The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain[1]) is a country[2] and sovereign state which lies off the northwest coast of mainland Europe. Its territory and population are primarily situated on the island of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland along with numerous smaller islands in the surrounding seas. 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, and the Irish Sea, as well as by the Republic of Ireland to the south on Ireland.

The United Kingdom is a political union made up of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom also has several overseas territories, including Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands. The Crown has a relationship with the dependencies of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands; they are part of the British Isles but not part of the United Kingdom and are a possession of the Crown. A constitutional monarchy, the United Kingdom has close relationships with fifteen other Commonwealth Realms that share the same monarch — Queen Elizabeth II — as head of state.
A member of the G8, the United Kingdom is a highly developed country with the fifth largest gross domestic product in the world. It is the third most populous state in the European Union [3] and is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), where it holds a permanent seat on the Security Council. The UK is also one of the world's major nuclear powers and has a US$1.833 trillion economy.

As the successor state to the British Empire, the UK retains influence throughout the world due to the extensive use of the English language today as well as through the world-spanning Commonwealth of Nations, ceremonially led by the United Kingdom. The country also has a "special relationship" with the United States of America.[4]

History


Parliamentary Union of England and Scotland 1707, painting by Walter Thomas Monnington.



Parliamentary Union of England and Scotland 1707, painting by Walter Thomas Monnington.

The present United Kingdom is the latest of several unions formed over the last 840 years. Scotland and England have existed as separate political entities since the 9th century. Wales, under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. [5] With the Act of Union 1707, the independent states of England and Scotland, having been in personal union since 1603, agreed to a political union as the Kingdom of Great Britain. [6]

The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1541 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. [7] Independence for the now Republic of Ireland in 1922 followed the partition of the island of Ireland two years previously, with six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster remaining within the UK, which then changed to the current name in 1927. [8]

The dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom is often credited with being the nation that "created the modern world", [9] by playing a leading role in developing Western ideas of property, capitalism, and parliamentary democracy as well as making significant contributions to literature, the arts, and science and technology. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-quarter of the Earth's surface and encompassed a third of its population, making it the largest empire in history. The first half of the 20th century, however, saw the Empire's strength seriously depleted from the effects of World War I and World War II. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the United Kingdom rebuilding itself into the modern, prosperous, and technologically advanced nation it is today.

The United Kingdom has been a member of the European Union since 1973. The attitude of the present government towards further integration with this organisation is mixed [10], with the Conservative Party favouring a return of some powers and competencies to the state [11]. The government has yet to choose whether to adopt the Euro currency. Plans are to hold a referendum on the issue if and when five economic tests indicate that entry into the Eurozone would be beneficial. [12]

See also: List of monarchs in the British Isles, History of Britain, History of England, History of Ireland, History of Northern Ireland, History of Scotland, History of Wales, and UK local history terms

 

Queen Elizabeth II with her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Government and politics Main articles on politics and government of the United Kingdom can be found at the Politics and government of the United Kingdom series. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power exercised on behalf of the monarch by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the prime minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors). The United Kingdom is one of the few countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution, relying instead on traditional customs and separate pieces of constitutional law[13].

While the monarch is head of state and theoretically holds all executive power, it is the prime minister who is the head of government. The government is answerable chiefly to the House of Commons, from which constitutional convention requires that the prime minister be drawn. The majority of cabinet members are from the House of Commons, the rest from the House of Lords. Ministers do not, however, legally have to come from Parliament, though that is the modern day custom. The British system of government has been emulated around the world — a legacy of the British Empire's colonial past — most notably in the other Commonwealth Realms. The Member of Parliament (MP) who commands a majority in the House of Commons is normally appointed prime minister - usually the leader of the largest party or, if there is no majority party, the largest coalition. The current prime minister is Tony Blair of the Labour Party, who has been in office since 1997.

In the United Kingdom, the monarch has extensive theoretical powers, but his or her role is mainly, though not exclusively, ceremonial [14]. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the "Crown-in-Parliament") and theoretically gives Parliament the power to meet and create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the monarch (known as Royal Assent), although not one has refused assent to a bill that has been approved by Parliament since Queen Anne in 1708 [15]. Although the abolition of the monarchy has been suggested, the popularity of the monarchy remains strong in the United Kingdom. Support for a British republic usually fluctuates between 15% and 25% of the population, with roughly 10% undecided or indifferent. [16] The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II who acceded to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953.

Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty (however, questions over sovereignty have been brought forward due to the UK's entry in to the European Union [17]). It is bicameral, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two houses. The House of Commons houses 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members (though this number is not fixed), constituted of hereditary peers (Note: The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the inheritance of peerage and permitted just 92 hereditary peers to remain), life peers, and bishops of the Church of England. The Church of England is the established church of the state in England [18].

 

The Palace of Westminster, on the banks of the River Thames, London, houses the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Since the 1920s, the two largest political parties in British politics have been the Labour Party and Conservative Party. Though coalition and minority governments have been an occasional feature of Parliamentary politics, the first-past-the-post electoral system used for general elections tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a third party to deliver a working majority in Parliament [19]. The Liberal Democrats are the third largest party in the British parliament and actively seek a reform of the electoral system to address the dominance of the two-party system [20].

Since the 1920s, the two largest political parties in British politics have been the Labour Party and Conservative Party. Though coalition and minority governments have been an occasional feature of Parliamentary politics, the first-past-the-post electoral system used for general elections tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a third party to deliver a working majority in Parliament [19]. The Liberal Democrats are the third largest party in the British parliament and actively seek a reform of the electoral system to address the dominance of the two-party system [20]

Though many in the United Kingdom consider themselves 'British' as well as 'English', 'Scottish' 'Welsh', or 'Irish' (and increasingly also 'Afro-Caribbean', 'Indian', or 'Pakistani'), there has long been a widespread sense of separate national identities in the nations of Scotland and Wales and amongst the Catholic community in Northern Ireland [21][22][23]. Independence for the Republic of Ireland in 1922 provided only a partial solution to what had been termed in the 19th Century the 'Irish Question', and competing demands for a united Ireland or continued union with Great Britain have brought civil strife and political instability up to the present day.

Though 'nationalist' (as opposed to 'unionist') tendencies have shifted over time in Scotland and Wales, with the Scottish National Party founded in 1934 and Plaid Cymru (the Party of Wales) in 1925, a serious political crisis threatening the integrity of the United Kingdom as a state has not occurred since the 1970s. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and government alongside that of the United Kingdom. However, this increased autonomy and devolution of executive and legislative powers has not contributed to a reduction in support for independence from the United Kingdom, with the rise of new pro-independence parties. For example, the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party have gained popularity in recent years.

There is currently little appetite for a devolved English parliament, although senior Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have voiced concerns in regard to the West Lothian Question [24][25]. Proposals for English regional government have stalled, following a poorly received referendum on devolved government for the North East of England, which was hitherto considered the region most in favour of the idea. England is therefore governed according to the balance of parties across the whole of the United Kingdom.

 

Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland) AKA 'Stormont'

The resurgence in Celtic (Scottish, Welsh, Irish , Northern Irish and Cornish) culture and language, as well as 'regional' politics and development, have contributed to forces pulling against the unity of the state [26]. However, there is at present little sign of any imminent 'crisis' (at the last General Election, both the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru saw their percentage of the overall vote drop, though the SNP did gain two more seats and are the second largest party in the Scottish Parliament as well as official opposition). Nevertheless many in Scotland would like independence [27] although most English do not[28]. In Northern Ireland, there has been a significant decrease in violence over the last twenty years, though the situation remains tense, with the more hardline parties, such as Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists, now holding the most parliamentary seats (see Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland).

Parliament House, Edinburgh is the seat of the supreme courts of Scotland

Law The United Kingdom has three distinct systems of law. English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law, which applies in Northern Ireland, are based on common-law principles. Scots law, which applies in Scotland, is a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles. The Act of Union 1707 guarantees the continued existence of a separate law system for Scotland.

The House of Lords is the highest court in the land for all criminal and civil cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and for all civil cases in Scots law. Recent constitutional changes will see the powers of the House of Lords transfer to a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. [29]

In England and Wales, the court system is headed by the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). In Scotland, the chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases, while the sheriff court is the Scottish equivalent of the county court.

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British crown dependencies.
 

Map of the United Kingdom

Geography Most of England consists of rolling lowland terrain, divided east from west by more mountainous terrain in the Northwest (Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District) and north (the upland moors of the Pennines) and limestone hills of the Peak District by the Tees-Exe line. The lower limestone hills of the Isle of Purbeck, Cotswolds, Lincolnshire and chalk downs of the Southern England Chalk Formation. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber Estuary. The largest urban area is Greater London. Near Dover, the Channel Tunnel links the United Kingdom with France. [30] There is no peak in England that is 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) or greater, the highest mountain being Scafell Pike in England's Lake District, at some 978m (3,208 ft). Scotland's geography is varied, with lowlands in the south and east and highlands in the north and west, including Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles at 1,343 metres (4,406 ft). There are many long and deep-sea arms, firths, and lochs. Scotland has nearly 800 islands, mainly west and north of the mainland, notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. The capital city is Edinburgh, the centre of which is a World Heritage Site. The largest city is Glasgow. [31] Wales (Cymru in Welsh) is mostly mountainous, the highest peak being Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level. North of the mainland is the island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn). The largest and capital city is Cardiff (Caerdydd); it has been the Welsh Capital city since 1955, located in South Wales. [32] The greatest concentration of people live in the south, in the cities of Swansea and Newport, as well as Cardiff, and the South Wales Valleys. The largest town in North Wales is Wrexham.

Northern Ireland, making up the north-eastern part of Ireland, is mostly hilly. The main cities are Belfast ('Béal Feirste' in Irish), Londonderry/Derry ('Doire' in Irish) and Armagh. The province is home to one of the UK’s World Heritage Sites, the Giant's Causeway, which consists of more than 40,000 six-sided basalt columns up to 40 feet (12 m) high. Lough Neagh, the largest body of water in the British Isles, by surface area (388 km² / 150 mi²), can be found in Northern Ireland. [33]. The highest peak is Slieve Donard at 849m (2,786 ft) in the province's Mourne Mountains.
In total it is estimated that the UK includes around 1,000 islands, with 700 in Scotland alone [34]. Some of the islands are natural, whilst some are crannogs, a type of artificial island which was built in past times using stone and wood, gradually enlarged by natural waste building-up over time.

As a comparison, countries of very similar geographical size include Romania, Ecuador, Ghana, Guinea and Uganda.

Cities
Main article: City status in the United Kingdom
There are many different statistics and debates on what are the UK's largest cities, as well as differing opinions on which cities are considered regional capitals. This debate chiefly arises due to the erratic and inconsistent way political and administrative boundaries have been applied historically to British cities. However, the four 'traditional' capitals of the United Kingdom's constituent countries are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast. London is by far the UK's largest city, whilst Birmingham is considered, population-wise, its 'second city'.

Demographics
Main article: Demographics of the United Kingdom
At the April 2001 UK Census, the United Kingdom's population was 58,789,194, the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and France) and the twenty-first largest in the world. This had been estimated up to 59,834,300 [35] by the Office for National Statistics in 2004. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world. About a quarter of the population lives in England's prosperous south-east [36] and is predominantly urban and suburban, with about 7.2 million in the capital of London. The United Kingdom's high literacy rate (99%) [37] is attributable to universal public education introduced for the primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900 (except in Scotland where it was introduced in 1696, see Education in Scotland). Education is mandatory from ages five to sixteen.
 

Piccadilly Gardens, one of Manchester's main public squares

Located as they are on a group of islands close to Continental Europe, the lands now constituting the United Kingdom have been subject to many invasions and migrations, especially from Scandinavia and the continent, including Roman occupation for several centuries. Present day Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled there before the eleventh century. The pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended on Great Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived in Northern France. Between the various constituent countries, there has been sufficient internal migration to mix the population.

Immigration has come through interaction with continental Europe and international ties forged by the British Empire. Constant waves of immigration hit the UK, with Europe, Africa and South-East Asia being the biggest areas from where people emigrate. As of 2001, 7.9% of the UK's population identified themselves as an 'ethnic minority'.[38] As of 2004 official figures, the United Kingdom was shown to be the biggest destination for migrants in Europe [39] it is now believed that the percentage of 'ethnic minorities' is some 9% [40]of the total UK population. In some UK cities the percentage of 'minority groups' is large but is still less than half, for example; Birmingham (UK's 2nd largest city) has 29.6% [41], Leicester 36% [40]. The latest figures (for 2004) show a record level of immigration, with net migration to the UK of 223,000. [42]

Language
Main article: Languages in the United Kingdom
Whilst the UK does not have an official language, the predominant tongue is English. This is a West Germanic language, descended from Old English, which features a large number of borrowings from Norman French. The other main indigenous languages are the Insular Celtic languages, i.e. the Celtic languages of the British Isles. These fall into two groups: the P-Celtic languages (Welsh and the Cornish language); and the Q-Celtic languages (Irish and Scottish Gaelic).

The English language has spread to all corners of the world (primarily because of the British Empire) and is referred to as a "global language". Worldwide, it is taught as a second language more than any other. [43] The United Kingdom's Celtic languages are also spoken by small groups around the globe, mainly Gaelic in Nova Scotia, Canada and Welsh in Patagonia,
Argentina.

Additional indigenous languages are Scots (which is closely related to English); Romany; and British Sign Language (Northern Ireland Sign Language is also used in Northern Ireland). Celtic dialectal influences from Cumbric persisted in Northern England for many centuries, most famously in a unique set of numbers used for counting sheep.

Recent immigrants, especially from the Commonwealth, speak many other languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Cantonese, and Turkish. The United Kingdom has the largest number of Hindi and Punjabi speakers outside of Asia.

Religion


Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in the UK.


Hindu temple at Neasden is the largest temple of Hinduism in Europe.

The United Kingdom has one of the lowest levels of worship in the world, with less than 8% of people actually attending any form of worship on a regular basis (of whom the majority are of middle-aged and older generations). [44] [45].
The main religion in the UK is Christianity [46] first introduced by the Romans. Though 72% of Britons indentify themselves as 'Christian', a relatively small proportion of those people attends public worship on a weekly basis. Each home nation has their own church hierarchies.

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, and acts as the 'mother' and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Originally established as part of the Roman Catholic Church in 597AD by Augustine of Canterbury on behalf of Pope Gregory I, the Church split from Rome in 1534 during the reign of Henry VIII of England. The Church of England is a state church, and some of her bishops sit in the House of Lords. The British monarch is required to be a member of the Church of England under the Act of Settlement 1701 and is the Supreme Governor. Roman Catholics are expressly forbidden from becoming monarch, stemming from conflict over the crown and whether Britain was in the past, Catholic or Protestant. The Church of England is based at Canterbury Cathedral and the Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman.

The Church of Scotland (known informally as The Kirk) is the national church of Scotland. It is a Presbyterian church and is not subject to state control. The British monarch is an ordinary member, although the monarch is required to swear an oath to "defend the security" of the Church at their coronation. Splits in the Church since the reformation have led to the creation of various other Presbyterian churches in Scotland including the Free Church of Scotland and the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

In Wales, the Church in Wales was disestablished in the 1920s, although it remains in the Anglican community. The Church of Ireland was disestablished in the 19th century.

The Catholic Church in Great Britain is the second largest denomination of Christianity in the UK. After the Reformation, strict laws were passed against Catholics; these were removed by the Catholic Emancipation laws in the 1850s. The Catholic hierarchy is separate in England and Wales, Scotland.

In Northern Ireland the Catholic Church in Ireland is the largest single denomination. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Protestant denomination and is in terms of theology and history very closely linked to the Church of Scotland.
Other large Christian groups are the Methodists and the Baptists.

Modern Day Britain is much more diverse in terms of religion. As well as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism have many followers in the UK. Sikhism, Judaism and other religions have smaller numbers.

Muslims are believed to number over 1.8 million, with most of them living in cities like London, Birmingham, Bradford and Oldham. [47] Mosques are a common sight in British cities in modern day Britain. The biggest groups of British muslims are of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. More recently, the wave of Somali and middle-eastern asylum seekers has increased the Muslim population of Britain.

The mainly Indian religions Hinduism and Sikhism in Britain are also increasing in numbers, with over 500,000 Hindus and 320,000 Sikhs in the country. [48]These figures are almost certainly higher, but these are figures based on the 2001 census.
 

The City of London, the largest financial centre in Europe

Economy The British economy follows the Anglo-Saxon model, focusing on the principles of liberalisation, the free market, and low taxation and regulation. Based on market exchange rates, the United Kingdom is the fifth-largest economy in the world; [49], the second largest in Europe after Germany, and the sixth-largest overall by purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates.

The British were the first in the world to enter the Industrial Revolution, and, like most industrialising countries at the time, initially concentrated on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, steel production, and textiles. The empire created an overseas market for British products, allowing the United Kingdom to dominate international trade in the 19th century. However, as other nations industrialised and surplus labour from agriculture began to dry up, the United Kingdom started to lose its economic advantage. As a result, heavy industry declined throughout the 20th century. The British service sector, however, has grown substantially, and now makes up about 73% of GDP. [50]

The service sector of the United Kingdom is dominated by financial services, especially in banking and insurance. Moreover, british accountancy is one of the most developed accountancy professionals in all countries of this world, there are several notable worldwide records regarding UK accountancy bodies. London is one of the world's largest financial centres with the London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and the Lloyd's of London insurance market all based in the city. It also has the largest concentration of foreign bank branches in the world. In the past decade, a rival financial centre in London has grown in the Docklands area, with HSBC, Citigroup, and Barclays Bank all relocating their head offices there. The Scottish capital, Edinburgh also has a large financial sector, the sixth largest in Europe [51].

Tourism is very important to the British economy. With over 27 million tourists a year, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world. [52]

The British manufacturing sector, however, has greatly diminished since World War II. It is still a significant part of the economy, but only accounted for one-sixth of national output in 2003.[53]. The British motor industry is a significant part of this sector, although all large-volume producers are now foreign-owned. Civil and defence aircraft production is led by the United Kingdom's largest aerospace firm, BAE Systems, and the pan-European consortium known as Airbus. Rolls-Royce holds a major share of the global aerospace engines market. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is also strong in the UK, with the world's second and third largest pharmaceutical firms (GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, respectively) being based in the UK. [citation needed]

The United Kingdom's agriculture sector is small by European standards, accounting for only 0.9% of GDP. [citation needed] The UK though has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves. Primary energy production accounts for about 10% of Gross domestic product (GDP), [citation needed] one of the highest shares of any industrial state.

The currency of the UK is pound sterling, represented by the symbol £. The Bank of England is the central bank and is responsible for issuing currency, although banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover the issue. The UK chose not to join the Euro on that currency's launch, although the government has pledged to hold a public referendum for deciding membership if "five economic tests" are met. [12] Currently UK public opinion is against the notion. [54]

Government involvement over the economy is exercised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (currently Gordon Brown) who heads HM Treasury, but the Prime Minister (currently Tony Blair), is First Lord of the Treasury (the Chancellor of the Exchequer being the Second Lord of the Treasury). However since 1997, the Bank of England, headed by the Governor of the Bank of England, has control of interest rates and other monetary policy.
 

Administrative subdivisions Manchester Town Hall. Many towns and cities in the UK have impressive town or city hall buildings as administrative headquarters for local government The United Kingdom is divided into four parts, commonly referred to as the home nations or constituent countries. Each nation is further subdivided for the purposes of local government. The Queen appoints a Lord-Lieutenant as her personal representative in lieutenancy areas across the UK; this is little more than a ceremonial role. The following table highlights the arrangements for local government, lieutenancy areas and cities across the home nations of the UK:

Historically, the four nations were divided into counties as areas for local government administration. Although these are still used to some extent for this purpose and as geographical areas, they are no longer the sole basis for local government administration.

In recent years, England has for some purposes been divided into nine intermediate-level Government Office Regions. Each region is made up of counties and unitary authorities, apart from London, which consists of London boroughs. Although at one point it was intended that each or some of these regions would be given its own elected regional assembly, the plan's future is uncertain, as of 2004, after the North East region rejected its proposed assembly in a referendum.
City status is governed by Royal Charter. There are currently 66 British cities (50 in England; 6 in Scotland; 5 in Wales; and 5 in Northern Ireland).

The Crown has sovereignty over the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man, known collectively as the crown dependencies. These are lands historically owned by the British monarch, but are not part of the United Kingdom itself. They are also not in the European Union. However, the Parliament of the United Kingdom has the authority to legislate for the dependencies, and the British government manages their foreign affairs and defence.

The UK also has fourteen overseas territories around the world, the last remaining territories of the British Empire. The overseas territories are also not considered part of the UK, but in some cases the local populations have British citizenship and the right to abode in the UK.
 

HMS Illustrious, one of the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers

Military The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, but officially Armed Forces of the Crown. Their Commander-in-Chief is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II and they are managed by the Ministry of Defence. The armed forces are controlled by the Defence Council currently headed by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup.

The United Kingdom is one of the countries in the world with a comprehensive nuclear arsenal, utilising the submarine-based Trident II ballistic missile system with nuclear warheads. These Vanguard class submarines were designed and built by VSEL (now BAE Systems Submarines) at Barrow-in-Furness.

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, promoting the United Kingdom's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and other coalition operations.

The British Army had a reported strength of 102,440 in 2005 [55] and the Royal Air Force a strength of 49,210. The 36,320-member Royal Navy operates the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent, which consists of four Trident missile-armed submarines, while the Royal Marines are the Royal Navy's Light Infantry units for amphibious operations and for specialist reinforcement forces in and beyond the NATO area.

This puts total active duty military troops in the 190,000 range, currently deployed in over 80 countries.
There are also reserve forces supporting the regular military. These include an army reserve, the Territorial Army; the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. About 9% of the regular armed forces are comprised of women, a figure that is higher for the reserve forces.

The UK's Special Operations Forces, principally the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service (SBS), but including many others, provide elite commandos trained for quick, mobile, military responses in Counter-Terrorism, land, maritime and amphibious operations; often where secrecy or covert operations are required. The Royal Navy is the second largest navy in the Western World in terms of gross tonnage. Despite the United Kingdom's wide-ranging capabilities, recent pragmatic defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" would be undertaken as part of a coalition. [56] Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Granby, no-fly zones, Desert Fox, and Telic) may all be taken as precedent; indeed the last war in which the British military fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982, with full-scale combat operations lasting almost three months.

Culture
Main article: Culture of the United Kingdom

Education and science
Further information: Education in the United Kingdom, Education in England, Education in Scotland, Education in Wales and Education in Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom contains some of the world's leading universities [57], including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge. It has produced many great scholars, scientists and engineers including Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the nation is credited with many inventions including the locomotive, the telephone, vaccination, television, the railway, and both the internal combustion and the jet engine. The nation was instrumental in the development of computers with the Colossus computer and the later development of the World Wide Web.

In 2006, it was reported that the UK was the most productive source of research after the United States; with the UK producing 9% of the world's scientific research papers with a 12% share of citations.[58]
 

William Shakespeare, famed playwright

Literature Main article: British literature Further information: English literature, Scottish literature and Welsh literature The playwright William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous writer in the history of the English language; other well known writers from the United Kingdom include the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Sir Walter Scott, J. K. Rowling, Salman Rushdie, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Hardy, D. H. Lawrence, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, J. R. R. Tolkien, P. G. Wodehouse, C. S. Lewis, H. G. Wells, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Orwell. Important playwrights include Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Harold Pinter, Oscar Wilde and Tom Stoppard. Important poets include Geoffrey Chaucer, William Blake, Lord Byron, Robert Burns, John Keats, John Milton and Lord Tennyson.

Music
Main article: Music of the United Kingdom

Notable composers from the United Kingdom have included Henry Purcell from the 16th and 17th centuries, and, more recently, Sir Edward Elgar and Sir Arthur Sullivan (most famous for working with librettist Sir W. S. Gilbert) in the 19th and 20th.

The UK was, with the US, one of the two main contributors in the development of rock and roll, and the UK has provided some of the most famous rock stars, including The Beatles. The UK was at the forefront of punk rock music in the 1970s with bands such as The Sex Pistols as well as the subsequent rebirth of heavy metal. The late-1970s and 1980s saw the rise of New Wave. The so-called 'Second British Invasion' into the US popular music scene took place throughout 1982, 1983 and 1984 when UK bands flooded the US Billboard charts. In the mid to late-1990s, the Britpop phenomenon saw bands such as Oasis and Blur attain considerable national and international success. The 1990s also saw the rise of major Welsh bands. The UK is also at the forefront of electronica, with British artists such as The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers helping this mainly underground genre to cross over into the mainstream (having originated in the early-90's with techno bands such as Orbital). Also British pop producers Stock Aitken Waterman - dominated the charts in the late-80's and early-90's with their instantly recognisable brand of pop from acts such as Rick Astley and today's pop superstar, Kylie Minogue. The 1990s charts were also dominated by the boy band phenomenon, with groups such as Take That thriving amongst countless others. Girl groups such as the Spice Girls also found considerable success. From 1997 onwards, so-called 'soft rock' bands have dominated the serious popular music scene including Coldplay, although after 2003 a high number of 'neo-indie' bands emerged such as The Libertines and have found considerable success.

Media
Main article: Media of the United Kingdom
The UK has a large and diverse media, and the prominence of the English language gives it a widespread international dimension.

The BBC is the UK's publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest broadcaster in the world. Funded by the compulsory television licence, the BBC operates several television channels and radio stations both in the UK and abroad. The BBC World Service radio channel is broadcast in 33 languages around the world. BBC News is also broadcast around the world. The main, free-to-air television channels in the UK are BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five. The main satellite broadcaster is British Sky Broadcasting, the vast majority of digital cable services are provided by NTL:Telewest (created by the merger of NTL and Telewest in March 2006), and free-to-air digital terrestrial television by Freeview.

Radio in the UK is dominated by BBC Radio, which operates 10 national and 40 regional radio stations. The most popular radio station, by number of listeners, is BBC Radio Two which specialises in popular music aimed at the 'middle aged' age bracket; it is closely followed by BBC Radio One, aimed at the 15-24 aged bracket and the previous market leader. Commercial radio tends to be regionalised, although Virgin Radio, Classic FM and talkSPORT broadcast nationally. Popular regional stations include Capital Radio in London; Heart in London and Midlands; Galaxy in Birmingham and the north of England; Magic in London and the north of England; and Radio Clyde in Glasgow.

Traditionally British newspapers could be split into "quality", serious-minded newspapers (usually referred to as broadsheets due to their large size) and tabloid, popular newspapers. However, due to considerations of convenience of reading, many traditional broadsheets have both switched to a 'compact'-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids. The Sun has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in the UK, with approximately a quarter of the market; its sister paper, The News of The World similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market [59], and traditionally focuses on celebrity-led stories. The The Daily Telegraph, a right-of-centre paper, is the highest selling broadsheet having overtaken The Times in circulation figures. The Financial Times is the main business paper, printed on distinctive salmon-pink broadsheet paper
 

Sport Main article: Sport in the United Kingdom Tennis originated in the UK. The Wimbledon Championships Grand Slam tournament is held in London every July A number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including association football (soccer), rugby football (rugby), golf, cricket, tennis and boxing.

The most popular sport in the UK is association football, usually referred to as just "football". The UK does not compete as a nation in any major football tournament. Instead, the home nations compete individually as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is because of this unique four-team arrangement that the UK currently does not compete in football events at the Olympic Games. However, a united team will probably take part in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, which are to be hosted in London. The English and Northern Irish football associations have confirmed participation in this team while the Scottish FA and the Welsh FA have declined to participate. It is in this way that rugby football differs internationally to association football, as the England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (including Northern Ireland) teams do come together to form the British and Irish Lions, though they do all compete separately internationaly for the most part.

The UK is home to many world-renowned football clubs, such as Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal in England and Celtic and Rangers in Scotland. Clubs compete in national leagues and competitions and some go on to compete in European competitions. British teams are generally successful in European Competitions and several have become European Cup/UEFA Champions League winners: Liverpool (five times), Manchester United (twice), Nottingham Forest (twice), Aston Villa and Celtic.

By far the UK's most successful sport, if judged by the number of wins in the international arena, is rowing which holds a strong presence amongst other rowing nations such as Australia, Canada and Germany. It is widely considered that the UK's most successful sportsperson is Steven Redgrave who won five gold and one bronze medals at five consecutive Olympic Games as well as numerous wins at the World Rowing Championships and Henley Royal Regatta.

Both forms of rugby are national sports. Rugby league originates from and is generally played in the North of England, whilst Rugby Union is played predominantly in Wales, Northern Ireland and Southern England. Having supposedly originated from the actions of William Webb Ellis at the town of Rugby, it is considered the national sport of Wales. In rugby league the UK plays as one nation – Great Britain – though in union it is represented by four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (which consists of players from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). England is the current holder of the Rugby World Cup. Every four years the British and Irish Lions tour either Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.

The Wimbledon Championships are international tennis events held in Wimbledon in south London every summer and are seen as the most prestigious of the tennis calendar.
 

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews regarded as the worldwide "Home of Golf". Thoroughbred racing is also very popular in England. It originated under Charles II of England as the "Sport of Kings" and is a royal pastime to this day. World-famous horse races include the Grand National and the Epsom Derby. Golf is one of the most popular participation sports played in the UK, and St Andrews in Scotland is the sport's home course. Cricket is also popular; although the popularity of the game is dramatically greater in England than in other parts of the UK, all four constituent nations as of 2006 compete at the One-Day International level – Scotland independently, Wales as part of the English team, and Northern Ireland as part of All-Ireland.

Shinty or camanachd (a sport derived from the same root as the Irish hurling and similar to bandy) is popular in the Scottish Highlands, sometimes attracting crowds numbering thousands in the most sparsely populated region of the UK.

The country is closely associated with motorsport. Many teams and drivers in Formula One and the World Rally Championship are based in the UK. The country also hosts legs of the F1 and World Rallying Championship calendars and has its own Touring Car Racing championship, the BTCC.

British Formula One World Champions include Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill (twice), Jim Clark (twice), John Surtees (who was also successful on motorcycles), Jackie Stewart (three times), James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, and Graham Hill's son, Damon Hill. British drivers have not been as successful in the World Rally Championship, with only Colin McRae and the late Richard Burns winning the title.

Symbols


Britannia, featured on Royal Mint gold bullion coin

• The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag (commonly known as the "Union Jack"). Created from the superimposition of the flags of England (St George's Cross) and Scotland (Saint Andrew's Cross); the Saint Patrick's cross, representing Ireland, was added to this in 1801.
• The national anthem of the UK is God Save the Queen.[60]
• Britannia is a personification of the UK, originating from the Roman occupation of southern and central Great Britain[61]. Britannia is symbolised as a young woman with brown or golden hair, wearing a Corinthian helmet and white robes. She holds Poseidon's three-pronged trident and a shield, bearing the Union Flag. Sometimes she is depicted as riding the back of a lion. In modern usage, Britannia is often associated with maritime dominance, as in the nationalist anthem Rule Britannia.
• The lion has also been used as a symbol of the UK; one is depicted behind Britannia on the 50 pence piece and one is shown crowned on the back of the 10 pence piece, it is also used as a symbol on the non-ceremonial flag of the British Army. Lions have been used as heraldic devices many times, including in the royal arms of both the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Kingdom of Gwynedd in Wales. The lion is featured on the emblem of the England national football team, giving rise to the popular football anthem Three Lions.
• The bulldog is sometimes used as a symbol of the Great Britain.
• Britain is also personified as the character John Bull.

Miscellaneous data
• Cellular frequency: GSM 900, GSM 1800, UMTS 2100
• Cellular technology: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS
• Date format: DD/MM/YY (example: 22/12/05) or 22 December, 2005
• Time format: Generally 12-hour format when spoken or in writing (example: 5.15 pm), 24-hour format is used in some official documentation and in timetables (example: 17.15 or 1715).
• Decimal separator is a full stop: 123.45
• Thousands are separated (formal) by a comma: 10,000. (To avoid confusion with continental countries which use the comma as the decimal separator, a space may be used, e.g. 10 000.)
• Voltage: 230V (+/-10%), 50 Hz; Power connector: 3 rectangle pins
• Postal code: LN NLL, LLN NLL, LNN NLL, LLNN NLL, LNL NLL or LLNL NLL. See UK postcodes