United Kingdom
Top Sights & Landmarks
Background
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. 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.
Location
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
Area
Elevation
Detailed Geography Information
Coastline
12,429 km
Geography - note
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
Irrigated land
718 sq km (2018)
Land boundaries
Maritime claims
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Natural hazards
winter windstorms; floods
Natural resources
Terrain
mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Population & Growth
Age Distribution
Demographic Longevity
Vital Dynamics
Detailed People & Society Information
Alcohol consumption per capita
9.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
0.6% (2019 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
49.7% (2021 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 56.7 (2025 est.) youth dependency ratio: 26 (2025 est.) elderly dependency ratio: 30.7 (2025 est.) potential support ratio: 3.3 (2025 est.)
Education expenditure
5.9% of GDP (2021 est.) 11.8% national budget (2021 est.)
Ethnic groups
Gross reproduction rate
0.8 (2025 est.)
Health expenditure
11.3% of GDP (2022) 20.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Hospital bed density
2.4 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 3.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.) male: 4.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Languages
Major urban areas - population
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)
Maternal mortality ratio
8 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
29 years (2018 est.) note: data represents England and Wales only
Nationality
noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
27.8% (2016)
Physician density
3.3 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Population distribution
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
Refugees and internally displaced persons
Religions
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 18 years (2022 est.) male: 17 years (2022 est.) female: 18 years (2022 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 11.5% (2025 est.) male: 13.3% (2025 est.) female: 9.8% (2025 est.)
Climate & Issues
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Land Cover
Air & Carbon Emissions
Water Resources & Use
Detailed Environmental Information
Geoparks
total global geoparks and regional networks: 10 (2025) global geoparks and regional networks: Arran; Black Country; Cuilcagh Lakelands (includes Ireland); English Riviera; Fforest Fawr; GeoMôn; Mourne Gullion Strangford; North Pennines AONB; North-West Highlands; Shetland (2025)
International environmental agreements
Urbanization
urban population: 84.6% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.8% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually: 30.771 million tons (2024 est.) percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 34.2% (2022 est.)
Capital & State Profile
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
National Identity & Symbols
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)
Detailed Government Information
Administrative divisions
England: 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*) two-tier counties: 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 London boroughs and City of London or Greater London: 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 metropolitan districts: 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 unitary authorities: 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 Northern Ireland: 5 borough councils, 4 district councils, 2 city councils borough councils: Antrim and Newtownabbey; Ards and North Down; Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon; Causeway Coast and Glens; Mid and East Antrim district councils: Derry City and Strabane; Fermanagh and Omagh; Mid Ulster; Newry, Murne, and Down city councils: Belfast; Lisburn and Castlereagh Scotland: 32 council areas council areas: 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 Wales: 22 unitary authorities unitary authorities: 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
Citizenship
citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the United Kingdom dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Constitution
history: uncoded; partly statutes, partly common law and practice amendment process: 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)
Country name
conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - the island of Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK etymology: the name United Kingdom is self-descriptive; the name Britain probably derives from the Celtic word pretani, 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 iveriu, meaning "good land"
Dependent areas
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)
International law organization participation
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International organization participation
Judicial branch
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 12 justices, including the court president and deputy president) judge selection and term of office: 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 subordinate courts: 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
Legal system
common law system; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998
National heritage
total World Heritage Sites: 33 (28 cultural, 4 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in Bermuda selected World Heritage Site locales: 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)
Political parties
Alliance Party or APNI (Northern Ireland) Conservative and Unionist Party Democratic Unionist Party or DUP (Northern Ireland) Green Party of England and Wales or Greens Labor (Labour) Party Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems) Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) Reform UK Scottish National Party or SNP Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) Traditional Unionist Voice or TUV UK Independence Party or UKIP Ulster Unionist Party or UUP (Northern Ireland) Workers Party of Great Britian
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economic Overview
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
Size & Performance
GDP Sector Breakdown
Trade Balance
Budget Balance
Export Profile
Top Export Partners
Major Export Commodities
Labor & Employment
Income Inequality
Family Income / Consumption Share
Detailed Economic Data
Agricultural products
Current account balance
-$96.634 billion (2024 est.) -$118.354 billion (2023 est.) -$70.962 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exchange rates
British pounds (GBP) per US dollar - Exchange rates: 0.782 (2024 est.) 0.805 (2023 est.) 0.811 (2022 est.) 0.727 (2021 est.) 0.78 (2020 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use
Industrial production growth rate
-0.5% (2024 est.) note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
Industries
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
3.3% (2024 est.) 6.8% (2023 est.) 7.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Public debt
138.6% of GDP (2023 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP
Remittances
0.1% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.1% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.1% of GDP (2022 est.) note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$174.598 billion (2024 est.) $177.915 billion (2023 est.) $176.41 billion (2022 est.) note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Taxes and other revenues
27.4% (of GDP) (2023 est.) note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP
Grid Infrastructure
Generation Mix
Fossil Fuels Production
Intensity & Nuclear
Digital Access
Active internet users as a percentage of the total population.
Fixed Broadband
Mobile Cellular
Broadcast Media
Aviation
Railways
Ports & Harbors
Merchant Marine
Detailed Transportation Information
Transportation - note
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
Military Expenditures
Active Duty Strengths
approximately 138,000 Regular Forces (75,000 Army including the Gurkhas; 32,000 Navy including the Royal Marines; 31,000 Air Force) (2025) note: the military also maintains approximately 40-45,000 reserves and other personnel on active duty
Service & Defense Details
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)
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)
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)
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 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)
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 1: women serve in all branches and made up nearly 12% of the military's full-time personnel in 2025 note 2: 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 note 3: 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
Space Agency
UK Space Agency (UKSA; established in 2010) (2025) note 1: 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 note 2: 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