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Unitit Kinrick
kintra in Europe / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Unitit Kinrick o Great Breetain an Northren Ireland (Inglis: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), commonly kent the Unitit Kinrick (Inglis: United Kingdom; UK) or Breetain (Inglis: Britain), is a kintra in waster Europe. Lyin aff the north-wastren coast o the European mainlaund, the UK includes the isle o Great Breetain, the north-eastren pairt o the isle o Ireland an mony smawer islands.[8] Norlin Airlan is the anly pairt o the Unitit Kinrick that shares a laund mairch wi anither sovereign state—the Republic o Ireland.[note 5] Apairt frae this laund mairch, the UK is surroondit bi the Atlantic Ocean, wi the North Sea tae its east, the Inglis Channel tae its sooth an the Celtic Sea tae its sooth-sooth-wast, giein it the 12t-langest coastline in the warld. The Erse Sea lies atween Great Breetain an Ireland. Wi an aurie o 242,500 square kilometre (93,600 sq mi), the UK is the 78t-lairgest sovereign state in the warld an the 11t-lairgest in Europe. It is the 21st-maist populous kintra an aw, wi an estimatit 67.8 million indwallers as o 2020.
Unitit Kinrick o Great Breetain an Northren Ireland
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![]() Location o the Unitit Kinrick (dark green) on the European continent (dark gray) | |||||||||||||
Caipital and largest city | Lunnon 51°30′N 0°7′W | ||||||||||||
Offeecial leid an national leid | Inglis | ||||||||||||
Recognised regional leids[note 4] | |||||||||||||
Ethnic groups (2011) |
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Demonym(s) |
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Govrenment | Unitary pairlamentary constitutional monarchy | ||||||||||||
• Monarch | Charles III | ||||||||||||
Keir Starmer | |||||||||||||
Legislatur | Pairlament | ||||||||||||
• Upper house | Hoose o Lairds | ||||||||||||
• Lower house | Hoose o Commons | ||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||
• Acts o Union o Ingland an Scotland | 1 May 1707 | ||||||||||||
• Acts o Union o Great Breetain an Ireland | 1 January 1801 | ||||||||||||
• Erse Free State Constitution Act | 5 December 1922 | ||||||||||||
• | 1 January 1973 | ||||||||||||
Aurie | |||||||||||||
• Total | 243,610 km2 (94,060 sq mi) (80t) | ||||||||||||
• Water (%) | 1.34 | ||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||
• 2020 estimate | ![]() | ||||||||||||
• 2011 census | 63,182,178[4] (22nt) | ||||||||||||
• Density | 270.7/km2 (701.1/sq mi) (50t) | ||||||||||||
GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate | ||||||||||||
• Total | ![]() | ||||||||||||
• Per capita | ![]() | ||||||||||||
GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate | ||||||||||||
• Tot | ![]() | ||||||||||||
• Per capita | ![]() | ||||||||||||
Gini (2017) | ![]() medium · 33rd | ||||||||||||
HDI (2022) | ![]() verra heich · 15t | ||||||||||||
Currency | Poond sterling (£) (GBP) | ||||||||||||
Time zone | UTC (GMT) | ||||||||||||
UTC+1 (BST) | |||||||||||||
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (AD) | ||||||||||||
Drivin side | left | ||||||||||||
Cawin code | +44 | ||||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | GB | ||||||||||||
Internet TLD | .uk |
The UK is a constitutional monarchy wi a pairliamentar democracy.[9][10] The monarch is King Charles III, The UK's caipital an lairgest ceety is Lunnon, a global ceety an financial centre wi an urban aurie population o 10.3 million, the fowert-lairgest in Europe.[11] Ither major urban auries in the UK include the conurbations centred on Birmingham, Leeds, Glesga, Liverpuil an Manchester. The UK consists o fower kintras—Ingland, Scotland, Wales an Northren Ireland.[12] Aw but Ingland hae devolved admeenistrations,[13] ilk wi varyin pouers,[14][15] based in thair caipitals Edinburgh, Cairdiff an Belfast, respectively. The nearbi Isle o Man, Bailiwick o Guernsey an Bailiwick o Jersey are no pairt o the UK, bein Croun dependencies wi the Breetish Govrenment responsible for defence an internaitional representation.[16]
Prior tae the formation o the UK, Wales haed been conquered an annexed bi the Kinrick o Ingland. This meant that the unitit kinrick creatit in 1707 bi the Treaty o Union atween Ingland an Scotland encompassed aw o Great Breetain. The Kinrick o Ireland merged wi this state in 1801 tae form the Unitit Kinrick o Great Breetain an Ireland. Five-saxts o Ireland secedit frae the UK in 1922, leavin the present formulation o the Unitit Kinrick o Great Breetain and Northren Ireland.[note 6] Thare are fowerteen Breetish Owerseas Territories,[17] the remnants o the Breetish Empire that, at its hicht in the 1920s, encompassed awmaist a quarter o the warld's land mass an wis the lairgest empire in history. Breetish influence can be observed in the leid, cultur an legal seestems o mony o its umwhile colonies.
The UK is a developit kintra an haes the warld's saxt-lairgest economy bi nominal GDP [18] an ninth-lairgest economy bi purchasin pouer parity. It haes a heich-income economy an haes a "verra heich" Human Development Index, rankin 16t in the warld. It wis the first industrialised kintra an the warld's foremaist pouer in the 19t an early 20t centuries.[19][20] The UK remeens a great pouer wi conseederable economic, cultural, militar, scienteefic an poleetical influence internaitionally.[21][22] It is a recognised nuclear wappens state an is seivent in militar expenditur in the warld.[23] It haes been a permanent member o the Unitit Naitions Security Cooncil syne its first session in 1946. It wis a leadin member state o the EU an its predecessor, the European Economic Commonty (EEC), frae 1973 till 2020. The UK a member o the Commonweel o Naitions, the G7 finance meenisters, the G7 forum, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation an Development (OECD), an the Warld Tred Organisation (WTO).