From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland  |
|
|
Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" 2 (French)
"God and my right" |
Anthem
God Save the Queen 3 |
|
|
|
|
| Capital |
London
51°30′N, 0°7′W |
| Largest conurbation (population) |
Greater London
Urban Area |
| Official languages |
English (de facto)4 |
| Government |
Parliamentary democracy (constitutional monarchy) |
| - |
Monarch |
Queen Elizabeth II |
| - |
Prime Minister |
Tony Blair |
| Formation |
| - |
Acts of Union |
1 May 1707 |
| - |
Act of Union |
1 January 1801 |
| - |
Anglo-Irish Treaty |
12 April 1922 |
Accession to
the European Union |
1 January 1973 |
| Area |
| - |
Total |
244,820 km² (79th)
94,526 sq mi |
| - |
Water (%) |
1.34 |
| Population |
| - |
2007 estimate |
61,100,835 (22nd) |
| - |
2001 census |
58,789,1945 |
| - |
Density |
243 /km² (48th)
629 /sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) |
2006 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$1.903 trillion (6th) |
| - |
Per capita |
$35,051 (11th) |
| GDP (nominal) |
2006 estimate |
| - |
Total |
$2.341 trillion6 (5th) |
| - |
Per capita |
$38,624 (13th) |
| Gini? (1999) |
36.8 (medium) |
| HDI (2006) |
 0.940 (high) (18th) |
| Currency |
British Pound (£) (GBP) |
| Time zone |
GMT (UTC+0) |
| - |
Summer (DST) |
BST (UTC+1) |
| Internet TLD |
.uk7 |
| Calling code |
+44 |
| 1 |
In the
UK and Dependencies, some other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous (regional) languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, the
UK's official name is as follows:
Cornish: An Rywvaneth Unys a Vreten Veur hag Iwerdhon Glédh; Irish: Ríocht Aontaithe na Breataine Móire agus Thuaisceart Éireann; Scots: Unitit Kinrick o Graet Breetain an Northren Irland; Scottish Gaelic: An Rìoghachd Aonaichte na Breatainn Mhòr agus Eirinn a Tuath; Welsh: Teyrnas Gyfunol Prydain Fawr a Gogledd Iwerddon. |
| 2 |
This is the royal motto. In Scotland, the royal motto is the Latin phrase Nemo Me Impune Lacessit ("No-one provokes me with impunity"). There is also a variant form of the coat-of-arms for use in Scotland; see Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. |
| 3 |
See #Symbols below. It also serves as the Royal anthem. |
| 4 |
In addition to English (use established by precedent), Welsh is recognised in Wales as a "language of equal standing".[1][2] Since 2005, Scottish Gaelic has enjoyed the status of "an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language".[3] See also Languages in the United Kingdom. |
| 5 |
From the 2001 Census |
| 6 |
CIA Factbook. Official estimate provided by the UK Office for National Statistics.[4] |
| 7 |
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 is GB, but .gb is practically unused. The .eu domain is also shared with other European Union member states. |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom, the U.K., or Britain)[5] is a country and sovereign state that lies to the northwest of mainland Europe. It extends over all of the island of Great Britain and the north-east part of the island of Ireland. Northern Ireland is the only part of the country with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.[6][7][8][9] The United Kingdom is also often (incorrectly) referred to as England, after its largest and allegedly dominant constituent state.
The United Kingdom is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and its ancillary bodies of water, including the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, St George's Channel, and the Irish Sea. The United Kingdom is linked to France and Continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel. |
