Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also widely referred to ascountries.[25] The UK Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe it.[26] Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelveNUTS 1 regions, refer to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions".[27] Northern Ireland is also referred to as a "province".[28] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".[29]
The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination.[30] It is sometimes used as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom as a whole.[31] The wordEngland is occasionally used incorrectly to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole, a mistake principally made by people from outside the UK.[32]
The term "Britain" is used as a synonym forGreat Britain,[33][34] but also sometimes for the United Kingdom.[35][34] Usage is mixed: theUK Government style guide prefers the term "UK" rather than "Britain" or "British" (except when referring to embassies[q]),[37] while other government documents acknowledge that both terms refer to the United Kingdom and that elsewhere "British government" is used at least as frequently as "United Kingdom government".[38] The UKPermanent Committee on Geographical Names recognises "United Kingdom", "UK" and "U.K." as shortened and abbreviated geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in its toponymic guidelines; it does not list "Britain" but notes that "it is only the one specific nominal term 'Great Britain' which invariably excludes Northern Ireland".[38] TheBBC historically preferred to use "Britain" as shorthand only for Great Britain, though the present style guide does not take a position except that "Great Britain" excludes Northern Ireland.[39]
The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom and is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship andnationality.[40][r] People of the United Kingdom use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as beingBritish,English,Scottish,Welsh,Northern Irish orIrish;[43] or as having a combination of different national identities.[44]
Stonehenge inWiltshire is a ring of stones, each about 4 m (13 ft) high, 2 m (7 ft) wide and 25tonnes, erected 2400–2200 BC.
Settlement byCro-Magnons of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago.[45] The island has been continuously inhabited only since the last retreat of the ice around 11,500 years ago.[46] By the end of theregion's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termedInsular Celtic, comprisingBrittonic Britain andGaelic Ireland.[47]
In 1215Magna Carta was the first document to state that no government was above the law, that citizens have rights protecting them, and that they were entitled to afair trial.[55]
In 1603 the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in apersonal union whenJames VI of Scotland inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal and religious institutions.[62]
Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to theTreaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments.
British merchants played a leading part in theAtlantic slave trade, mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonialslave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa.[68] The slaves were taken towork on plantations, principallyin the Caribbean but alsoin North America.[69] However, with pressure from theabolitionist movement, Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took a leading role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through theblockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties.[70]
In 1800 the parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801.[71]
Britain was one of the principalAllies that defeated theCentral Powers in theFirst World War (1914–1918). Alongside their French, Russian and (after 1917) American counterparts,[85] British armed forces were engaged across much of the British Empire and in several regions of Europe, particularly on theWestern Front.[86] The high fatalities oftrench warfare caused the loss of much of a generation of men, with lasting social effects in the nation and a great disruption in the social order. Britain had suffered 2.5 million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt.[86]
The consequences of the war persuaded the government to expand the right to vote in national and local elections to all adult men and most adult women with theRepresentation of the People Act 1918.[86] After the war Britain became a permanent member of the Executive Council of theLeague of Nations and received amandate over a number of former German andOttoman colonies. Under the leadership ofDavid Lloyd George, the British Empire reached its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population.[87]
Nonetheless, Britain was described as "a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system."[94] AfterNazi Germanyinvaded Poland in 1939, Britain entered theSecond World War.Winston Churchill became prime minister and head ofa coalition government in 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies in the first year, Britain and its empire continued the war against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort.[94]
From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland experienced communal andparamilitary violence, sometimes affecting other parts of the UK, known asthe Troubles. It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement.[114] Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in the 1970s, theConservative government of the 1980s led byMargaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy ofmonetarism,deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, theBig Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others.[115]
In 1982Argentina invaded the British territories ofSouth Georgia and theFalkland Islands, leading to the 10-weekFalklands War in which Argentine forces were defeated. The inhabitants of the islands are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty, expressed in a2013 referendum. From 1984 the British economy was helped by the inflow of substantialNorth Sea oil revenues.[116] Another British Overseas Territory,Gibraltar, ceded to Great Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht,[117] isa key military base. Areferendum in 2002 on shared sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 98.97 per cent of voters in Gibraltar.
Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment ofdevolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[118]The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights. The UK remained agreat power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations andNATO.[119]
Geographically, the United Kingdom lies between theNorth Atlantic Ocean and theNorth Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by theEnglish Channel.[138]
The nearby island polities of theIsle of Man,Jersey andGuernsey arecrown dependencies, in union with theBritish monarch, but do not strictly form part of the United Kingdom or any of its three jurisdictions or four countries, although the British government retains responsibility for their external affairs. The Isle of Man lies roughly midway between Great Britain and theisland of Ireland in theIrish Sea, while the Channel Islands lie just off the northern French coast.
The UK lies between latitudes49° and61° N, and longitudes9° W and2° E. Northern Ireland shares a 310-mile (499 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland[138] and has a 404-mile (650 km) coastline.[141] The length of coastline of Great Britain plus its principal islands is about 19,491 miles (31,368 km) long, with the coastline of the main island Great Britain being 11,073 miles (17,820 km) of that,[142] though measurements can vary greatly due to thecoastline paradox.[143] It is connected to continental Europe by theChannel Tunnel, which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.[144]
Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round.[138] The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0 °C (32 °F) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F).[147] Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience asubpolar oceanic climate. Higher elevations in Scotland experience acontinental subarctic climate and the mountains experience atundra climate.[148]
The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,[138] although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind. Since the majority of the rain falls over the western regions, the eastern parts are the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by theGulf Stream, bring mild winters, especially in the west where winters are wet and even more so over high ground. Summers are warmest in the southeast of England and coolest in the north. Heavy snowfall can occur in winter and early spring on high ground, and occasionally settles to great depth away from the hills.[149]
The average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom was 1,339.7 hours between 1971 and 2000,[150] which is just under 30% of the maximum possible.[citation needed] The hours of sunshine vary from 1,200 to about 1,580 hours per year. Since 1996 the UK has been receiving above the 1,981 to 2,010 average hours of sunshine.[151]
Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km2).[161] It is mostly mountainous, thoughSouth Wales is less mountainous thanNorth andMid Wales. The highest mountains in Wales are inSnowdonia and includeSnowdon (Welsh:Yr Wyddfa) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft), is the highest peak in Wales.[156] Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including thePembrokeshire Coast.[142] Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which isAnglesey (Ynys Môn).
King Charles III is themonarch andhead of state of the UK and 14 other independentsovereign states. These 15 countries are referred to as "Commonwealth realms". The monarch is formally vested with all executive authority as the personal embodiment ofthe Crown and is "fundamental to the law and working of government in the UK".[174] The disposition of such powers however, including those belonging to theroyal prerogative, is generally exercised only on theadvice ofministers of the Crown responsible to Parliament and thence to the electorate. Nevertheless, in the performance of official duties the monarch has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn".[175] In addition the monarch has a number ofreserve powers at his disposal to upholdresponsible government and preventconstitutional crises.[t]
Forgeneral elections (elections to the House of Commons), the UK is divided into 650constituencies, each of which is represented by onemember of Parliament (MP) elected by thefirst-past-the-post system.[177] MPs hold office for up to five years and must then stand for re-election if they wish to continue to be an MP.[177] TheConservative Party, colloquially known as the Tory Party or the Tories, and theLabour Party have been the dominant political parties in the country since the 1920s, leading to the UK being described as atwo-party system. However, since the 1920s otherpolitical parties have won seats in the House of Commons, although never more than the Conservatives or Labour.[178]
ThePalace of Westminster in London is the seat of both houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Although not part of the United Kingdom, the threeCrown Dependencies ofJersey,Guernsey and theIsle of Man, as well as the 14British Overseas Territories, are subject to the sovereignty of the British Crown. The Crown exercises its responsibilities in relation to the Crown Dependencies mainly through the British government'sHome Office and for the British Overseas Territories principally through theForeign Office.[190]
The geographical division of the United Kingdom into counties orshires began in England and Scotland in theearly Middle Ages, and was completed throughout Great Britain and Ireland by theearly modern period.[191] Modernlocal government by elected councils, partly based on the ancient counties, was established by separate Acts of Parliament: in England and Walesin 1888, Scotlandin 1889 and Irelandin 1898, meaning there is no consistent system of administrative or geographic demarcation across the UK,[192] andEngland and Wales,Scotland andNorthern Ireland each have their own distinct jurisdictions.[193] Until the 19th century there was little change to those arrangements, but there has since been a constant evolution of role and function.[194]
Local government in Scotland is divided into32 council areas with a wide variation in size and population. The cities ofGlasgow, Edinburgh,Aberdeen andDundee are separate council areas, as is theHighland Council, which includes a third of Scotland's area but only just over 200,000 people. Local councils are made up of elected councillors, of whom there are 1,223.[197]
Local government in Wales consists of 22unitary authorities, each led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself. These include the cities of Cardiff,Swansea andNewport, which are unitary authorities in their own right.[198] Elections are held every four years under the first-past-the-post system.[198]
Local government in Northern Ireland since 1973 has been organised into 26 district councils, each elected by single transferable vote. Their powers are limited to services such as waste collection, dog control, and maintaining parks and cemeteries.[199] In 2008 the executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils to replace the existing system.[200]
Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with the first ministers of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales during theCouncil of Nations and Regions summit.
In the United Kingdom a process of devolution has transferred various powers from the UK Government to three of the four UK countries—Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales—as well as to the regions of England, which since 1999 have their own governments and parliaments which control various devolved matters.[201] These powers vary and have been moved to theScottish Government, theWelsh Government, theNorthern Ireland Executive and in England, theGreater London Authority andCombined Authorities.[202] Amongst the devolved parliaments across the United Kingdom, theScottish Parliament has the most extensive responsibilities fordevolved powers, and has been described as "one of the most powerful devolved parliaments in the world".[203][204]
The UK has anuncodified constitution and constitutional matters are not amongst the powers that have been devolved. Under the doctrine ofparliamentary sovereignty, the UK Parliament could, in theory, therefore, abolish the Scottish Parliament, Senedd or Northern Ireland Assembly.[205] Though in theScotland Act 2016 and theWales Act 2017 it states that the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government "are a permanent part of the United Kingdom's constitutional arrangements".[206][207]
In practice it would be politically difficult for the UK Parliament to abolish devolution to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd because these institutions were created by referendums.[208] The political constraints placed upon the UK Parliament's power to interfere with devolution in Northern Ireland are greater still, because devolution in Northern Ireland rests upon an international agreement with theGovernment of Ireland.[209] The UK Parliament restricts the three devolved parliaments' legislative powers in economic policy matters throughan act passed in 2020.[210]
England
Unlike Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, England does not have a separate devolved government or national parliament,[211] rather a process of devolution of powers from the central government to local authorities has taken place, first in 1998.[212] TheGreater London Authority (GLA) was set up following areferendum in 1998. Colloquially known as City Hall, it is the devolved regional government body for Greater London. It consists of two political branches: anExecutive Mayor and theLondon Assembly, which serves as a check and balance on the Mayor.
ACombined Authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by theLocal Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain devolved functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area.[213] A Combined County Authority (CCA) is a similar type of local-government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by theLevelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, but may only be formed by upper-tier authorities:county councils andunitary authorities.[214]
The Scottish Parliament is separate from the Scottish Government. It is made up of 129 electedmembers of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). It is the law-making body of Scotland, and thus it scrutinises the work of the incumbent Scottish Government and considers any piece of proposed legislation through parliamentary debates, committees and parliamentary questions.[228]
Wales
Since 1999 Wales has had a devolved national government and legislature, known as the Senedd. Elections to the Senedd use theadditional member system. It has more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland.[229] The Senedd can legislate on any matter not specifically reserved to the UK Parliament byActs of Senedd Cymru. TheWelsh Government is currently aWelsh Labour minority government led by thefirst minister,Eluned Morgan.Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, each led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself.
The UK is said to have a "Special Relationship" with the United States and a close partnership with France – the "Entente cordiale" – and shares nuclear weapons technology with both countries;[238][239] theAnglo-Portuguese Alliance is considered to be the oldest binding military alliance in the world. The UK is also closely linked with the Republic of Ireland; the two countries share aCommon Travel Area and co-operate through theBritish-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and theBritish-Irish Council. Britain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations, foreign investments,official development assistance and military engagements.[240] Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of which are former colonies of the British Empire which share King Charles III as their head of state, are the most favourably viewed countries in the world byBritish people.[241]
Crime in England and Wales increased between 1981 and 1995. Since that peak there has been an overall fall of 66% in recorded crime from 1995 to 2015,[251] according toUK crime statistics. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe.[252][253][254]
Since leaving theEU most disputes under UK-EU agreements are addressed through consultation between the parties. If consultation fails to resolve the issue, either party can requestarbitration, typically at thePCA inThe Hague.[129][258][259] TheEU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement states that the UK and EU have to cooperate and negotiate with each other with 'full mutual respect and good faith', as defined by international law.[260] Under theWindsor Framework,Northern Ireland matters requiring interpretation of EU law go to theECJ, though theStormont Brake can prevent new EU rules from taking effect.
Overseas military installations of the United Kingdom, and locally raised units of theBritish Overseas Territories
Military interventions since 2000:Palliser (Sierra Leone);Herrick (Afghanistan);Enduring Freedom (Horn of Africa);Telic (Iraq);Ellamy (Libya); andShader (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant).
TheBank of England is thecentral bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based.
HM Treasury, led by theChancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government'spublic finance andeconomic policy. TheDepartment for Business and Trade is responsible for business, international trade, and enterprise. TheBank of England is the UK'scentral bank and responsible for issuing notes and coins in the pound sterling. 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 their issue. The Bank of England is exploringa digital pound to enable instant settlement and improve payment infrastructure.[278]
Industries and services
Theservice sector made up around 80 per cent of the UK'sGVA in 2023.[279] As of 2023 it is the world'ssecond-largest exporter of services[280] and in 2024 was the world's largest net exporter offinancial services.[281] In 2023 the UK was 13 per cent above its pre-pandemic and pre-Brexit peak in 2019 for service exports.[282]London is the world capital for foreign exchange trading, with a market share of 38.1 per cent in 2022[283] of the daily US$7.5 trillion global turnover.[284] It is the largest urban economy in Europe[285] and, alongsideNew York, the city in the world most integrated with theglobal economy.[286] London is also one of the world's leading financial centres, ranking second in the 2025Global Financial Centres Index.[287]Edinburgh, the UK's second-largest financial centre, ranks 29th in the world and tenth in Western Europe in the same index.[287]
TheUK's manufacturing sector in 2024 was the world's10th-largest and Europe's fourth-largest by value output.[288] Due to a period of high domestic inflation caused byCOVID-19, high energy prices and supply chain shocks, the UK imported and exported less goods in 2023 than in 2018.[289][290] At the end of 2024 manufacturing in the United Kingdom accounted for 8 per cent of the workforce and 8.6 per cent of national economic output.[291] As reported in 2017 theEast Midlands andWest Midlands (at 12.6 and 11.8 per cent respectively) were the regions with the highest proportion of employees in manufacturing.London's manufacturing sector had the lowest at 2.8 per cent.[292]
Thecountry's tourism sector is very important to the British economy;[293] London was named Europe's most popular destination for 2022.[294] Thecreative industries accounted for 5.9 per cent of the UK's GVA in 2019, having grown by 43.6 per cent in real terms from 2010.[295] Creative industries contributed more than £111 billion to the UK economy in 2018, and the sector grew more than five times faster than the UK economy overall in that year.[296]Lloyd's of London, located in London, is the world's largestinsurance andreinsurance market.[297]WPP plc is one of the world's biggest advertising companies and also based in London.[298] The UK is one of the leading retail markets in Europe and Europe's largeste-commerce market.[299] Withconsumption expenditures of over US$2 trillion in 2023, it has thesecond-largest consumer market in Europe.[300]John Lewis is the UK's largest employee-owned business.[301]
TheBritish automotive industry employs 813,000 people, with a turnover in 2023 of £93 billion, generating £47 billion of exports (12 per cent of the UK's total exports of goods).[302] In 2024 the UK produced 779,584 passenger vehicles and 125,649 commercial vehicles; 8 out of 10 cars produced in the UK are exported overseas.[302] Britain is known for iconic cars likeMini andJaguar,[303] as well as luxury cars such asRolls-Royce,Bentley andRange Rover. The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing: 1.59 million engines were produced in 2024.[302] It was the world'sthird-largest exporter of engines in 2023.[304] TheUK motorsport industry employs more than 40,000 people, comprises around 4,300 companies and has an annual turnover of around £10 billion.[305] Seven of the tenFormula One teams are based in the UK, with their technology being used in supercars and hypercars fromMcLaren,Aston Martin andLotus.[u] In 2024 the UK surpassed Germany to become the largest market forelectric vehicles in Europe.[306]
Concorde was asupersonic airliner that reduced transatlantic flight time from 8 hours to 3.5 hours.[307]
Theaerospace industry of the UK is the second-largest in the world[308] and has an annual turnover of around £30 billion.[309] TheUK space industry was worth £17.5 billion in 2020/21 and employed around 48,800 people.[310][311] Since 2012 the number of space organisations has grown on average nearly 21 per cent per year, with 1,293 organisations reported in 2021.[312][313] TheUK Space Agency has stated in 2023 that it is investing £1.6 billion in space-related projects.[314]
TheBritish agriculture industry is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by European standards, producing approximately 60 per cent of the country's overall food requirements and 73 per cent of its indigenous food needs, utilising around 0.9 per cent of the labour force (292,000 workers).[315] Around two-thirds of production is devoted tolivestock and one-third toarable crops. The UK retains a significant though much reduced fishing industry, with at least 49 per cent of UK fish sustainably caught in 2020.[316] The UK marine natural capital assets were estimated to have a value of £211 billion in 2021.[317] It is rich in a variety of other natural resources including coal,petroleum,natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk,gypsum, lead, and silica and has an abundance of arable land.[318]
In 2022 the UK reached the milestone of a combined market value of US$1 trillion for itsstartup andscaleup ecosystem.[327] By 2024 the UK tech sector reached a value of US$1.2 trillion surpassing the combined values of the French and German sectors.[328] Cambridge was named the number one university in the world for producing successful technology founders.[329] TheUK's artificial intelligence industry is the largest in Europe by value.[330] The country ranked third globally in a 2024 report on artificial intelligence development byStanford University.[331] In 2025 the UK ranked 6th in theGlobal Innovation Index.[332][333] In 2025 the "Tech Prosperity Deal" was announced where US companies pledged £150 billion of investment in the UK.[334]
A radial road network totals 29,145 miles (46,904 km) of main roads, 2,173 miles (3,497 km) of motorways and 213,750 miles (344,000 km) of paved roads.[138] TheM25, encircling London, is the largest and busiest bypass in the world.[335] In 2024 there were 41.7 million licensed vehicles in the UK.[336]
The UK has an extensive railway network of 10,072 miles (16,209 km). In Great Britain, theBritish Rail networkwas privatised between 1994 and 1997, followed by a rapid rise in passengers.Great British Railways is a planned state-owned public body that will overseerail transport in Great Britain. The UK was ranked eighth amongst national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index assessing intensity of use, quality of service and safety.[337]
The UK has a train direct from London toParis which takes 2 hours and 16 minutes[338] called theEurostar, it travels through theChannel Tunnel under theEnglish Channel, at 23.5 miles long it is the world's longest undersea tunnel.[339] There is also a car service through the tunnel to France calledLeShuttle. TheElizabeth line, a rail link running betweenEast andWest London, was named in honour ofQueen Elizabeth II in 2016 and opened in 2022. It was Europe's largest construction project at the time and is estimated to bring in £42 billion to the UK economy.[340][341] Another major infrastructure project isHigh Speed 2 (HS2), a high-speed railway under construction since 2019. It will link London withBirmingham, with the potential to extend further north and capable of speeds of up to 225 mph.[342][343]
In 2023 there were 4 billion bus journeys in the UK, 1.8 billion of which were in London.[344] The reddouble-decker bus has entered popular culture as an internationally recognised icon of London and England.[345] TheLondon bus network is extensive, with over 6,800 scheduled services every weekday carrying about 6 million passengers on over 700 different routes, making it one of the most extensive bus systems in the world and the largest in Europe.[346]
Renewable electricity sources provided 51 per cent of the electricity generated in the UK in 2024.Wind power was the largest source of electricity in 2024, generating 30 per cent of the UK's total electricity.[354] The UK has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, which is located off the coast ofYorkshire.[355]
In 2023 the UK had nine nuclear reactors generating about 15 per cent of the UK's electricity.[356] There are two reactors under construction and more planned.[357][358] In the late 1990snuclear power plants contributed around 25 per cent of the total annual electricity generation in the UK, but this has gradually declined as old plants have been shut down. The UK government is investing insmall modular reactors that operate vianuclear fission, as well as in research and development towards commercialfusion reactors. To that end the government entered into a partnership with the US in late 2023 to collaborate on fusion technology, with "a commercial grid-ready fusion reactor by 2040" stated as a goal.[359]
At the end of 2023 it was estimated that there were 1.1 billionbarrels of oil equivalent of "proven" and "probable"gas reserves and 2.3 billion boe of "proven" and "probable"oil reserves offshore, reducing reliance on imports for energy security and transitioning to renewables.[360] Emissions from UK gas production are roughly four times lower than importedliquefied natural gas (LNG), according to theUK's oil and gas regulator.[361]
In September 2024 the last coal power station was closed, makingcoal no longer a power source in the UK.[354] The UK currently has nofracking (hydraulic fracturing) forshale gas despite a large supply, due to environmental concerns.[362]
Access to improved water supply and sanitation in the UK is universal. It is estimated that 96 per cent of households are connected to the sewer network.[363] According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 16,406megalitres per day in 2007.[364]
In England and Wales, water and sewerage services are provided by 10 private regional water and sewerage companies and 13 mostly smaller private "water only" companies. In Scotland, said services are provided by a single public company,Scottish Water. In Northern Ireland, they are also provided by a single public entity,Northern Ireland Water.[365]
In the2021 census the population of the United Kingdom was 67,026,292.[366] It is thefourth-largest in Europe (after Russia, Germany and France), the fifth-largest in theCommonwealth of Nations and the22nd-largest in the world. In 2012 and 2013 births contributed the most to population growth, while in 2014 and 2015 net international migration contributed more.[367] Between 2001 and 2011 the population increased at an average annual rate of 0.7 per cent.[366] The2011 census also showed that, over the previous 100 years, the proportion of the population aged 0–14 fell from 31 to 18 per cent, and the proportion of people aged 65 and over rose from 5 to 16 per cent.[366] In 2018 themedian age of the UK population was 41.7 years.[368] The 2021 census put Scotland's population at 5.48 million, Wales's at 3.1 million and Northern Ireland's at 1.9 million.[366]
Population of the United Kingdom by country (2024)[369]
Country
Land area
Population
Density (/km2)
(km2)
(%)
People
(%)
England
130,310
54%
58,620,101
85%
450
Scotland
77,901
32%
5,546,900
8%
71
Wales
20,737
9%
3,186,581
5%
154
Northern Ireland
13,547
6%
1,927,855
3%
142
United Kingdom
242,741
100%
69,281,437
100%
285
England's population in 2021 was 56 million, representing some 84 per cent of the UK total.[366] England is one of themost-densely-populated countries in the world, with 434 people per square kilometre in mid-2021,[366] with a particular concentration in London and the south-east.[370]London's wider metropolitan area is the largest inWestern Europe, with a population of 14.9 million in 2024.[371]
In 2021 thetotal fertility rate across the UK was 1.53 children born per woman,[372] which remains considerably below thebaby boom peak of 2.95 children per woman in 1964,[373] or the high of 6.02 children born per woman in 1815[374] and below the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2011, 47.3 per cent of births in the UK were to unmarried women.[375] TheOffice for National Statistics reported in 2015 that amongst the UK population aged 16 and over, 1.7 per cent identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (2.0 per cent of males and 1.5 per cent of females); 4.5 per cent of respondents responded with "other", "I don't know", or did not respond.[376] The number oftransgender people in the UK was estimated to be between 65,000 and 300,000 by research between 2001 and 2008.[377]
Development of ethnicities in the United Kingdom (1951–2021)
Historically, indigenous British people were thought to bedescended from ethnic groups that settled there before the 12th century: theCelts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Norse and theNormans.Welsh people could be the oldest ethnic group in the UK.[381] The UK has a history of non-white immigration withLiverpool having the oldest black population in the country dating from at least the 1730s,[382] in addition to having the oldestChinese community in Europe dating from the 19th century.[383]
In 2021, 83 per cent of the UK population identified themselves as white, meaning 17 per cent of the UK population identify themselves as of one of anethnic minority group.[384] Ethnic diversity varies significantly across the UK. Regionally, in 2021, 46.2 per cent of London's population was an ethnic minority, comparatively to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the South West and North East of England being less than 10 per cent.[384]
TheEnglish language is thede facto official and most widely spoken language in the United Kingdom.[385][386] The UK promotes the language globally to build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.[387][388]
Three indigenousCeltic languages are spoken in the UK:Welsh,Irish andScottish Gaelic.Cornish, which became extinct as a first language in the late-18th century, is being revived and has a small group of second-language speakers.[391][2] In the2021 census theWelsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8 per cent).[392] In addition it is estimated that about 200,000 Welsh-speakers live in England.[393] In the 2021 census in Northern Ireland 12.4 per cent of people had someIrish language ability and 10.4 per cent of people had some facility in theUlster-Scots language.[394]
In 2001, over 92,000 people in Scotland, just under 2 per cent of the population, had some Gaelic language ability, including 72 per cent of those living in theOuter Hebrides.[395] The number of children being taught either Welsh or Scottish Gaelic is increasing.[396]Scots, a language descended from early northernMiddle English, has limitedrecognition alongside its regional variant,Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland, without specific commitments to protection and promotion.[2][397] As of April 2020 there are around 151,000 users ofBritish Sign Language (BSL), asign language used by deaf people, in the UK.[398]
In 2013, it was estimated that 95 per cent of the UK's population weremonolingual English speakers.[399] In 2013, over 5 per cent of the population were estimated to speak languages brought to the UK as a result of immigration.[399]South Asian languages are the largest group, which includesPunjabi,Urdu,Bengali,Sylheti,Hindi,Pahari-Pothwari,Tamil andGujarati.[400] In the 2011 censusPolish was the second-largest language spoken in England, with 546,000 speakers.[401] In 2019 some three-quarters of a million people spoke little or no English.[402]
Religion in the United Kingdom (2022 census):[403]
Christianity (46.5%)
No religion (37.8%)
Islam (5.97%)
Hinduism (1.59%)
Sikhism (0.79%)
Buddhism (0.43%)
Judaism (0.41%)
Other religion (0.58%)
Not stated (5.91%)
Christianity has dominated religious life in the United Kingdom formore than 1,400 years.[404] Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,[405] while immigration and demographic change have contributed to the growth of Islam and other faiths.[406] This has led some commentators to describe the UK as a multi-faith,[407]secularised,[408] orpost-Christian society.[409]
In the 2021 census 46.5 per cent of respondents reported that they were Christians, with the next largest faiths beingIslam (5.9 per cent),Hinduism (1.6 per cent),Sikhism (0.8 per cent),Buddhism (0.4 per cent),Judaism (0.4 per cent), and all other religions (0.6 per cent). Of the respondents, 38 per cent stated that they hadno religion and a further 6 per cent stated no religious preference.[7] ATearfund survey in 2007 showed that one Briton in ten attends church weekly.[410] Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses there was a 12 per cent decrease in those who identified as Christian, while the percentage reporting no religious affiliation doubled. This contrasted with growth in the other main religious group categories, with the number ofMuslims increasing the most to about 5 per cent.[411] The Muslim population has increased from 1.6 million in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2011, making it the second-largest religious group in the UK.[412]
TheChurch of England is theestablished church.[413] It retainsrepresentation in the UK Parliament, and the British monarch is itsSupreme Governor.[414] InScotland theChurch of Scotland is thenational church. It is not subject to state control, and the British monarch is an ordinary member, required to swear an oath to "maintain and preserve the Protestant Religion andPresbyterian Church Government" upon his or her accession.[415][2][416] TheChurch in Wales was disestablished in 1920 and, because theChurch of Ireland was disestablished in 1870 before thepartition of Ireland, there is no established church in Northern Ireland.[417] Although there are no UK-wide data in the 2001 census on adherence to individual Christian denominations, it has been estimated that 62 per cent of Christians are Anglican, 13.5 per cent Catholic, 6 per cent Presbyterian, and 3.4 per cent Methodist, with smaller numbers of other denominations.[418]
Estimated foreign-born population by country of birth from April 2007 to March 2008Estimated number of British citizens living overseas by country in 2006
Immigration is contributing to a rising UK population,[419][420] with arrivals and UK-born children of migrants accounting for about half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001. According to statistics released in 2015, 27 per cent of UK live births in 2014 were to mothers born outside the UK.[421]
In 2013 approximately 208,000 foreign nationals were naturalised as British citizens, the highest number since 1962. This figure fell to around 125,800 in 2014. Between 2009 and 2013 the average number of British citizenships granted annually was 195,800. The most common origins of those naturalised in 2024 were Pakistani, Indian,Nigerian,Filipino,Bangladeshi, Italian, Turkish, Romanian and Iranian. The number of grants of settlement, which conferpermanent residence in the UK but notcitizenship,[422] was approximately 154,700 in 2013, higher than the previous two years.[423] Long-term net migration (the number of people immigrating minus the number emigrating) reached a record of 860,000 in 2023, with immigration at 1.326 million and emigration at 466,000. In comparison, in 2024 net migration was estimated to be 431,000 with immigration at 948,000 and emigration at 517,000.[424]
Emigration was an important feature of British society in the 19th century. Between 1815 and 1930, around 11.4 million people emigrated from Britain and 7.3 million from Ireland.[425][426] Estimates show that by the end of the 20th century, some 300 million people of British and Irish descent were permanently settled around the globe.[426] In 2006 at least 5.5 million UK-born people lived abroad,[427][428] mainly in Australia, Spain, the United States and Canada.[427][429]
TheUniversity of Oxford is widely regarded as one of the world's leading universities.
Education in the United Kingdom is adevolved matter, with each country having a separate education system. About 38 per cent of the United Kingdom population has a university orcollege degree, which is the highest percentage in Europe, and amongst the highest percentage in the world.[430] The UK is home tomany universities, including theUniversity of Oxford andUniversity of Cambridge, which often achieve first place on global rankings.[431][432]
University education has variedtuition fees in different regions of the UK. England and Wales have a fixed maximum annual fee for all UK citizens, contingent on attaining a certain level of income. Only those who reach a certain salary threshold pay this fee throughgeneral taxation.[433] Northern Ireland and Scotland have a reduced maximum fee or no fee for citizens where it is their home region. Some NHS courses have bursaries which pay the fee and in 2017 it was stated that each doctor gets subsidised by £230,000 during their training.[434][435]
In 2022 theProgramme for International Student Assessment (PISA), coordinated by theOECD, ranked the overall knowledge and skills of British 15-year-olds as 14th in the world in reading, mathematics and science. The average British student scored 494, above the OECD average of 478.[436][437]
The modern system ofuniversalpublicly funded healthcare in the United Kingdom has its origins in the creation of theNational Health Service (NHS) in 1949 is the primary healthcare provider in the United Kingdom. The widespread popularity of the NHS has led to it being described as a "national religion".[438][439] Healthcare in the United Kingdom is adevolved matter and each constituent country has its own system of universal publicly funded healthcare, although private healthcare is also available. Public healthcare is provided to allUK permanent residents and is mostly free at the point of need, being paid for fromgeneral taxation. TheWorld Health Organization, in 2000, ranked the provision of healthcare in the United Kingdom as fifteenth-best in Europe and eighteenth in the world.[440]
Since 1979 expenditure on healthcare has increased significantly.[441] The 2018OECD data, which incorporates in health a chunk of what in the UK is classified as social care, has the UK spending £3,121 per person.[442] In 2017 the UK spent £2,989 per person on healthcare, near the median for members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[443]
Regulatory bodies are organised on a UK-wide basis such as theGeneral Medical Council, theNursing and Midwifery Council and non-governmental-based, such as theRoyal Colleges. Political and operational responsibility for healthcare lies with four nationalexecutives; healthcare in England is the responsibility of the UK Government; healthcare in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive; healthcare in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government; and healthcare in Wales is the responsibility of the Welsh Government. Each National Health Service has different policies and priorities.[444]
The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by the nation's island status, its history, and being apolitical union of four countries with each preserving distinctive traditions, customs and symbolism. British influence can be observed in the language, culture andlegal systems of many ofits former colonies, in particular, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland, a common culture known as theAnglosphere.[445][446] TheUK's soft power influence has led to the country being described as acultural superpower.[109][110] A global survey in 2024 ranked the UK 3rd in the 'Most Influential Countries' rankings, behind the US and China.[447]
The Proms is a classical music festival, most closely associated withHenry Wood and held at theRoyal Albert Hall in London, which regularly plays music byEdward Elgar and other British composers.
Various styles of music have become popular in the UK, including thefolk music ofEngland,Scotland,Wales andNorthern Ireland. English folk features melodic ballads with strong lyrics and music for country dancing often using accordion and fiddles.[470] Scottish folk features bagpipes and fiddles playing traditional dance tunes with bouncy tempos.[471] Welsh folk has harps and vocal harmonies often sung in Welsh.[472] Northern Irish folk blends fiddles with flutes merging Scottish and Irish influences.[473]
Many British cities are known for their music. Acts from Liverpool have had 54 UK chart number 1 hit singles, more per capita than any other city worldwide.[495] Glasgow's contribution was recognised in 2008 when it was named aCity of Music byUNESCO.[496] Manchester played a role in the spread of dance music such asacid house, and from the mid-1990s,Britpop. London and Bristol are closely associated with the origins ofelectronic music sub-genres such asdrum and bass andtrip hop.[497]
2019 was a particularly good year for British films which grossed around £10.3 billion globally, which was 28.7 per cent of global box office revenue.[512] UK box-office takings totalled £1.25 billion in 2019, with around 176 million admissions.[513] In 2023 UK film and television studio stage space stood at 6.9 million sq ft, with 1 million sq ft added in the past year with more in development.[514] The annualBAFTA Film Awards are hosted by theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts.[515]
Fish and chips, a traditional British dish, served with lemon, tartar sauce and mushy peas
British cuisine developed from influences reflective of its land, settlements, arrivals of new settlers and immigrants, trade and colonialism. The food of England has historically been characterised by simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce.[516] The traditionalSunday roast is one example, featuring aroast joint (usually of beef), lamb, chicken, or pork, oftenfree range (and generally grass-fed, in the case of beef). Roasts are served with either roasted or boiled vegetables,Yorkshire pudding andgravy. Other traditional meals includemeat pies andstews. A poll byYouGov in 2019 rated classic British food, with more than 80 per cent liking the Sunday roast, Yorkshire pudding,fish and chips,crumpets and thefull English breakfast.[517]
The UK is home to a large selection offine dining. In 2025 there were 197 restaurants with aMichelin Star; 55 of them consider their cuisine to be 'Modern British'.[518] Sweet foods are common within British cuisine, and there is a long list ofBritish desserts. Afternoon tea is a light afternoon meal served with tea in tea rooms and hotels around the United Kingdom, with the tradition dating back to around 1840.[519] A poll from July 2024 revealed that 3 per cent of the UK population follow avegan diet, 6 per cent arevegetarian, and 13 per cent identify asflexitarian (following a mainly vegetarian diet).[520] The British Empire facilitated knowledge ofIndian cuisine with its "strong, penetrating spices and herbs". British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those who havesettled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such aschicken tikka masala.[521] The British have embraced world cuisine and regularly eat recipes or fast food from other European countries, the Caribbean and Asia.
TheBBC, founded in 1922, is the UK's publicly funded radio, television and Internet broadcasting corporation, and is the oldest and largest broadcaster in the world.[523][524][525] It operates television and radio stations across the UK and abroad and its domestic services are funded by thetelevision licence.[526] TheBBC World Service is aninternational broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, and the world's largest.[527] It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages.[528]
London dominates the media sector in the UK: national newspapers and television and radio are largely based there, althoughMediaCityUK in Manchester is also a significant national media centre. Edinburgh and Glasgow, and Cardiff, are important centres of newspaper and broadcasting production in Scotland and Wales, respectively.[532] The UK publishing sector, including books, directories and databases, journals, magazines and business media, newspapers and news agencies, has a combined turnover of around £20 billion and employs 167,000 people.[533] In 2015 the UK published 2,710 book titles per million inhabitants, more than any other country, with much of this exported to otherAnglophone countries.[534]
A poll in 2003 found that football is the most popular sport in the UK.[540] England is recognised byFIFA as the birthplace of club football, and theFootball Association is the oldest of its kind, with therules of football first drafted in 1863 byEbenezer Cobb Morley.[541] Each of theHome Nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) has its own football association, national team andleague system, and each is individually a governing member of theInternational Football Association Board alongside FIFA. The English top division, thePremier League, is the most watched football league in the world.[542] The first international football match was contested byEngland andScotland on 30 November 1872.[543] England, Scotland,Wales andNorthern Ireland usually compete as separate countries in international competitions.[544]
The United Kingdom hosted theSummer Olympic Games in1908,1948 and2012, with London acting as the host city on all three occasions. Birmingham hosted the2022 Commonwealth Games, the seventh time a country of the United Kingdom hosted theCommonwealth Games (England, Scotland and Wales have each hosted the Commonwealth Games at least once).[548]
Theflag of the United Kingdom is theUnion Flag, which is also referred to as the Union Jack.[549] It was created in 1606 by the superimposition of theflag of England, representingSaint George, on theflag of Scotland, representingSaint Andrew, and was updated in 1801 with the addition ofSaint Patrick's Flag.[550] Wales is not represented in the Union Flag, as Wales had been conquered andannexed to England prior to the formation of the United Kingdom. The possibility of redesigning the Union Flag to include representation of Wales was discussed in 2007.[551] Thenational anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the King", with "King" replaced with "Queen" in the lyrics whenever the monarch is a woman.
^"God Save the King" is thenational anthem by custom, not statute, and there is no authorised version. Typically only the first verse is usually sung, although the second verse is also often sung as well at state and public events.[1] The wordsKing, he, him, his, used at present, are replaced byQueen, she, her when the monarch is female.
^abcScotland held its census a year later after England, Wales and Northern Ireland due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the data shown is from two separate years.
^Although the United Kingdom has traditionally been seen as aunitary state, an alternative description of the UK as a "union state", put forward by, amongst others,Vernon Bogdanor,[9] has become increasingly influential since the adoption of devolution in the 1990s.[10] A union state is considered to differ from a unitary state in that while it maintains a central authority it also recognises the authority of historic rights and infrastructures of its component parts.[11]
^Some of the devolved countries, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories issue their own sterling banknotes or currencies, or use another nation's currency. SeeList of British currencies.
^Usage is mixed.The Guardian andThe Telegraph useBritain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. The BritishCabinet Office'sGovernment Digital Servicestyle guide for use ongov.uk recommends: "Use UK and United Kingdom in preference to Britain and British (UK business, UK foreign policy, ambassador and high commissioner). But British embassy, not UK embassy."
^The United Kingdom does not have a codified constitution but an unwritten one formed of Acts of Parliament, court judgments, traditions, and conventions.[21]
^Compare to section 1 of both of the 1800Acts of Union which reads: "the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland shall... be united into one kingdom, by the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland".
^"UK" embassies became "British" embassies in 1961.[36]
^Historically, the termBritish was used to refer to members and institutions within the British Empire and later Commonwealth and was not limited to the geographical British Isles. The UK Government adopted the term for its exclusive use only in 1961, but in recognition of its wider usage first sought the prior consent of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[41][42]
^Britishsovereignty derives from the Crown, acorporation sole occupied by the monarch. It is therefore by and through the monarch that Parliament exercises supreme legislative authority over both the executive and judiciary. Distinguished Professor ofPublic Law Maurice Sunkin opined the Crown symbolically occupies "...what in other places would be a core element of a written constitution."[168] As a result of this state of constitutional affairs, the monarch is formally referred to as "the Sovereign" in legislation.[169]
^Car brands here are classed as British based on several of the following criteria: historical heritage, cultural significance, design and engineering base, manufacturing location, headquarters location, UK registered company (even with overseas investors).
^Berkeley is in fact Irish but was called a 'British empiricist' due to the territory of what is now known as theRepublic of Ireland being in the UK at the time.
^In 2012, the president of the IOC,Jacques Rogge, stated, "This great, sports-loving country is widely recognised as the birthplace of modern sport. It was here that the concepts of sportsmanship and fair play were first codified into clear rules and regulations. It was here that sport was included as an educational tool in the school curriculum."[538][539]
^"After the political union of England and Scotland in 1707, the nation's official name became 'Great Britain'",The American Pageant, Volume 1, Cengage Learning (2012); "From 1707 until 1801Great Britain was the official designation of the kingdoms of England and Scotland".The Standard Reference Work: For the Home, School and Library, Volume 3, Harold Melvin Stanford (1921); "In 1707, on the union with Scotland, 'Great Britain' became the official name of the British Kingdom, and so continued until the union with Ireland in 1801".United States Congressional serial set, Issue 10; Issue 3265 (1895);Gascoigne, Bamber."History of Great Britain (from 1707)". History World.Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved18 July 2011.
^S. Dunn; H. Dawson (2000),An Alphabetical Listing of Word, Name and Place in Northern Ireland and the Living Language of Conflict,Lewiston, New York:Edwin Mellen Press,One specific problem – in both general and particular senses – is to know what to call Northern Ireland itself: in the general sense, it is not a country, or a province, or a state – although some refer to it contemptuously as a statelet: the least controversial word appears to be jurisdiction, but this might change.;"Changes in the list of subdivision names and code elements"(PDF).ISO 3166-2. International Organization for Standardization. 15 December 2011.Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved28 May 2012.
^New Oxford American Dictionary: "Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."
^"When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles — but never England." —George Mikes (1946),How To Be An Alien, PenguinISBN978-0-582-41686-4;"England OR United Kingdom (UK)? | Vocabulary | EnglishClub".englishclub.com.Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved16 October 2022.
^Curran, James; Ward, Stuart (2010).The Unknown Nation: Australia after Empire. Carlton, Vic: Melbourne University Publishing. pp. 26–7.ISBN978-0-522-85645-3.
^Ward, Stuart (2023).Untied kingdom: A Global History of the End of Britain. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1.ISBN978-1-107-14599-3.
^Hosch, William L. (2009).World War I: People, Politics, and Power. America at War. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 21.ISBN978-1-61530-048-8.
^"The "Special Relationship" between Great Britain and the United States Began with FDR".Roosevelt Institute. 22 July 2010. Archived fromthe original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved24 January 2018.and the joint efforts of both powers to create a new post-war strategic and economic order through the drafting of the Atlantic Charter; the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; and the creation of the United Nations.;"Remarks by the President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron in Joint Press Conference" (Press release). The White House. 22 April 2016.Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved24 January 2018.That's what we built after World War II. The United States and the UK designed a set of institutions – whether it was the United Nations, or the Bretton Woods structure, IMF, World Bank, NATO, across the board.
^Francis, Martin (1997).Ideas and policies under Labour, 1945–1951: Building a new Britain. Manchester University Press. pp. 225–233.ISBN978-0-7190-4833-3.
^Dorey, Peter (1995).British politics since 1945. Making contemporary Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 164–223.ISBN978-0-631-19075-2.
^Griffiths, Alan; Wall, Stuart (2007).Applied Economics(PDF) (11th ed.). Harlow: Financial Times Press. p. 6.ISBN978-0-273-70822-3. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 23 August 2009. Retrieved26 December 2010.
^Keating, Michael (1 January 1998). "Reforging the Union: Devolution and Constitutional Change in the United Kingdom".Publius: The Journal of Federalism.28 (1):217–234.doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a029948.
^Oxford English Dictionary: "British Isles: a geographical term for the islands comprising Great Britain and Ireland with all their offshore islands including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands."
^Bagehot, Walter (1867).The English Constitution. London: Chapman and Hall. p. 103.
^David Torrance (11 January 2023)."The Crown and the Constitution"(PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 22.Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved19 June 2023.
^Dewart, Megan (2019).The Scottish Legal System. London:Bloomsbury Academic. p. 57.ISBN978-1-5265-0633-7.Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved4 July 2023.The laws and legal institutions of Scotland and of England and Wales were not merged by the Union of 1707. Thus, they remain separate 'law areas', with separate court systems (as does Northern Ireland), and it is necessary to distinguish Scots law and English law (and Northern Irish law).;"The justice system and the constitution". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Archived fromthe original on 21 May 2023. Retrieved13 June 2023.The United Kingdom has three separate legal systems; one each for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This reflects its historical origins and the fact that both Scotland and Ireland, and later Northern Ireland, retained their own legal systems and traditions under the Acts of Union 1707 and 1800.
^"Devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland". United Kingdom Government.Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved17 April 2013.In a similar way to how the government is formed from members from the two Houses of Parliament, members of the devolved legislatures nominate ministers from amongst themselves to comprise executives, known as the devolved administrations...;"Country Overviews: United Kingdom". Transport Research Knowledge Centre. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved28 March 2010.
^Burrows, N. (1999). "Unfinished Business: The Scotland Act 1998".The Modern Law Review.62 (2): 241–260 [p. 249].doi:10.1111/1468-2230.00203.The UK Parliament is sovereign and the Scottish Parliament is subordinate. The White Paper had indicated that this was to be the approach taken in the legislation. The Scottish Parliament is not to be seen as a reflection of the settled will of the people of Scotland or of popular sovereignty but as a reflection of its subordination to a higher legal authority. Following the logic of this argument, the power of the Scottish Parliament to legislate can be withdrawn or overridden...;Elliot, M. (2004)."United Kingdom: Parliamentary sovereignty under pressure".International Journal of Constitutional Law.2 (3):545–627,553–554.doi:10.1093/icon/2.3.545.Notwithstanding substantial differences among the schemes, an important common factor is that the UK Parliament has not renounced legislative sovereignty in relation to the three nations concerned. For example, the Scottish Parliament is empowered to enact primary legislation on all matters, save those in relation to which competence is explicitly denied ... but this power to legislate on what may be termed "devolved matters" is concurrent with the Westminster Parliament's general power to legislate for Scotland on any matter at all, including devolved matters ... In theory, therefore, Westminster may legislate on Scottish devolved matters whenever it chooses...
^Gamble, A. (2006). "The Constitutional Revolution in the United Kingdom".Publius.36 (1): 19–35 [p. 29].doi:10.1093/publius/pjj011.The British parliament has the power to abolish the Scottish parliament and the Welsh assembly by a simple majority vote in both houses, but since both were sanctioned by referenda, it would be politically difficult to abolish them without the sanction of a further vote by the people. In this way, several of the constitutional measures introduced by the Blair government appear to be entrenched and not subject to a simple exercise of parliamentary sovereignty at Westminster.
^Meehan, E. (1999)."The Belfast Agreement – Its Distinctiveness and Points of Cross-Fertilization in the UK's Devolution Programme".Parliamentary Affairs.52 (1): 19–31 [p. 23].doi:10.1093/pa/52.1.19.[T]he distinctive involvement of two governments in the Northern Irish problem means that Northern Ireland's new arrangements rest upon an intergovernmental agreement. If this can be equated with a treaty, it could be argued that the forthcoming distribution of power between Westminster and Belfast has similarities with divisions specified in the written constitutions of federal states...Although the Agreement makes the general proviso that Westminster's 'powers to make legislation for Northern Ireland' remains 'unaffected', without an explicit categorical reference to reserved matters, it may be more difficult than in Scotland or Wales for devolved powers to be repatriated. The retraction of devolved powers would not merely entail consultation in Northern Ireland backed implicitly by the absolute power of parliamentary sovereignty but also the renegotiation of an intergovernmental agreement.
^Keating, Michael (2 February 2021). "Taking back control? Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom".Journal of European Public Policy.28 (4). Abingdon:Taylor & Francis:6–7.doi:10.1080/13501763.2021.1876156.hdl:1814/70296.S2CID234066376.The UK Internal Market Act gives ministers sweeping powers to enforce mutual recognition and non-discrimination across the four jurisdictions. Existing differences and some social and health matters are exempted but these are much less extensive than the exemptions permitted under the EU Internal Market provisions. Only after an amendment in the House of Lords, the Bill was amended to provide a weak and non-binding consent mechanism for amendments (equivalent to the Sewel Convention) to the list of exemptions. The result is that, while the devolved governments retain regulatory competences, these are undermined by the fact that goods and services originating in, or imported into, England can be marketed anywhere.
^Wolffe, W James (7 April 2021)."Devolution and the Statute Book".Statute Law Review. Oxford:Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/slr/hmab003.Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved18 April 2021.the Internal Market Bill—a Bill that contains provisions which, if enacted, would significantly constrain, both legally and as a matter of practicality, the exercise by the devolved legislatures of their legislative competence; provisions that would be significantly more restrictive of the powers of the Scottish Parliament than either EU law or Articles 4 and 6 of the Acts of the Union...The UK Parliament passed the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 and the Internal Market Act 2020 notwithstanding that, in each case, all three of the devolved legislatures had withheld consent.
^Dougan, Michael; Hunt, Jo;McEwen, Nicola; McHarg, Aileen (2022)."Sleeping with an Elephant: Devolution and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020".Law Quarterly Review. London:Sweet & Maxwell.ISSN0023-933X.SSRN4018581.Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved4 March 2022 – viaDurham Research Online.The Act has restrictive – and potentially damaging – consequences for the regulatory capacity of the devolved legislatures...This was not the first time since the Brexit referendum that the Convention had been set aside, but it was especially notable given that the primary purpose of the legislation was to constrain the capacity of the devolved institutions to use their regulatory autonomy...in practice, it constrains the ability of the devolved institutions to make effective regulatory choices for their territories in ways that do not apply to the choices made by the UK government and parliament for the English market.
^Kirchner, Emil Joseph; Sperling, James (2007).Global Security Governance: Competing Perceptions of Security in the 21st century (illustrated ed.). London:Routledge. p. 100.ISBN978-0-415-39162-7.
^Gascoin, J. "A reappraisal of the role of the universities in the Scientific Revolution", in Lindberg, David C. and Westman, Robert S., eds (1990),Reappraisals of the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University Press. p. 248.ISBN978-0-521-34804-1.
^Reynolds, E.E.; Brasher, N.H. (1966).Britain in the Twentieth Century, 1900–1964. Cambridge University Press. p. 336.OCLC474197910
^Castells, M.; Hall, P.; Hall, P.G. (2004).Technopoles of the World: the Making of Twenty-First-Century Industrial Complexes. London: Routledge. pp. 98–100.ISBN978-0-415-10015-1.
^Sylvain Duranton; Agnès Audier; Joël Hazan; Mads Peter Langhorn; Vincent Gauche (18 April 2017)."The 2017 European Railway Performance Index". Boston Consulting Group.Archived from the original on 31 May 2020. Retrieved4 February 2019.
^Field, Clive D. (November 2009)."British religion in numbers". BRIN Discussion Series on Religious Statistics, Discussion Paper 001. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
^Blinder, Scott (11 June 2014)."Settlement in the UK". The Migration Observatory, University of Oxford. Archived fromthe original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved1 August 2015.
^Fisher, Peter."The NHS from Thatcher to Blair".NHS Consultants Association. Archived fromthe original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved19 December 2018.The Budget ... was even more generous to the NHS than had been expected amounting to an annual rise of 7.4 per cent above the rate of inflation for the next five years. This would take us to 9.4 per cent of GDP spent on health ie around EU average.
^"Dafydd ap Gwilym".Academi.org. 2011. Archived fromthe original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved3 January 2011.Dafydd ap Gwilym is widely regarded as one of the greatest Welsh poets of all time, and amongst the leading European poets of the Middle Ages.
^"Publishing". Department of Culture, Media and Sport.Archived from the original on 5 May 2011.
^"Annual Report 2015–2016"(PDF).internationalpublishers.org. International Publishers Association. 2016. p. 16. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 31 August 2023. Retrieved14 January 2021.
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