"text":"<p>The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was created when the Kingdoms of England and Scotland -- which previously had been distinct states under a single monarchy -- were joined under the 1707 Acts of Union. The island of Ireland was incorporated under the 1800 Acts of Union, while Wales had been part of the Kingdom of England since the 16th century. The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the rapid expansion of the British Empire despite the loss of the Thirteen Colonies, and at its zenith in the early 20th century, the British Empire stretched over one fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw two World Wars seriously deplete the UK's strength and the Irish Republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth of Nations, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The devolved Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1998.</p> <p>The UK was an active member of the EU after its accession in 1973, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. However, motivated in part by frustration at a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens in 2016 voted by 52 to 48 percent to leave the EU. On 31 January 2020, the UK became the only country to depart the EU -- a move known as \"Brexit\" -- after prolonged negotiations on EU-UK economic and security relationships.</p>"
"text":"Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> England covers 53% of the area, Scotland 32%, Wales 9%, and Northern Ireland 6%<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> includes Rockall and the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland"
"text":"the core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scottish lowlands between Edinburgh and Glasgow, in southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and in far-eastern Northern Ireland, centered on Belfast"
"text":"lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km (22 mi) from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel (the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel); because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km (78 mi) from tidal waters"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the following are recognized regional languages: Scots (about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 speakers in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 people in Cornwall) (2012 est.)"
"text":"Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7% (2011 est.)"
"text":"the core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scottish lowlands between Edinburgh and Glasgow, in southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and in far-eastern Northern Ireland, centered on Belfast"
"text":"9.648 million LONDON (capital), 2.791 million Manchester, 2.665 million Birmingham, 1.929 million West Yorkshire, 1.698 million Glasgow, 952,000 Southampton/Portsmouth (2023)"
"text":"air pollution in the London region; soil pollution from pesticides and heavy metals; decline in marine and coastal habitats from housing, tourism, and industry"
"text":"the name United Kingdom is self-descriptive; the name Britain probably derives from the Celtic word <em>pretani</em>, meaning \"painted people;\" the designation of Great Britain for England, Scotland, and Wales dates back to medieval times and was used to distinguish the island from Little Britain, or Brittany, in modern France; the name Ireland evolved from the Gaelic name Eriu, which is possibly derived from the Old Celtic <em>iveriu</em>, meaning \"good land\""
"text":"the time statements apply to the United Kingdom proper, not to its crown dependencies or overseas territories"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"the name derives from the Roman settlement of Londinium, established on the current site of London around A.D. 43; the original meaning of the name is uncertain"
"text":"<strong>England:</strong> 24 two-tier counties, 32 London boroughs and 1 City of London or Greater London, 36 metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities (including 4 single-tier counties*) <br><br><em>two-tier counties:</em> Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Worcestershire <br><br><em>London boroughs and City of London or Greater London:</em> Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, City of London, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster <br><br><em>metropolitan districts:</em> Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Calderdale, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Kirklees, Knowlsey, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, St. Helens, Stockport, Sunderland, Tameside, Trafford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton <br><br><em>unitary authorities: </em>Bath and North East Somerset; Bedford; Blackburn with Darwen; Blackpool; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; Bracknell Forest; Brighton and Hove; City of Bristol; Buckinghamshire; Central Bedfordshire; Cheshire East; Cheshire West and Chester; Cornwall; Darlington; Derby; Dorset; Durham County*; East Riding of Yorkshire; Halton; Hartlepool; Herefordshire*; Isle of Wight*; Isles of Scilly; City of Kingston upon Hull; Leicester; Luton; Medway; Middlesbrough; Milton Keynes; North East Lincolnshire; North Lincolnshire; North Northamptonshire; North Somerset; Northumberland*; Nottingham; Peterborough; Plymouth; Portsmouth; Reading; Redcar and Cleveland; Rutland; Shropshire; Slough; South Gloucestershire; Southampton; Southend-on-Sea; Stockton-on-Tees; Stoke-on-Trent; Swindon; Telford and Wrekin; Thurrock; Torbay; Warrington; West Berkshire; West Northamptonshire; Wiltshire; Windsor and Maidenhead; Wokingham; York <br><br><strong>Northern Ireland:</strong> 5 borough councils, 4 district councils, 2 city councils <br><br><em>borough councils: </em>Antrim and Newtownabbey; Ards and North Down; Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon; Causeway Coast and Glens; Mid and East Antrim <br><br><em>district councils: </em>Derry Cityand Strabane; Fermanagh and Omagh; Mid Ulster; Newry, Murne, and Down <em>city councils:</em> Belfast; Lisburn and Castlereagh <br><br><strong>Scotland:</strong> 32 council areas <br><br><em>council areas: </em>Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, The Scottish Borders, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian <br><br><strong>Wales:</strong> 22 unitary authorities <br><br><em>unitary authorities:</em> Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea, The Vale of Glamorgan, Torfaen, Wrexham"
"text":"Anguilla; Bermuda; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn Islands; Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Turks and Caicos Islands (12)"
"text":"proposed as a bill for an Act of Parliament by the government, by the House of Commons, or by the House of Lords; passage requires agreement by both houses and by the monarch (Royal Assent)"
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> in addition to serving as the UK head of state, the British sovereign is the constitutional monarch for 14 additional Commonwealth countries (each referred to as a \"Commonwealth realm\")<br><br><strong>note 2</strong>: King CHARLES III succeeded his mother, Queen ELIZABETH II, after serving as Prince of Wales (heir apparent) for over 64 years -- the longest such tenure in British history"
"text":"judge candidates selected by an independent committee of several judicial commissions, then recommended to the prime minister, and appointed by the monarch; justices serve for life"
"text":"England and Wales: Court of Appeal (civil and criminal divisions); High Court; Crown Court; County Courts; Magistrates' Courts; Scotland: Court of Sessions; Sheriff Courts; High Court of Justiciary; tribunals; Northern Ireland: Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland; High Court; county courts; magistrates' courts; specialized tribunals"
"text":"Alliance Party or APNI (Northern Ireland)<br>Conservative and Unionist Party<br>Democratic Unionist Party or DUP (Northern Ireland)<br>Green Party of England and Wales or Greens<br>Labor (Labour) Party<br>Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems)<br>Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru)<br>Reform UK<br>Scottish National Party or SNP<br>Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland)<br>Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland)<br>Traditional Unionist Voice or TUV<br>UK Independence Party or UKIP<br>Ulster Unionist Party or UUP (Northern Ireland)<br>Workers Party of Great Britian"
"text":"no official date of independence: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties become Northern Ireland and remain part of the UK); 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday"
"text":"<strong>description:</strong> blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white on top of the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is on top of the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland)<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the official name is the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags"
"text":"in use since 1745; by tradition, the song serves as both the national and royal anthem; it is known as either \"God Save the Queen\" or \"God Save the King,\" depending on the gender of the reigning monarch; it also serves as the royal anthem for many Commonwealth nations"
"text":"Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (n); Ironbridge Gorge (c); Stonehenge, Avebury, and Associated Sites (c); Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (c); Blenheim Palace (c); City of Bath (c); Tower of London (c); St Kilda (m); Maritime Greenwich (c); Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (c); Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (c); The English Lake District (c)"
"text":"<p>high-income, non-EU European economy; global financial center and dominant service sector; sluggish growth from stringent monetary policy, reduced business investment, low productivity and participation rates; fiscal austerity in face of high public debt</p>"
"text":"machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"public-service British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest broadcasting company in the world; BBC operates multiple TV networks with regional and local TV; mixed system of public and commercial TV broadcasters along with satellite and cable systems provide access to hundreds of international TV stations; BBC operates multiple national, regional, and local radio networks with multiple transmission sites; large number of commercial and satellite radio stations available (2018)"
"text":"begun in 1988 and completed in 1994, the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed the Chunnel) is a 50.5-km (31.4-mi) rail tunnel under the English Channel at the Strait of Dover; it runs from Folkestone, Kent, in England to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, in northern France and is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and mainland Europe"
"text":"United Kingdom Armed Forces (aka British Armed Forces, aka His Majesty's Armed Forces): British Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2025)"
"text":"the British military's inventory is comprised of domestically produced armaments and imported Western weapons systems, particularly from the US; the UK defense industry is capable of producing air, land, and sea weapons systems and is one of the world's top weapons suppliers; it also cooperates with other European countries, as well as Australia and the US, in the research and development of weapons systems (2025)"
"text":"16 years of age for enlisted ranks (with parental consent for under 18) and 18 years of age for officers; maximum age varies by military service; conscription abolished in 1963 (2026)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> women serve in all branches and made up nearly 12% of the military's full-time personnel in 2025<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the British military allows Commonwealth nationals who are current UK residents and have been in the country for at least 5 years to apply; it also accepts Irish citizens<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> the British Army has continued the historic practice of recruiting Gurkhas from Nepal to serve in the Brigade of Gurkhas; the British began to recruit Nepalese citizens (Gurkhas) into the East India Company Army during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816); the Gurkhas subsequently were brought into the British Indian Army and by 1914, there were 10 Gurkha regiments, collectively known as the Gurkha Brigade; following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India, and Great Britain allowed for the transfer of the 10 regiments from the British Indian Army to the separate British and Indian armies; four of the regiments were transferred to the British Army, where they have since served continuously as the Brigade of Gurkhas"
"text":"the British military has more than 8,000 personnel on permanent or long-term rotational deployments around the globe in support of NATO, UN, or other commitments and agreements; key deployments include approximately 1,000 in Brunei, approximately 2,500 in Cyprus (includes 250 for UNFICYP), approximately 900-1,000 in Estonia (NATO), over 1,000 in the Falkland Islands, 500-600 in Gibraltar, and more than 1,000 in the Middle East; its air and naval forces conduct missions on a global basis; the British military also participates in large scale NATO exercises, including providing some 16,000 personnel for the 6-month 2024 Steadfast Defender exercise (2024)"
"text":"the British military has a long history, a global presence, and a wide range of missions and responsibilities, including protecting the UK, its dependencies and territories, national interests, and values, preventing conflict, providing humanitarian assistance, participating in international peacekeeping, building relationships, and fulfilling the UK’s alliance and treaty commitments; in addition to its role in the UN, the UK is a leading member of NATO<br><br>the UK is a member of the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK; in 2014, the UK led the formation of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a pool of high-readiness military forces from the Baltic and Scandinavian countries intended to respond to a wide range of contingencies both in peacetime and in times of crisis or conflict; the UK military also has strong bilateral ties with a variety of foreign militaries, particularly the US, with which it has a mutual defense treaty; British and US military forces have routinely operated side-by-side across a wide range of operations; other close military relationships include Australia, France, Germany, and the Netherlands; in 2010, for example, France and the UK signed a declaration on defense and security cooperation that included greater military interoperability and a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF), a deployable, combined Anglo-French military force for use in a range of crisis scenarios (2025)"
"text":"UK Space Agency (UKSA; established in 2010) (2025)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the UKSA replaced the British National Space Center (BNSC; established in 1985); in 2025, the UK Government announced that the UKSA would be absorbed into the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) as of April 2026<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> in 2021, the British formed the joint service UK Space Command under the Ministry of Defense for military space operations, space workforce, and space capabilities"
"text":"has a long-standing, comprehensive national space program; is active across all areas of the space sector except human space flight, including satellite launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets, probes, satellites, and spaceports; is a founding member of the ESA and is deeply involved in ESA programs; has bilateral relations with many ESA members and is a close partner of the US NASA; since 2016 has forged over 350 relationships with international organizations across nearly 50 countries; participates in international programs such as the International Space Station and the James Webb Space Telescope; has a large commercial space sector; the UK has a space industrial plan, and the UK Space Agency has provided funding for commercial space projects (2025)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the UK was part of several EU-sponsored space programs until departing the EU in 2020, including the Galileo global positioning system and the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) project; it remained part of the Copernicus Earth observation and Horizon Europe research and innovation programs after 2020; the UK has participated or continues to participate in multiple ESA programs, including Cassini-Huygens research mission to Saturn, the Mars Express space exploration missions, the Rosetta comet probe, and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission<strong><br></strong>"
"text":"1957 - first suborbital sounding rocket (Skylark) launched<br><br>1960s - first satellite (Ariel) launched by US; development of Black Arrow satellite launch vehicle (SLV); launched first of Skynet family of communications satellites<br><br>1971 - first successful placement of satellite (Prospero) in orbit on a 3-stage Black Arrow SLV (Black Arrow SLV program ended in early 1970s)<br><br>1973 - began participating in development of Ariane SLV along with other European states, particularly France and Germany<br><br>1991 - first British astronaut into space to Russian Mir space station<br><br>2015 - first British astronaut on International Space Station<br><br>2019-2020 - began participating in US Gateway lunar orbital station program and signed US-led Artemis Accords for space and lunar exploration<br><br>2024 - first military remote sensing satellite (Tyche) launched by US"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
