isles (terminology) for further explanation of the usage of the term "Britain" in geographical and political contexts. is a sovereign island countryEncyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. “Island country located off the north-western coast of mainland Europe”www.number-10.gov.uk. Countries within a country. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. “Countries within a country” located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe comprising of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It includes the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.Member States: United Kingdom. UK Presidency of the EU 2005. Retrieved on May 29, []. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with its seat of government in London, the capital. It is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the head of state. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it.UK gov explanation of names. The UK has fourteen overseas territories,UK Overseas Territories. Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Retrieved on 2007-04-20. all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world\'s land surface, making it the largest empire in history. As a direct result of the empire, British influence can be observed in the infrastructure, culture, sporting preferences and language of other leading countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the United States of America as well as in less globally influential independent states. HM Queen Elizabeth II remains the head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of the Commonwealth realms. The UK is a developed country, with the fifth or sixth largest economy depending on source.UK slips behind France on economy.
The UK was the world\'s foremost power during the 19th and early 20th century,Ferguson, Niall (2004). Empire, The rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global power. Basic Books. ISBN 0465023282. but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless retains significant economic, cultural, military and political influence and is a nuclear power, with the third highest defence spending in the world. It holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the G8, NATO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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England and Scotland had existed as separate sovereign and independent states with their own monarchs and political structures since the 9th century. The once independent Principality of Wales fell under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284. Under the Acts of Union 1707, England (including Wales) and Scotland, which had been in personal union since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, agreed to a political union in the form of a unified Kingdom of Great Britain.The Treaty (or Act) of Union, 1707. Retrieved on 2006-05-15. The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1541 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.The Act of Union. Act of Union Virtual Library. Retrieved on 2006-05-15.
The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
The British Empire in 1897. By 1920 it had become the largest empire in history
Over the next century the United Kingdom played an important role in developing Western ideas of parliamentary democracy with significant contributions to literature, the arts and science.Ferguson, Niall (2003). Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-02328-2. The UK-led Industrial Revolution transformed the country and fuelled the British Empire. During this time, like other Great Powers, the UK was involved in colonial exploitation, including the slave trade, though the passing of the 1807 Slave Trade Act made the UK the first country to prohibit trade in slaves.
After the defeat of Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars, Britain became the principal naval power of the 19th century. At its peak the British Empire controlled large amounts of territory in Asia, Africa, Oceania and America.
At the end of the Victorian era the United Kingdom lost its industrial leadership, particularly to the German Empire, which surpassed the UK in industrial production and trade in the 1890s, and to the United States. Britain remained an eminent power and its empire expanded to its maximum size by 1921, gaining the League of Nations mandate over former German and Ottoman colonies after World War I.
Long simmering tensions in Ireland led to the partition of the island in 1920, followed by independence for the Irish Free State in 1922. Six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster remained within the UK, which then changed to the current name in 1927 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 6 December 1921. CAIN. Retrieved on 2006-05-15.
The Battle of Britain. The United Kingdom was the only Allied European country to remain free from occupation during World War II.
After World War I, the world\'s first large-scale international broadcasting network, the BBC, was created. In 1924 the country\'s Labour movement, which had been gaining strength since the late 1890s, formed the first Labour government. Britain fought Nazi Germany in World War II, with its Commonwealth allies including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India, later to be joined by further allies such as the United States. Wartime leader Winston Churchill and his peacetime successor Clement Atlee helped create the post-war world as part of the "Big Three". World War II left the United Kingdom financially damaged. Loans taken out during and after World War II from both Canada and the United States were economically costly but, along with post-war Marshall aid, the UK began the road to recovery.
The immediate post-war years saw the establishment of the British Welfare State and one of the world\'s first and most comprehensive public health services, while the demands of a recovering economy brought people from the Commonwealth to create a multi-ethnic Britain. Although the new post-war limits of Britain\'s political role were confirmed by the Suez Crisis of 1956, the international spread of the language meant the continuing impact of its literature and culture, while at the same time from the 1960s its popular culture found influence abroad. Following a period of economic stagnation and industrial strife in the 1970s after a global economic downturn, the 1980s saw the inflow of substantial oil revenues, and the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, under whom there was a marked break with the post-war political and economic consensus. Her supporters credit her with economic success, but her critics blame her for greater social division. From 1997 onward, these trends of growth largely continued under the leadership of Tony Blair.
The United Kingdom was one of the 12 founding members of the European Union at its launch in 1992 with the signing of the Treaty on European Union. Prior to that, it had been a member of the EU\'s forerunner, the European Economic Community (EEC), from 1973. The attitude of the present Labour government towards further integration with this organisation is mixed,Modest progress but always on back foot. Times Online (2005-12-21). Retrieved on 2006-05-16. with the Conservative Party favouring a return of some powers and competencies to the state,European Constitution: bad for Britain, bad for Europe. Conservative Party. Retrieved on 2006-05-23. and the Liberal Democrats supportive of current engagement.
The end of the 20th century witnessed a major change to the government of the United Kingdom with devolution to Scotland and Wales taking effect in 1999. The creation of the devolved Scottish parliament in particular, with powers to legislate over a wide range of issues, is beginning to add to differences between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. It has brought to the fore the so-called West Lothian question which is a complaint that devolution for Scotland and Wales but not England has created a situation where MPs in the UK parliament can vote on matters affecting England alone but on those same matters Scotland and Wales can make their own decisions. In 2007, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the Scottish parliament elections and formed a minority government. New First Minister, Alex Salmond, hopes to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence before 2011, though the SNP may be unable to get a Bill to hold such a referendum approved by the Scottish parliament due to the minority position of the SNP government. If a referendum is held, an opinion poll in late 2007 suggested the result could be close as support for independence had reached 40% with just 44% supporting retention of the Union.Sunday Herald, December 2007, 40% of Scots now support Independence The response of the unionist parties has been to call for the establishment of a Commission to examine further devolution of powers,MSPs back devolution review body BBC News, 6th December 2007a position that has the support of the Prime Minister.PM backs Scottish powers review BBC News, 17th February 2008
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as head of state; the monarch of the UK serves as head of state of fifteen other Commonwealth countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states. The Crown has sovereignty over the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. Collectively, these three territories are known as the Crown dependencies, lands owned by the British monarch but not part of the United Kingdom. They are not part of the European Union. However, the Parliament of the United Kingdom has the authority to legislate for the dependencies, and the British government manages their foreign affairs and defence.
The UK has fourteen overseas territories around the world, the last remaining territories of the British Empire. The overseas territories are not considered part of the UK, but in most cases, the local populations have British citizenship and the right of abode in the UK. This has been the case since 2002.
The UK has a parliamentary government based on strong democratic traditions: the Westminster system has been emulated around the world — a legacy of the British Empire.
The UK\'s constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists mostly of written sources, including statutes, judge made case law, and international treaties. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered to be "constitutional law," the British Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.Official UK Parliament web page on parliamentary sovereignty. The United Kingdom is one of the three countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution (the other two being New Zealand and Israel).Sarah Carter. A Guide To the UK Legal System. University of Kent at Canterbury. Retrieved on 2006-05-16.
The position of Prime Minister, the UK\'s head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister and their Cabinet are formally appointed by the Monarch to form Her Majesty\'s Government. However, the Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet, and by convention, HM The Queen respects the Prime Minister\'s choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister\'s party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, all of whom are sworn into Her Majesty\'s Most Honourable Privy Council, and become Ministers of the Crown. The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, leader of the Labour Party, has been Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 27 June 2007.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster, is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom. Devolved parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, were established following public approval as expressed in referenda, but according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, these could be abolished by the UK parliament. The UK parliament is made up of HM The Queen and two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords. For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 59 in Scotland, 40 in Wales and 18 in Northern Ireland. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by simple plurality. General Elections are called by the Monarch when the Prime Minister so advises. Though there is no minimum term for a Parliament, a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election.
Questions over sovereignty have been brought forward due to the UK\'s membership of the European Union.Europe Wins The Power To Jail British Citizens. The Times (2005-09-14).
The UK\'s three major political parties are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, winning between them 616 out of the 646 seats available in the House of Commons at the 2005 General Election. Most of the remaining seats were won by parties that only contest elections in one part of the UK such as the Scottish National Party (Scotland only), Plaid Cymru (Wales only), and the Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Féin (Northern Ireland only, though Sinn Féin also contests elections in Ireland). In accordance with party policy, no elected Sinn Féin Member of Parliament has ever attended the House of Commons to speak in the House on behalf of their constituents as Members of Parliament are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Monarch. However, the current five Sinn Féin MPs have since 2002 made use of the offices and other facilities available at Westminster.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1771635.stm.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each has a devolved, unicameral legislature and its own government or Executive, led by a First Minister. England, despite being the largest country of the United Kingdom, has no devolved executive or legislature and is ruled and legislated for directly by the UK government and parliament. This situation has given rise to the so-called West Lothian question which concerns the fact that MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland help decide laws that apply to England alone.
Scottish Parliament is the national legislature of Scotland
The Scottish Parliament has wide ranging legislative powers over any matter that has not been specifically \'reserved\' to the UK parliament, including education, healthcare, Scots law and local government. Following the 2007 elections, Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, became First Minister of Scotland.
The National Assembly for Wales has more limited devolved powers than those devolved to ScotlandStructure and powers of the Assembly BBC News April 8th, 1999 though it may move towards additional powers in the near future.What powers does the Welsh Assembly have? Guardian July 16th, 2007 The Northern Ireland Assembly has powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland.
Each country of the United Kingdom is subdivided for the purposes of local government.
The upper-tier subdivisions of England, are the nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authority areas, apart from London, which consists of London boroughs. Although at one point it was intended that these regions would be given their own elected regional assemblies, the plan\'s future is uncertain following a rejection, by a referendum in 2004, of a proposed assembly in the North East region."The Government is now expected to tear up its twelve-year-old plan to create eight or nine regional assemblies in England to mirror devolution in Scotland and Wales."Prescott\'s dream in tatters as North East rejects assembly. The Times. Retrieved on 2008-02-15.
Scotland is divided into 32 council areas with wide variation in both size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas as also is Highland Council which includes a third of Scotland\'s area but just over 200,000 people.
Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, including the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport which are separate unitary authorities in their own right.
Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts for local government purposes though these councils do not carry out the same range of functions as would be the case in the rest of the United Kingdom.
For more ceremonial purposes, HM The Queen appoints a Lord-Lieutenant as her personal representative in lieutenancy areas across the UK. City status, which is governed by Royal Charter, can also be conferred separate from local government arrangements. Though there are sixty-six cities in the UK - fifty in England; six in Scotland; five in Wales; and five in Northern Ireland - a number of these do not form separate local government units.
The following table highlights the arrangements for local government and lieutenancy areas in each country:
Manchester Town Hall. Many towns and cities reflect their "civic pride" with public buildings.
| Constituent Country | Population | Subdivisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 50,431,700 |
9 Regions | |
| Scotland | 5,094,800 | ||
| Wales | 2,958,600 | ||
| Northern Ireland | 1,724,400 |
The United Kingdom has three distinct systems of law. English law and Northern Ireland law are based on common-law principles. Scots law, is a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles.
English law applies in England and Wales. The essence of English common law is that it is made by judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent (stare decisis) to the facts before them. The court system is headed by the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). The Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just referred to, as "The House of Lords") is the highest court in the land for criminal and civil cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and for civil cases in Scots law. Recent constitutional changes will see the powers of the House of Lords transfer to a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.Constitutional reform: A Supreme Court for the United KingdomPDF (252 KiB), Department for Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved on 2006-05-22 A decision of the highest appeal court in England and Wales, the House of Lords, is binding on every other court in the hierarchy, and they will follow its directions.
The Treaty of Union guaranteed the continued existence of Scotland\'s separate legal system and therefore Scots law continues to apply in Scotland. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases, while the sheriff court is the Scottish equivalent of the county court. The Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal with no possibility of retrial.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, (comprising the same members as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords), is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British crown dependencies.
The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8 and NATO, and a member state of the European Union. The UK has a "Special Relationship" with the United States. Apart from the US and Europe, Britain\'s close allies include Commonwealth nations, Ireland and other English speaking countries. Britain\'s global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations and its armed forces, which maintain approximately eighty military installations and other deployments around the globe.www.globalpowereurope.eu/.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comprises the island of Great Britain (most of England, Scotland and Wales) and the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland), together with smaller islands. The mainland lies between latitudes 49° and 59° N (the Shetland Islands reach to nearly 61° N), and longitudes 8° W to 2° E. The Royal Greenwich Observatory, near London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian. The United Kingdom has a total area of approximately 245,000 square kilometres (94,600 sq mi). The UK lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, and comes within 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the northwest coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. Northern Ireland shares a 360-kilometre (224 mi) land boundary with Ireland. The Channel Tunnel ("Chunnel") now links the UK with France beneath the English Channel.
Map of the United Kingdom.
Ben Nevis, in the Grampian Mountains, is the highest point in the British Isles
Most of England consists of lowland terrain, and mountainous terrain north-west of the Tees-Exe line. Mountain chains are found in the north-west (Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District), north (the upland moors of the Pennines and limestone hills of the Peak District) and south-west (Exmoor and Dartmoor). Lower ranges include the limestone hills of the Isle of Purbeck, Cotswolds and Lincolnshire Wolds, and the chalk downs of the Southern England Chalk Formation. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber Estuary. The largest urban area is Greater London. England\'s highest mountain is Scafell Pike, which is in the Lake District 978 metres (3,209 ft).
Scotland\'s geography is varied, with lowlands in the south and east and highlands in the north and west, including Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles at 1,344 metres (4,409 ft). There are long and deep-sea arms, firths, and lochs. There are nearly eight hundred islands in Scotland, mainly west and north of the mainland, notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. In total, it is estimated that the UK includes around one thousand islands.Dialysis Scotland. Celtic Legend. Retrieved on 2006-05-22.
Wales is mostly mountainous, the highest peak being Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, however South Wales is less mountainous than North and Mid Wales. North of the mainland is the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn).
Northern Ireland, making up the northeastern part of Ireland, is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh, at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), the largest body of water in the UK and Ireland.Geography of Northern Ireland. University of Ulster. Retrieved on 2006-05-22. The highest peak is Slieve Donard at 849 metres (2,785 ft) in the province\'s Mourne Mountains.
The greatest distance between two points on the UK mainland of Great Britain is 1,350 kilometres (840 mi) between Land\'s End in Cornwall (near Penzance) and John O\'Groats in Caithness (near Thurso), a two day journey by car. When measured directly north-south it is a little over 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) in length and is a fraction under 500 kilometres (300 mi) at its widest.
The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons but seldom drops below −10 °C (14.0 °F) or rises above 35 °C (95 °F). The prevailing wind is from the southwest, bearing frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean. Eastern parts are most sheltered from this wind and are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters, especially in the west, where winters are wet, especially over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to great depth away from high ground.
Manchester city centre.
London is the capital of the UK as a whole. Several cities lay claim to the title "second city".
The capitals of the United Kingdom\'s constituent countries are:
The largest towns and cities in the UK are as follows:
The largest urban areas in the UK are as follows:
A European Union measurement of urbanisation, the Larger Urban Zone is a harmonised definition of metropolitan area. Eurostat\'s objective was to have an area from which a significant share of the residents commute into the city, a concept known as the “functional urban region”. To ensure good data availability, Eurostat works with administrative boundaries that approximate the functional urban region.
Seven UK Zones feature in the top 50 in the EU.
The populations and percentage of total population in the four nations of the United Kingdom.
At the April 2001 UK Census, the United Kingdom\'s population was 58,789,194, the third largest in the European Union (behind Germany and France), the fifth largest in the Commonwealth and the twenty-first largest in the world. This had been estimated up to 60,587,300 by the Office for National Statistics in 2006.UK population approaches 60 million. Office for National Statistics (2005-08-25). Retrieved on 2006-05-14. In August 2006 it was confirmed that the UK\'s population had reached 60 million, then rapidly increased to 60.2 million, largely from net immigration, but also because of a rising birth rate and increasing life expectancy.Rising birth rate, longevity and migrants push population to more than 60 million. The Guardian (2006-08-25). Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
Though the UK\'s overall population density is one of the highest in the world, this masks differences between the countries of the UK: In 2003, England was the most densely populated with 383 people resident per square kilometre, whereas the corresponding figures were 142 people for Wales, 125 for Northern Ireland and 65 for Scotland.Population National Statistics About a quarter of the UK population lives in England\'s prosperous south-east and is predominantly urban and suburban,Census 2001: South East. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on 2006-05-14. with an estimated 7,517,700 in the capital of London.All people population: City of London. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on 2006-08-31.
In 2006, the UK\'s total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.86 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2001, the TFR was at a record low of 1.63, but it has increased each year since, and will continue to do so as the share of births from immigrant mothers continues to prod the fertility rate. The TFR was considerably higher during the 1960s \'baby boom\', peaking at 2.95 children per woman in 1964.www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=369.
Located as they are on a group of islands close to Continental Europe, the lands now constituting the United Kingdom have historically been subject to invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the European continent - including Roman occupation for centuries. Present day Britons are descended from varied ethnic stocks though mainly: pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and the Normans. Since 1945, international ties forged by the British Empire have contributed to substantial immigration, especially from Africa and South Asia. Since EU citizens are free to live and work in other EU member states, the accession of new to the EU of new member states from Central and Eastern Europe in 2004 has resulted in rising immigration from these countries. As of 2001, 7.9%Ethnicity: 7.9% from a non-White ethnic group. Office for National Statistics (2004-06-24). Retrieved on 2007-04-02. of the UK population identified themselves as an ethnic minority.
Trafalgar Square in London is one of the most famous public places in the United Kingdom.
| Ethnic group | Population | % of total* |
|---|---|---|
| White British | 50,366,497 | 85.7% | White Irish | 691,232 | 1.2% | White (other) | 3,096,169 | 5.3% | Mixed race | 677,117 | 1.2% | Indian | 1,053,411 | 1.8% | Pakistani | 747,285 | 1.3% | Bangladeshi | 283,063 | 0.5% | Other Asian (non-Chinese) | 247,644 | 0.4% | Black Caribbean | 565,876 | 1.0% | Black African | 485,277 | 0.8% | Black (others) | 97,585 | 0.2% | Chinese | 247,403 | 0.4% | Other | 230,615 | 0.4% |
| * Percentage of total UK population | ||
Cities with high proportions of people from
