United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Great Britain, is a sovereign nation in northwestern Europe, off the northwest coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland and many small islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. The rest of the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the southwest, making it the 12th longest coastline. The Irish Sea separates the UK and Ireland. The United Kingdom has  ​​242,500 square kilometers (93,628 sq mi), with an estimated 2020 population of 68 million.

The UK is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has ruled since 1952. The capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial center with 14 million in the metropolitan area. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Besides England, the member countries have their decentralized governments, each with different powers.

The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, alliances and secessions of the constituent countries over several hundred years. A treaty of alliance between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 formed the Kingdom of Great Britain. His alliance in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland split from Great Britain in 1922, leaving the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which officially adopted the name in 1927.

The nearby Isles of Man, Guernsey and Jersey are not part of the UK and are Crown-dependent territories with the British government responsible for defense and international representation. There are also 14 British Overseas Territories, the last remnants of the British Empire. At its peak in the 1920s covered almost a quarter of the land and a third of the world's population and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be seen in many of his former colonies' language, culture, and legal and political systems.

The United Kingdom is ranked fifth in the world regarding nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and tenth in purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a highly prosperous economy and a very high Human Development Index ranking, ranking 13th globally. Britain became the world's first industrialized country and was the world's leading power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today Great Britain remains one of the great powers in the world with significant economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence at the international level. It is a recognized nuclear state with the fourth largest military expenditure in the world. He has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.

The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Council of Europe, G7, G10, G20, United Nations, NATO, AUKUS, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Interpol. , and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was a member state of the European Communities (EU) and its successor, the European Union (EU), from its accession in 1973 until its exit in 2020 following a referendum held in 2016.