Editing United Kingdom (section)

{{Short description|Island country in Northwestern Europe}}
{{About|the country}}
{{Redirect|UK}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| common_name            = United Kingdom
| linking_name           = the United Kingdom<!--Note: "the" required here as this entry used to create wikilinks-->
| conventional_long_name = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| image_flag             = Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg
| alt_flag               = A flag composed of a red cross edged in white and superimposed on a red saltire, also edged in white, superimposed on a white saltire on a blue background
| image_coat             = 
| other_symbol           = [[File:Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, both variants).svg|250px]]<br>Used in relation to Scotland (right) and elsewhere (left)
| other_symbol_type      = [[Coat of arms of the United Kingdom|Coats of arms]]:
| national_anthem        = "[[God Save the King]]"{{Efn|"God Save the King" is the [[national 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Anthem |url=https://www.royal.uk/encyclopedia/national-anthem |access-date=10 April 2024 |website=The Royal Family |archive-date=20 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240520130352/https://www.royal.uk/encyclopedia/national-anthem |url-status=live }}</ref> The words ''King, he, him, his'', used at present, are replaced by ''Queen, she, her'' when the monarch is female.}}<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">[[File:United_States_Navy_Band_-_God_Save_the_Queen.ogg|God Save the King / Queen <!-- Do not change file name due to computer error without ensuring that the file is playable. -->]]</div>
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Europe-UK (orthographic projection).svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:Europe-UK.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show map of Europe|[[File:United Kingdom (+overseas territories and crown dependencies) in the World (+Antarctica claims).svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show [[British Overseas Territories]] and [[Crown Dependencies]]|[[File:Territorial waters - United Kingdom.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show [[Exclusive economic zone of the United Kingdom|their exclusive economic zones]]|default=1}}
| map_caption            = 
| capital                = [[London]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|51|30|N|0|7|W|type:city_region:GB}}
| largest_city           = capital
| languages_type         = [[National language]]
| languages              = [[English language|English]] <!--Note: Just English, don't add "British English".-->
| languages2_type        = Regional and minority languages{{Efn|Scots, Ulster Scots, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish Gaelic and Irish are classed as [[Regional language|regional]] or [[Minority language|minority]] languages under the [[Council of Europe]]'s [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].<ref name="reglang">{{Cite web |title=List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148 |url=http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?CL=ENG&NT=148&VL=1 |access-date=12 December 2013 |publisher=[[Council of Europe]] |archive-date=12 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212175720/http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?CL=ENG&NT=148&VL=1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> These include defined obligations to promote those languages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welsh language on GOV.UK – Content design: planning, writing and managing content – Guidance |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/welsh-language-on-gov-uk |access-date=3 August 2018 |website=gov.uk |archive-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804014121/https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/welsh-language-on-gov-uk |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |title=Welsh language scheme |work=GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/welsh-language-scheme |access-date=3 August 2018 |archive-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804014119/https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/welsh-language-scheme |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |title=Welsh language scheme |work=GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/about/welsh-language-scheme |access-date=3 August 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802010917/https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/about/welsh-language-scheme |url-status=live }}</ref> See also [[Languages of the United Kingdom]]. Welsh has limited ''[[officially]]'' official status in Wales, as well as in the provision of national government services provided for Wales.}}
| languages2             = {{Hlist
<!--Anglo-->
|[[Scots language|Scots]]
|[[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]]
<!--Brittonic-->
|[[Welsh language|Welsh]]
|[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
<!--Goidelic-->
|[[Scottish Gaelic]]<!--Keep "Scottish Gaelic"; people will find "Gaelic" confusing, as the Irish language is also commonly called "Gaelic"-->
|[[Irish language|Irish]]
|[[British Sign Language]]
}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list
 | 83.0% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
 | 8.6% [[British Asian|Asian]]
 | 3.7% [[Black British|Black]]
 | 2.7% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
 | 2.0% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
 }}
| ethnic_groups_year     = [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]]
| ethnic_groups_ref      = {{Efn|name=Census2021/22|Scotland 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.}}<ref name="2021 census - ethnicity - England and Wales">{{cite web |title=Ethnic group |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/3/filter-outputs/2c225a7b-0b5a-4a56-825e-2d6df1c6be93 |date=28 March 2023 |website=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528084856/https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/3/filter-outputs/2c225a7b-0b5a-4a56-825e-2d6df1c6be93 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2021 census - ethnicity - Northern Ireland">{{cite web |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b01.xlsx |title=MS-B01 Ethnic group |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=30 November 2023 |website=[[Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency]] |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=12 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230812142657/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b01.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2021 census - ethnicity and religion - Scotland">{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/search-the-census#/location/topics/list?topic=Ethnic%20group,%20national%20identity,%20language%20and%20religion&categoryId=1 |access-date=28 May 2024 |website=Scotland's Census |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514142653/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/search-the-census#/location/topics/list?topic=Ethnic%20group,%20national%20identity,%20language%20and%20religion&categoryId=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| religion               = {{unbulleted list
 | 46.5% [[Religion in the United Kingdom#Christianity|Christianity]]
 | 37.8% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
 | 6.0% [[Islam in the United Kingdom|Islam]]
 | 1.6% [[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|Hinduism]]
 | 0.8% [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikhism]]
 | 0.4% [[Buddhism in the United Kingdom|Buddhism]]
 | 0.4% [[British Jews|Judaism]]
 | 0.6% [[Religion in the United Kingdom|other]]
 | 5.9% not stated
 }}
| religion_year          = 2021
| religion_ref           = {{Efn|name=Census2021/22}}<ref name="2021 census - religion - England and Wales">{{cite web |title=Religion (detailed) |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS031/editions/2021/versions/4/filter-outputs/0ec10f6a-4f46-4655-b634-57e540601744 |date=5 April 2023 |website=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528153440/https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS031/editions/2021/versions/4/filter-outputs/0ec10f6a-4f46-4655-b634-57e540601744 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2021 census - religion - Northern Ireland">{{cite web |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b21.xlsx |title=MS-B21 Religion - full detail |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=31 May 2023 |website=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613221149/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b21.xlsx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2021 census - ethnicity and religion - Scotland" />
| demonym                = {{hlist |[[British people|British]] |Briton |Brit (colloquial) }}
| government_type        = Unitary [[Constitutional monarchy#England, Scotland and the United Kingdom|parliamentary constitutional monarchy]]{{Efn|Although the United Kingdom has traditionally been seen as a [[unitary state]], an alternative description of the UK as a "union state", put forward by, amongst others, [[Vernon Bogdanor]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradbury |first=Jonathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3QWEAAAQBAJ&q=%2522union+state%2522+UK+unitary&pg=PA19 |title=Constitutional Policy and Territorial Politics in the UK: Volume 1: Union and Devolution 1997–2012 |date=2021 |publisher=Policy Press |isbn=978-1-5292-0588-6 |pages=19–20 |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=2 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002204328/https://books.google.com/books?id=c3QWEAAAQBAJ&q=%2522union+state%2522+UK+unitary&pg=PA19#v=onepage&q=%2522union%20state%2522%20UK%20unitary&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> has become increasingly influential since the adoption of devolution in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leith |first=Murray Stewart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PeBvAAAAQBAJ&q=Uk+%2522unitary+state%2522&pg=PA39 |title=Political Discourse and National Identity in Scotland |date=2012 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-8862-3 |page=39 |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=2 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002204223/https://books.google.com/books?id=PeBvAAAAQBAJ&q=Uk+%2522unitary+state%2522&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q=Uk%20%2522unitary%20state%2522&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gagnon |first1=Alain-G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0ahE2fTxS0C&q=%2522union+state%2522+UK+unitary&pg=PA47 |title=Multinational Democracies |last2=Tully |first2=James |date=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80473-8 |page=47 |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=2 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002204329/https://books.google.com/books?id=g0ahE2fTxS0C&q=%2522union+state%2522+UK+unitary&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q=%2522union%20state%2522%20UK%20unitary&f=false |url-status=live }}; {{Cite book |last=Bogdanor |first=Vernon |title=Constitutional Reform in the United Kingdom: Practice and Principles |date=1998 |publisher=Hart Publishing |isbn=978-1-901362-84-8 |editor-last=Beatson |editor-first=Jack |location=Oxford |page=18 |chapter=Devolution: the Constitutional Aspects |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YEEgDsCYmbQC&q=%2522union+state%2522+UK+unitary&pg=PA18 }}</ref>}}
| leader_title1          = [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|Monarch]]
| leader_name1           = [[Charles III]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Keir Starmer]] <!--Do NOT change the name to Sir Keir Starmer without discussion in the talk page. -->
| legislature            = [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[House of Lords]]
| lower_house            = [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[Formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|Formation]]
| established_event1     = [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542|Laws in Wales Acts]]
| established_date1      = 1535 and 1542
| established_event2     = [[Union of the Crowns]]
| established_date2      = 24 March 1603
| established_event3     = [[Treaty of Union]]
| established_date3      = 22 July 1706
| established_event4     = [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union of England and Scotland]]
| established_date4      = 1 May 1707
| established_event5     = [[Acts of Union 1800|Acts of Union of Great Britain and Ireland]]
| established_date5      = 1 January 1801
| established_event6     = [[Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922|Irish Free State Constitution Act]]
| established_date6      = 6 December 1922
| area_label             = Total{{efn|name=ONSArea|[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] Standard Area Measurement, 'area to mean high water'. Excludes the [[Crown Dependencies]] and [[British Overseas Territories]].}}
| area_km2               = 244376
| area_footnote          = <ref name="ONS Standard Area Measurement">{{cite web |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::standard-area-measurements-for-administrative-areas-december-2023-in-the-uk/about |title=Standard Area Measurements for Administrative Areas (December 2023) in the UK |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=31 May 2024 |website=[[ONS Open Geography Portal|Open Geography Portal]] |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=7 June 2024 |archive-date=7 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607052407/https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/ons::standard-area-measurements-for-administrative-areas-december-2023-in-the-uk/about |url-status=live }}</ref>
| area_rank              = 78th
| area_sq_mi             = auto
| area_label2            = Land{{efn|name=ONSLandArea|[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] Standard Area Measurement, 'area to mean high water excluding inland water'. Excludes the [[Crown Dependencies]] and [[British Overseas Territories]].}}
| area_data2             = {{convert|{{UK subdivision area|GSS=K02000001}}|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| percent_water          = 
| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 68,265,209<ref name="ONS.UK-Population">{{cite web |title=Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2023 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/latest |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] (ONS) |website=www.ons.gov.uk |date=8 October 2024}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2023
| population_estimate_rank = 21st
| population_census      = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 66,940,559{{Efn|name=Census2021/22}}<ref name="2021 census - population - England and Wales">{{cite web |title=Population and household estimates, England and Wales: Census 2021, unrounded data |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/populationandhouseholdestimatesenglandandwales/census2021unroundeddata |date=2 November 2022 |website=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="2021 census - population - Northern Ireland">{{cite web |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/census/2021-census |title=2021 Census |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=[[Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency]] |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703182652/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/census/2021-census |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2021 census - population - Scotland">{{Cite web |title=Quality Assurance report – Unrounded population estimates and ethnic group, national identity, language and religion topic data |website=Scotland's Census |date=21 May 2024 |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-quality-assurance-reports/quality-assurance-report-unrounded-population-estimates-and-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion-topic-data/ |access-date=28 May 2024 |archive-date=28 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528160444/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/2022-results/scotland-s-census-2022-quality-assurance-reports/quality-assurance-report-unrounded-population-estimates-and-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion-topic-data/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2021
| population_census_rank = 
| population_density_km2 = 281
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| population_density_rank = 51st
| pop_den_footnote       = <ref name="ONS.UK-Population"/>
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $4.448&nbsp;trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.UK">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april/weo-report?c=112,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2023&ey=2030&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2025 Edition. (United Kingdom) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=22 April 2025 |access-date=26 May 2025}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2025
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 10th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $63,661<ref name="IMFWEO.UK" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 28th
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $3.839&nbsp;trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.UK" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2025
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 6th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $54,949<ref name="IMFWEO.UK" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 20th
| Gini                   = 35.4
| Gini_year              = 2021
| Gini_change            = decrease
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Income inequality |url=https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=OECD Data |publisher=[[OECD]] |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701171540/https://data.oecd.org/inequality/income-inequality.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.946<!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year.-->
| HDI_change             = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 13th
| currency               = [[Pound&nbsp;sterling]]{{Efn|Some of the devolved countries, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories issue their own sterling banknotes or currencies, or use another nation's currency. See [[List of British currencies]].}} ([[£]])
| currency_code          = GBP
| utc_offset             = +0
| time_zone              = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]
| utc_offset_DST         = +1
| time_zone_DST          = [[British Summer Time|BST]]{{Efn|Also observed by the [[Crown Dependencies]]. For further information, see [[Time in the United Kingdom]].}}
| DST_note               = 
| date_format            = {{Abbr|dd|day}}/{{Abbr|mm|month}}/{{Abbr|yyyy|year}} ([[Anno Domini|AD]]){{efn|The UK Government uses the [[ISO 8601]] format, {{Abbr|yyyy|year}}-{{Abbr|mm|month}}-{{Abbr|dd|day}}, for machine-readable dates and times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Formatting dates and times in data |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-standards-for-government/date-times-and-time-stamps-standard |date=9 August 2022 |website=[[gov.uk]] |publisher=[[Government of the United Kingdom|HM Government]] |access-date=1 June 2024 |archive-date=9 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509092813/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-standards-for-government/date-times-and-time-stamps-standard |url-status=live }}</ref> See [[Date and time notation in the United Kingdom]].}}
| drives_on              = left{{Efn|Except two overseas territories: [[Gibraltar]] and the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]]}}
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom|+44]]{{Efn|Excludes most overseas territories. See [[Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom#Telephone numbers in Overseas Territories]].}}
| cctld                  = [[.uk]]{{Efn|The [[.gb]] domain is also reserved for the UK, but has been little used.}}
}}

The '''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''', commonly known as the '''United Kingdom''' ('''UK''') or '''Britain''',{{Efn|Usage is mixed. The ''[https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-u Guardian]'' and ''[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/style-book/places-and-people Telegraph]'' use ''Britain'' as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use ''Britain'' as shorthand for [[Great Britain]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} The British [[Cabinet Office]]'s [[Government Digital Service]] [https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide/a-to-z-of-gov-uk-style#great-britain style guide] for use on [[gov.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."}} is a country<!-- The term "country" was chosen as a result of a 2022 Request for Comment. Discuss potential changes on the talk page first. --> in [[Northwestern Europe]], off the coast of [[European mainland|the continental mainland]]. It comprises [[England]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]] and [[Northern Ireland]].{{efn|The [[Isle of Man]], [[Bailiwick of Guernsey|Guernsey]] and [[Jersey]] are [[Crown Dependencies]] and not part of the UK.}} The UK includes the island of [[Great Britain]], the north-eastern part of the island of [[Ireland]], and most of [[List of islands of the United Kingdom|the smaller islands]] within the [[British Isles]], covering {{Convert|244376|km2|sqmi|order=flip}}.{{efn|name=ONSArea}} Northern Ireland shares [[Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border|a land border]] with the [[Republic of Ireland]]; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the [[Atlantic Ocean]], the [[North Sea]], the [[English Channel]], the [[Celtic Sea]] and the [[Irish Sea]]. It maintains sovereignty over the [[British Overseas Territories]], which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2&nbsp;million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is [[London]]. The cities of [[Edinburgh]], [[Cardiff]] and [[Belfast]] are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UK has been inhabited continuously since the [[Neolithic]]. In AD&nbsp;43 the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] began; the [[end of Roman rule in Britain|Roman departure]] was followed by [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxon settlement]]. In 1066 [[Norman conquest of England|the Normans conquered England]]. With the end of the [[Wars of the Roses]] the [[Kingdom of England]] stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542|annexation of Wales]] and the establishment of the [[British Empire]]. Over the course of the 17th century the role of the [[British monarchy]] was reduced, particularly as a result of the [[English Civil War]]. In 1707 the Kingdom of England and the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] united under the [[Treaty of Union]] to create the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]. In the [[Georgian era]] the office of [[prime minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]] became established. The [[Acts of Union 1800]] incorporated the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] to create the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] in 1801. Most of Ireland [[secession|seceded]] from the UK in 1922 as the [[Irish Free State]], and the [[Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927]] created the present United Kingdom.

The UK [[History of industrialisation#Industrial Revolution in Europe|became the first industrialised country]] and was the world's [[foremost power]] for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the ''[[Pax Britannica]]'' between 1815 and 1914. The British Empire was the leading [[economic power]] for most of the 19th century, a position supported by [[British Agricultural Revolution|its agricultural prosperity]], its role as a dominant [[trading nation]], a massive industrial capacity, [[List of British innovations and discoveries in the 19th century|significant technological achievements]], and the rise of [[19th-century London]] as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s the empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the [[List of largest empires#Empires at their greatest extent|largest empire in history]]. However, [[History of the United Kingdom during the First World War|its involvement in the First World War]] and [[Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II|the Second World War]] damaged [[Economy of the British Empire|Britain's economic power]], and a global wave of [[decolonisation]] led to the independence of most British colonies.

The UK is a [[constitutional monarchy]] and [[parliamentary democracy]].{{Efn|The United Kingdom does not have a codified constitution but an unwritten one formed of Acts of Parliament, court judgements, traditions, and conventions.<ref>{{Citation |title=What is the UK Constitution? |date=9 August 2018 |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/what-uk-constitution/what-uk-constitution |publisher=The Constitution Unit of UCL |access-date=6 February 2020 |archive-date=7 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107060057/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/whatis/uk-constitution |url-status=live }}</ref>}} It has three distinct jurisdictions: [[English law|England and Wales]], [[Scots law|Scotland]], and [[Law of Northern Ireland|Northern Ireland]]. Since 1999 Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own governments and parliaments which control various [[Devolution in the United Kingdom|devolved]] matters. A [[developed country]] with [[Economy of the United Kingdom|an advanced economy]], the UK ranks amongst the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|largest economies by nominal GDP]], and is one of the world's [[List of countries by exports|largest exporters]] and [[List of countries by imports|importers]]. It is a [[nuclear state]] with one of the world's [[List of countries by military expenditures|highest military budgets]]. [[Anglicisation|Its soft power influence]] can be observed in the legal and political systems of many of [[List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom|its former colonies]], and [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British culture]] remains globally influential, particularly [[English-speaking world|in language]], [[British literature|literature]], [[Music of the United Kingdom|music]] and [[Sport in the United Kingdom|sport]]. [[English language|English]] is the world's [[List of languages by total number of speakers|most-widely-spoken language]] and the [[list of languages by number of native speakers|third-most-spoken native language]]. The UK is part of [[Foreign relations of the United Kingdom#International organisations|multiple international organisations and forums]].