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From the late 1960s, Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting other parts of the UK) conventionally known as the Troubles. It is usually considered to have ended with the 1998 Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement.[112]

Following a period of widespread economic slowdown and industrial strife in the 1970s, the Conservative government of the 1980s led by Margaret Thatcher initiated a radical policy of monetarism, deregulation, particularly of the financial sector (for example, the Big Bang in 1986) and labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others.[113]

In 1982, Argentina invaded the British territories of South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, leading to the 10-week Falklands 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 a 2013 referendum. From 1984, the UK economy was helped by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues.[114]

Another British overseas territory is Gibraltar, it was ceded to Great Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the treaty covers the town, the port and fortifications.[115] It has been a key military base for the UK and a referendum in 2002 for shared sovereignty with Spain was lost by 98.97%.

Around the end of the 20th century, there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[116] The statutory incorporation followed acceptance of the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK remained a great power with global diplomatic and military influence and a leading role in the United Nations and NATO.[117]

The UK broadly supported the United States' approach to the "war on terror" in the early 21st century.[118] British troops fought in the War in Afghanistan, but controversy surrounded Britain's military deployment in Iraq, which saw the largest protest in British history demonstrating in opposition to the government led by Tony Blair.[119]

The 2008 global financial crisis severely affected the UK economy.[120] The Cameron–Clegg coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits.[121] Studies have suggested that policy led to significant social disruption and suffering.[122][123] A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 resulted in the Scottish electorate voting by 55.3 to 44.7% to remain part of the United Kingdom.[124]

In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.[125] The UK left the EU in 2020.[126] On 1 May 2021 the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force.[127]

The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the UK's economy, caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics in 2020 and 2021.[128][129][130] The United Kingdom was the first country in the world to use an approved COVID-19 vaccine, developing its own vaccine through a collaboration between Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which allowed the UK's vaccine rollout to be among the fastest in the world.[131][132]

On 8 September 2022, Elizabeth II, the longest-living and longest-reigning British monarch, died at the age of 96.[133] Upon the Queen's death, her eldest child Charles, Prince of Wales, acceded to the British throne as Charles III.[134]

The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2),[d][7] with a land area of 93,723 square miles (242,741 km2).[7] The country occupies the major part of the British Isles[135] archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.[136]

The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London was chosen as the defining point of the Prime Meridian[137] at the International Meridian Conference in 1884.[138]

The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° and 61° N, and longitudes 9° W and 2° E. Northern Ireland shares a 224-mile (360 km) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.[136] The coastline of Great Britain is 11,073 miles (17,820 km) long.[139] It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel, which at 31 miles (50 km) (24 miles (38 km) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.[140]

The UK contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests, English Lowlands beech forests, North Atlantic moist mixed forests, and Caledon conifer forests.[141] The area of woodland in the UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the UK.[142]

Most of the United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round.[136] The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0 °C (32 °F) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F).[143] Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc). Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate (Dfc) and the mountains experience a tundra climate (ET).[144]

The prevailing wind is from the southwest and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,[136] 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 the Gulf 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.[145]

The average total annual sunshine in the United Kingdom is 1339.7 hours, which is just under 30% of the maximum possible.[146] The hours of sunshine vary from 1200 to about 1580 hours per year, and since 1996 the UK has been and still is receiving above the 1981 to 2010 average hours of sunshine.[147]

As of 2022, the United Kingdom is ranked 2nd out of 180 countries in the Environmental Performance Index.[148] A law has been passed that UK greenhouse gas emissions will be net zero by 2050.[149]

England accounts for 53 per cent of the UK, covering 50,350 square miles (130,395 km2).[150] Most of the country consists of lowland terrain,[151] with upland and mountainous terrain northwest of the Tees–Exe line which roughly divides the UK into lowland and upland areas. Lowland areas include Cornwall, the New Forest, the South Downs and the Norfolk Broads. Upland areas include the Lake District, the Pennines, the Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, and Dartmoor. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn, and the Humber. England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike, at 978 metres (3,209 ft) in the Lake District; its largest island is the Isle of Wight.

Scotland accounts for 32 per cent of the UK, covering 30,410 square miles (78,772 km2).[152] This includes nearly 800 islands,[153] notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. Scotland is the most mountainous constituent country of the UK, the Highlands to the north and west are the more rugged region containing the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including the Cairngorms, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Ben Nevis which at 1,345 metres (4,413 ft)[154] is the highest point in the British Isles.[155]

Wales accounts for less than 9 per cent of the UK, covering 8,020 square miles (20,779 km2).[156] Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft), is the highest peak in Wales.[151] Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,704 kilometres) of coastline including the Pembrokeshire Coast.[139] Several islands lie off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey (Ynys Môn).

Northern Ireland, separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea and North Channel, has an area of 5,470 square miles (14,160 km2) and is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh which, at 150 square miles (388 km2), is the largest lake in the British Isles by area,[157] Lough Erne which has over 150 islands and the Giant's Causeway which is a World Heritage Site. The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains at 852 metres (2,795 ft).[151]

The UK is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy operating under the Westminster system, otherwise known as a "democratic parliamentary monarchy".[158] It is a centralised, unitary state[159][160] wherein the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign.[161] Parliament is made up of the elected House of Commons, the appointed House of Lords and the Crown (as personified by the monarch).[o][164] The main business of parliament takes place in the two houses,[164] but royal assent is required for a bill to become an act of parliament (that is, statute law).[165] As a result of parliamentary sovereignty, the British constitution is uncodified, consisting mostly of disparate written sources, including parliamentary statutes, judge-made case law and international treaties, together with constitutional conventions.[166] Nevertheless, the Supreme Court recognises a number of principles underlying the British constitution, such as parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, democracy, and upholding international law.[167]

King Charles III is the current monarch and head of state of the UK and of 14 other independent countries. These 15 countries are today referred to as "Commonwealth realms". The monarch is formally vested with all executive authority as the personal embodiment of the Crown and is "...fundamental to the law and working of government in the UK."[168] The disposition of such powers however, including those belonging to the royal prerogative, is generally exercised only on the advice of ministers 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".[169] In addition, the monarch has a number of reserve powers at his disposal, albeit rarely used, to uphold responsible government and prevent constitutional crises.[p]

For general elections (elections to the House of Commons), the UK is currently divided into 650 constituencies, each of which is represented by one member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post system.[171] MPs hold office for up to five years and must then stand for re-election if they wish to continue to be an MP.[171] The Conservative Party, colloquially known as the Tory Party or the Tories, and the Labour Party have been the dominant political parties in the UK since the 1920s, leading to the UK being described as a two-party system. However, since the 1920s other political parties have won seats in the House of Commons, although never more than the Conservatives or Labour.[172]

The prime minister is the head of government in the UK.[173] Acting under the direction and supervision of a Cabinet of senior ministers selected and led by the prime minister, the Government serves as the principal instrument for public policymaking, administers public services and, through the Privy Council, promulgates statutory instruments and tenders advice to the monarch.[174][175][176]

Nearly all prime ministers have served concurrently as First Lord of the Treasury[177] and all prime ministers have continuously served as First Lord of the Treasury since 1905,[178] Minister for the Civil Service since 1968,[179] and Minister for the Union since 2019.[180] While appointed by the monarch, in modern times the prime minister is, by convention, an MP, the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons, and holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons.[181][182][183] The current Prime Minister, as of October 2022, is Rishi Sunak MP, leader of the Conservative Party.

Although not part of the United Kingdom, the three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man and 14 British Overseas Territories across the globe 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's Home Office and for the British Overseas Territories principally through the Foreign Office.[184]

The geographical division of the United Kingdom into counties or shires began in England and Scotland in the early Middle Ages, and was completed throughout Great Britain and Ireland by the early Modern Period.[185] Modern local government by elected councils, partly based on the ancient counties, was established by separate Acts of Parliament: in England and Wales in 1888, Scotland in 1889 and Ireland in 1898, meaning there is no consistent system of administrative or geographic demarcation across the UK.[186]

Until the 19th century there was little change to those arrangements, but there has since been a constant evolution of role and function.[187]

Local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to local arrangements. The upper-tier subdivisions of England are the nine regions, now used primarily for statistical purposes.[188] One of the regions, Greater London, has had a directly elected assembly and mayor since 2000 following popular support for the proposal in a 1998 referendum.[189]

Local government in Scotland is divided into 32 council areas with a wide variation in size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas, as is the Highland 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.[190]

Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, each led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself. These include the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, which are unitary authorities in their own right.[191] Elections are held every four years under the first-past-the-post system.[191]

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.[192] In 2008 the executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils and replace the present system.[193]

Beginning in 1998, a process of devolution has transferred legislative and executive powers previously held by United Kingdom institutions to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[194] As a result, a Scottish Government and Parliament, Welsh Government and Senedd (Parliament) and Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have been created.[195] A similar process has not taken place for England.[194]

The UK does not have a codified constitution and constitutional matters are not among the powers that have been devolved. Under the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the UK Parliament could, in theory, therefore, abolish the Scottish Parliament, Senedd or Northern Ireland Assembly.[196] 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 referendum decisions.[197] 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 the Government of Ireland.[198] The UK Parliament restricts the three devolved parliaments' legislative powers in economic policy matters through an act passed in 2020.[199]

Since 1999, Scotland has had a devolved national government and parliament with wide-ranging powers over any matter that has not been specifically reserved to the UK Parliament.[200][201] Their power over economic issues is significantly constrained by an act of the UK parliament passed in 2020.[199]

The current Scottish Government is a Scottish National Party minority government,[209] led by First Minister Humza Yousaf, leader of the Scottish National Party. In 2014, the Scottish independence referendum was held, with 55.3% voting against independence from the United Kingdom and 44.7% voting in favour, resulting in Scotland staying within the United Kingdom. Local government in Scotland is divided into 32 council areas with a wide variation in size and population. Local councils are made up of elected councillors, of whom there are 1,223.[190]

The Scottish Parliament is separate from the Scottish Government, and is made up of 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and is the law making body of Scotland. It does, however, scrutinise the work of the incumbent Scottish Government and considers any piece of proposed legislation through parliamentary debates, committees and parliamentary questions.[210]

Since 1999, Wales has a devolved national government and legislature, known as the Senedd. Elections to the Senedd use the additional member system. They have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland.[211] The Senedd is able to legislate on any matter not specifically reserved to the UK Parliament through Acts of Senedd Cymru. The current Welsh Government is Labour, led by First Minister Vaughan Gething, who has been the First Minister since 2024. Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities, each led by a leader and cabinet elected by the council itself.

The devolved form of government in Northern Ireland is based on the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which brought to an end a 30-year period of unionist-nationalist communal conflict known as The Troubles. The Agreement was confirmed by referendum and implemented later that year. It established power sharing arrangements for a devolved government and legislature, referred to as the Executive and Assembly respectively.[212] Elections to the Assembly use the single transferable vote system. The Executive and Assembly have powers similar to those devolved to Scotland.[citation needed] The Executive is led by a diarchy representing unionist and nationalist members of the Assembly.[213] The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of Northern Ireland.[214][215] Local government in Northern Ireland since 2015 has been divided between 11 councils with limited responsibilities.[192]

The UK is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of NATO, AUKUS, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G7 finance ministers, the G7 forum, the G20, the OECD, the WTO, the Council of Europe and the OSCE.[216] The UK has the British Council which is a British organisation based in over 100 countries specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. 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;[217][218] the Anglo-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 a Common Travel Area and co-operate through the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Council. Britain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations, foreign investments, official development assistance and military engagements.[219] Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of which are former colonies of the British Empire which share King Charles as their head of state, are the most favourably viewed countries in the world by British people.[220]

The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system as Article 19 of the 1706 Treaty of Union provided for the continuation of Scotland's separate legal system.[221] Today the UK has three distinct systems of law: English law, Northern Ireland law and Scots law. A new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom came into being in October 2009 to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.[222] The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, including the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies.[223]

Both English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law are based on common-law principles.[224] The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases).[225] Scots law is a hybrid system based on common-law and civil-law principles. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases,[226] and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases.[227] The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law.[228]

Crime in England and Wales increased in the period between 1981 and 1995, though since that peak there has been an overall fall of 66 per cent in recorded crime from 1995 to 2015,[229] according to crime statistics. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe.[230][231][232]

UK labour laws entitle staff to have a minimum set of employment rights including a minimum wage, a minimum of 28 days annual holiday, statutory sick pay and a pension. Same-sex marriage has been legal in England, Scotland, and Wales since 2014, and in Northern Ireland since 2020.[233] LGBT equality in the United Kingdom is considered advanced by modern standards.[234][235]

His Majesty's Armed Forces consist of three professional service branches: the Royal Navy and Royal Marines (forming the Naval Service), the British Army and the Royal Air Force.[236] The armed forces of the United Kingdom are managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The Commander-in-Chief is the British monarch, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance.[237] The Armed Forces are charged with protecting the UK and its overseas territories, promoting the UK's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, the Five Power Defence Arrangements, RIMPAC and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained in Ascension Island, Bahrain, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya, Oman, Qatar and Singapore.[238]

According to sources which include the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the UK has either the fourth- or the fifth-highest military expenditure. Total defence spending in 2024 is estimated at 2.3% of GDP.[239] Following the end of the Cold War, defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" will be undertaken as part of a coalition.[240]

The UK has a partially regulated market economy.[243] Based on market exchange rates, the UK is the sixth-largest economy in the world and the second-largest in Europe by nominal GDP.

The United Kingdom uses the pound sterling, the fourth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and the world's fourth-largest reserve currency (after the United States dollar, euro, and yen).[244] Sterling was the 2nd best-performing G10 currency against the dollar in 2023 with a gain of about 5%, with only the Swiss franc performing better.[245][246] London is the world capital for foreign exchange trading, with a global market share of 38.1% in 2022[247] of the daily $7.5 trillion global turnover.[248] HM Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank and is 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 estimated nominal GDP of the UK for 2024 is £2.765 trillion.[249] This value is 23% higher than the 2019 figure of £2.255 trillion[250] before leaving the EU (at similar US and EU exchange rates to 2019[251]).[q]

The service sector made up around 80% of the UK's GVA in 2021.[253] As of 2022, the UK is the world's second-largest exporter of services.[254] London is one of the world's largest financial centres, ranking second in the world in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2022. London also has the largest city GDP in Europe.[255] Edinburgh ranks 17th in the world, and sixth in Western Europe in the Global Financial Centres Index in 2020.[256] Tourism is very important to the British economy; London was named as Europe's most popular destination for 2022.[257][258] The creative industries accounted for 5.9% of the UK's GVA in 2019, having grown by 43.6% in real terms from 2010.[259] Creative industries contributed more than £111bn to the UK economy in 2018, growth in the sector is more than five times larger than growth across the UK economy as a whole as reported in 2018.[260] Lloyd's of London is the world's largest insurance and reinsurance market and is located in London.[261] WPP plc, the world's biggest advertising company, is also based in the UK. The UK is one of the leading retail markets in Europe and is home to Europe's largest e-commerce market.[262] John Lewis is the UK's largest employee owned business.[263]

The automotive industry employs around 800,000 people, with a turnover in 2022 of £67 billion, generating £27 billion of exports (10% of the UK's total export of goods).[264] In 2023, the UK produced around 905,100 passenger vehicles and 120,400 commercial vehicles, output was up 17.0% on the previous year.[265] Britain is known for iconic cars such as Mini and Jaguar,[266] also other luxury cars such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Range Rover. The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing: in 2022 around 1.5 million engines were produced.[264] It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter of engines, as of 2021.[267] The UK motorsport industry employs more than 40,000 people, comprises around 4,300 companies and has an annual turnover of around £10 billion.[268] 7 of the 10 Formula One teams are based in the UK, with their technology being used in supercars and hypercars from McLaren, Aston Martin and Lotus.

The aerospace industry of the UK is the second-largest national aerospace industry in the world depending upon the method of measurement and has an annual turnover of around £30 billion.[269] The UK space industry was worth £17.5bn in 2020/21 and employed 48,800 people. Since 2012, the number of space organisations has grown on average nearly 21% per year, with 1,293 organisations reported in 2021.[270][271] The UK Space Agency has stated in 2023 that it is investing £1.6 billion in space related projects.[272]

The agriculture industry is intensive, highly mechanised and efficient by European standards, producing about 60 per cent of food needs with less than 1.6 per cent of the labour force (535,000 workers).[273] Around two-thirds of production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops. The UK retains a significant, though much reduced fishing industry. It is also rich in a variety of natural resources including coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica and an abundance of arable land.[274]

The United Kingdom has among the highest levels of income inequality in Europe[275] and the OECD,[276] and is one of the most regionally unequal high-income countries in the world.[277][278]

England and Scotland were leading centres of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century.[280] The United Kingdom led the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century, and has continued to produce scientists and engineers credited with important advances.[281] Major theorists from the 17th and 18th centuries include Isaac Newton, whose laws of motion and illumination of gravity have been seen as a keystone of modern science;[282] from the 19th century Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution by natural selection was fundamental to the development of modern biology, and James Clerk Maxwell, who formulated classical electromagnetic theory; and more recently Stephen Hawking, who advanced major theories in the fields of cosmology, quantum gravity and the investigation of black holes.[283]

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is responsible for helping to encourage, develop and manage the UK's scientific, research, and technological outputs. Scientific research and development remains important in British universities, with many establishing science parks to facilitate production and co-operation with industry.[284] In 2022 the UK retained its number one spot for technology in Europe reaching a combined market value of $1 trillion. Cambridge was named the number one university in the world for producing successful technology founders.[285]

For four consecutive years, from 2020 to 2023, the UK maintained its fourth-place ranking in the Global Innovation Index, a position determined by approximately 80 indicators encompassing the political environment, education, infrastructure, and knowledge creation, among others.[286][279] During 2022, the UK produced 6.3 per cent of the world's scientific research papers and had a 10.5 per cent share of scientific citations, the third highest in the world (for both). The UK ranked 1st in the world for Field-Weighted Citation Impact.[287] Scientific journals produced in the UK include publications by the Royal Society, Nature, the British Medical Journal and The Lancet.[288]

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.[136] The M25, encircling London, is the largest and busiest bypass in the world.[289] In 2022, there were a total of 40.8 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain.[290]

The UK has an extensive railway network of 10,072 miles (16,209 km). In Great Britain, the British Rail network was privatised between 1994 and 1997, followed by a rapid rise in passenger numbers. The UK was ranked eighth among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index assessing intensity of use, quality of service and safety.[291] High Speed 2 (HS2) is a new high speed railway under construction linking up London, the Midlands, the North and Scotland, serving over 25 stations, including eight of Britain's 10 largest cities and connecting around 30 million people, capable of speeds of up to 225 mph.[292][293] Crossrail, which was renamed the Elizabeth line in 2016, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, 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.[294][295]

Great British Railways is a planned state-owned public body that will oversee rail transport in Great Britain. In 2014, there were 5.2 billion bus journeys in the UK, 2.4 billion of which were in London.[296] The red double-decker bus has entered popular culture as an internationally recognised icon of England.[297] The London bus network is extensive, with over 6,800 scheduled services every weekday carrying about six million passengers on over 700 different routes making it one of the most extensive bus systems in the world and the largest in Europe.[298]

In the year from October 2009 to September 2010, UK airports handled a total of 211.4 million passengers.[299] In that period the three largest airports were London Heathrow Airport (65.6 million passengers), Gatwick Airport (31.5 million passengers) and London Stansted Airport (18.9 million passengers).[299] London Heathrow Airport, located 15 miles (24 km) west of the capital, is the world's second busiest airport by international passenger traffic and has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the world;[300] it is the hub for the UK flag carrier British Airways, as well as Virgin Atlantic.[301]

In 2021, the UK was the world's 14th-largest consumer of energy and the 22nd-largest producer.[302] The UK is home to many large energy companies, including two of the six major oil and gas companies – BP and Shell.[303]

The total of all renewable electricity sources provided 43% of the electricity generated in the UK in 2020.[304] The UK is one of the best sites in Europe for wind energy, and wind power production is the country's fastest-growing supply; in 2022, 26.8% of the UK's total electricity was generated by wind power.[305] The UK has the largest offshore wind farm in the world, which is located off the coast of Yorkshire.[306]

In 2023, the UK had 9 nuclear reactors normally generating about 15 per cent of the UK's electricity.[307] Unlike Germany and Japan, there are two reactors under construction and more planned.[308][309] In the late 1990s, nuclear 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 in Small Modular Reactors and Advanced Modular Reactors research and development.

In 2021, the UK produced 935 thousand barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil (and other liquids) and consumed 1,258 thousand bbl/d.[302] Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of oil since 2005.[310] In 2020[update], the UK had around 2 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.[310]

In 2021, the UK was the 21st-largest producer of natural gas in the world.[311] Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004.[311] In 2020, the UK produced 1.8 million tonnes of coal falling 91% in 10 years.[307] In 2020 it had proven recoverable coal reserves of 26 million tonnes.[307] The UK Coal Authority has stated that there is a potential to produce between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes of coal through underground coal gasification (UCG) or 'fracking',[312] and based on current UK coal consumption, such reserves could last between 200 and 400 years.[313]

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.[314] According to the Environment Agency, total water abstraction for public water supply in the UK was 16,406 megalitres per day in 2007.[315]

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, water and sewerage services are provided by a single public company, Scottish Water. In Northern Ireland water and sewerage services are also provided by a single public entity, Northern Ireland Water.[316]

In the 2011 census the total population of the United Kingdom was 63,181,775.[317] It is the fourth-largest in Europe (after Russia, Germany and France), the fifth-largest in the Commonwealth and the 22nd-largest in the world. In mid-2014 and mid-2015 net long-term international migration contributed more to population growth. In mid-2012 and mid-2013 natural change contributed the most to population growth.[318] Between 2001 and 2011 the population increased by an average annual rate of approximately 0.7 per cent.[317] The 2011 census also showed that, over the previous 100 years, the proportion of the population aged 0–14 fell from 31 per cent to 18 per cent, and the proportion of people aged 65 and over rose from 5 to 16 per cent.[317] In 2018 the median age of the UK population was 41.7 years.[319]

England's population in 2011 was 53 million, representing some 84 per cent of the UK total.[320] It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 420 people per square kilometre in mid-2015,[318] with a particular concentration in London and the south-east.[321] The 2011 census put Scotland's population at 5.3 million,[322] Wales at 3.06 million and Northern Ireland at 1.81 million.[320]

In 2017 the average total fertility rate (TFR) across the UK was 1.74 children born per woman.[323] While a rising birth rate is contributing to population growth, it remains considerably below the baby boom peak of 2.95 children per woman in 1964,[324] or the high of 6.02 children born per woman in 1815,[325] below the replacement rate of 2.1, but higher than the 2001 record low of 1.63.[326] In 2011, 47.3 per cent of births in the UK were to unmarried women.[327] The Office for National Statistics reported in 2015 that out of 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.[328] The number of transgender people in the UK was estimated to be between 65,000 and 300,000 by research between 2001 and 2008.[329]

Historically, indigenous British people were thought to be descended from the various ethnic groups that settled there before the 12th century: the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Norse and the Normans. Welsh people could be the oldest ethnic group in the UK.[333] The UK has a history of non-white immigration with Liverpool having the oldest Black population in the country dating back to at least the 1730s during the period of the African slave trade. During this period it is estimated the Afro-Caribbean population of Great Britain was 10,000 to 15,000[334] which later declined due to the abolition of slavery.[335] The UK also has the oldest Chinese community in Europe, dating to the arrival of Chinese seamen in the 19th century.[336] In 2011[update], 87.2 per cent of the UK population identified themselves as white, meaning 12.8 per cent of the UK population identify themselves as of one of an ethnic minority group.[337]

Ethnic diversity varies significantly across the UK. 30.4 per cent of London's population and 37.4 per cent of Leicester's was estimated to be non-white in 2005[update],[341] whereas less than 5 per cent of the populations of North East England, Wales and the South West were from ethnic minorities, according to the 2001 census.[342] In 2016[update], 31.4 per cent of primary and 27.9 per cent of secondary pupils at state schools in England were members of an ethnic minority.[343]

The English language is the official and most spoken language of the United Kingdom.[344][345] The United Kingdom proactively promotes the language globally to build connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.[346][347] It is estimated that 95 per cent of the UK's population are monolingual English speakers.[348] 5.5 per cent of the population are estimated to speak languages brought to the UK as a result of relatively recent immigration.[348] South Asian languages are the largest grouping which includes Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Sylheti, Hindi, Pahari-Pothwari, Tamil, and Gujarati.[349] According to the 2011 census, Polish has become the second-largest language spoken in England and has 546,000 speakers.[350] In 2019, some three-quarters of a million people spoke little or no English.[351]

Three indigenous Celtic languages are spoken in the UK: Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Cornish, which became extinct as a first language in the late 18th century, is subject to revival efforts and has a small group of second language speakers.[352][2] According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 people (17.8 per cent).[353] In addition, it is estimated that about 200,000 Welsh speakers live in England.[354] In the 2021 census in Northern Ireland 12.4% of people had some ability in the Irish language and 10.4% of people had some ability in the Ulster-Scots language.[355] 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 the Outer Hebrides.[356] The number of children being taught either Welsh or Scottish Gaelic is increasing.[357] Scots, a language descended from early northern Middle English, has limited recognition alongside its regional variant, Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland, without specific commitments to protection and promotion.[2][358] As of April 2020, there are said to be around 151,000 users of British Sign Language (BSL), a sign language used by deaf people, in the UK.[359]

Religion in the United Kingdom (2018 research)[360]

Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the United Kingdom for more than 1,400 years.[361] Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,[362] while immigration and demographic change have contributed to the growth of other faiths, most notably Islam.[363] This has led some commentators to variously describe the UK as a multi-faith,[364] secularised,[365] or post-Christian society.[366]

In the 2001 census, 71.6 per cent of all respondents indicated that they were Christians, with the next largest faiths being Islam (2.8 per cent), Hinduism (1.0 per cent), Sikhism (0.6 per cent), Judaism (0.5 per cent), Buddhism (0.3 per cent) and all other religions (0.3 per cent).[367] Of the respondents, 15 per cent stated that they had no religion and a further 7 per cent did not state a religious preference.[368] A Tearfund survey in 2007 showed that only one in ten Britons actually attend church weekly.[369] Between the 2001 and 2011 census, there was a 12 per cent decrease in the number of people who identified as Christian, while the percentage of those reporting no religious affiliation doubled. This contrasted with growth in the other main religious group categories, with the number of Muslims increasing by the most substantial margin to a total of about 5 per cent.[370] 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.[371]

The Church of England is the established church in England.[372] It retains a representation in the UK Parliament, and the British monarch is its Supreme Governor.[373] In Scotland, the Church of Scotland is recognised as the national 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 and Presbyterian Church Government" upon his or her accession.[374][2][375] The Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920 and, because the Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1870 before the partition of Ireland, there is no established church in Northern Ireland.[376] 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 small numbers of other Protestant denominations such as Plymouth Brethren, and Orthodox churches.[377]

Immigration is now contributing to a rising UK population,[378] with arrivals and UK-born children of migrants accounting for about half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001. According to official statistics released in 2015, 27 per cent of UK live births in 2014 were to mothers born outside the UK.[379] The ONS reported that net migration rose from 2009 to 2010 by 21 per cent to 239,000.[380]

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 previous nationalities of those naturalised in 2014 were Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Nigerian, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Chinese, South African, Polish and Somali.[381] The total number of grants of settlement, which confer permanent residence in the UK but not citizenship,[382] was approximately 154,700 in 2013, higher than the previous two years.[381]

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. 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.[383] Today, at least 5.5 million UK-born people live abroad,[384][385] mainly in Australia, Spain, the United States and Canada.[384][386]

Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, with each country having a separate education system. About 38 per cent of the United Kingdom population has a university or college degree, which is the highest percentage in Europe, and among the highest percentages in the world.[387] The United Kingdom is home to many universities, including the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge which often achieve first place on global rankings.[388][389]

University education has varied tuition fees between the different regions of the UK. England and Wales have a fixed maximum annual fee for all UK citizens. 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.[390][391]

In 2022, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), coordinated by the OECD, 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, well above the OECD average of 478.[392][393]

The modern-system of universal publicly funded in the United Kingdom has its origins in the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1949 which still exists to this day and 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".[394][395] Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter and each country has its own system of universal publicly funded healthcare, although private healthcare is also available. Public healthcare is provided to all UK permanent residents and is mostly free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation. The World Health Organization, in 2000, ranked the provision of healthcare in the United Kingdom as fifteenth best in Europe and eighteenth in the world.[396]

Since 1979, expenditure on healthcare has been increased significantly.[397] The 2018 OECD data, which incorporates in health a chunk of what in the UK is classified as social care, has the UK spending £3,121 per head.[398] In 2017 the UK spent £2,989 per person on healthcare, around the median for members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[399]

Regulatory bodies are organised on a UK-wide basis such as the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and non-governmental-based, such as the Royal Colleges. Political and operational responsibility for healthcare lies with four national executives; 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, resulting in contrasts.[400]

The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by many factors including: the nation's island status; its history; and being a political union of four countries with each preserving elements of distinctive traditions, customs and symbolism. As a result of the British Empire, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies, in particular, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland, a common culture known today as the Anglosphere.[401][402] The substantial cultural influence of the United Kingdom has led to it being described as a "cultural superpower".[108][109] A global survey in 2023 ranked the UK 3rd in the 'Most Influential Countries' rankings (behind the US and China).[403]

British literature includes literature associated with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Most British literature is in English. In 2005, some 206,000 books were published in the United Kingdom and in 2006 it was the largest publisher of books in the world.[404]

The English playwright and poet William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist of all time.[405] The 20th-century English crime writer Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time.[406] Twelve of the top 25 of 100 novels by British writers chosen by a BBC poll of global critics were written by women; these included works by George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Charlotte and Emily Brontë, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Doris Lessing and Zadie Smith.[407]

Scotland's contributions include Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes), Sir Walter Scott, J. M. Barrie, Robert Louis Stevenson and the poet Robert Burns. More recently Hugh MacDiarmid and Neil M. Gunn contributed to the Scottish Renaissance, with grimmer works from Ian Rankin and Iain Banks. Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, was UNESCO's first worldwide City of Literature.[408]

Welsh literature includes Britain's oldest known poem, Y Gododdin, which was composed most likely in the late 6th century. It was written in Cumbric or Old Welsh and contains the earliest known reference to King Arthur.[409] The Arthurian legend was further developed by Geoffrey of Monmouth.[410] Poet Dafydd ap Gwilym (fl. 1320–1370) is regarded as one of the greatest European poets of his age.[411] Daniel Owen is credited as the first Welsh-language novelist, publishing Rhys Lewis in 1885. The best-known of the Anglo-Welsh poets are Dylan Thomas and R. S. Thomas, the latter nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996. Leading Welsh novelists of the twentieth century include Richard Llewellyn and Kate Roberts.[412][413]

Irish writers, living at a time when all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, include Oscar Wilde,[414] Bram Stoker[415] and George Bernard Shaw.[416] There have been many authors whose origins were from outside the United Kingdom but who moved to the UK, including Joseph Conrad,[417] T. S. Eliot,[418] Kazuo Ishiguro,[419] Sir Salman Rushdie[420] and Ezra Pound.[421]

The United Kingdom is famous for the tradition of 'British Empiricism', a branch of the philosophy of knowledge that states that only knowledge verified by experience is valid, and 'Scottish Philosophy', sometimes referred to as the 'Scottish School of Common Sense'.[422] The most famous philosophers of British Empiricism are John Locke, George Berkeley[t] and David Hume; while Dugald Stewart, Thomas Reid and William Hamilton were major exponents of the Scottish "common sense" school. Two Britons are also notable for the ethical theory of utilitarianism, a moral philosophy first used by Jeremy Bentham and later by John Stuart Mill in his short work Utilitarianism.[423]

Various styles of music have become popular in the UK, including the indigenous folk music of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Historically, there has been exceptional Renaissance music from the Tudor period, with masses, madrigals and lute music by Thomas Tallis, John Taverner, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and John Dowland. After the Stuart Restoration, an English tradition of dramatic masques, anthems and airs became established, led by Henry Purcell, followed by Thomas Arne and others. The German-born composer George Frideric Handel became a naturalised British citizen in 1727, when he composed the anthem Zadok the Priest for the coronation of George II; it became the traditional ceremonial music for anointing all future monarchs. Handel's many oratorios, such as his famous Messiah, were written in the English language.[424] In the second half of the 19th century, as Arthur Sullivan and his librettist W. S. Gilbert wrote their popular Savoy operas, Edward Elgar's wide range of music rivalled that of his contemporaries on the continent. Increasingly, however, composers became inspired by the English countryside and its folk music, notably Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Benjamin Britten, a pioneer of modern British opera. Among the many post-war composers, some of the most notable have made their own personal choice of musical identity: Peter Maxwell Davies (Orkney), Harrison Birtwistle (mythological), and John Tavener (religious).[425] Today, recent classical singers include: Alfie Boe, Bryn Terfel, Katherine Jenkins, Michael Ball, Roderick Williams, Russell Watson and Sarah Brightman, while Nicola Benedetti and Nigel Kennedy are renowned for their violin ability.[426]

According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the term "pop music" originated in Britain in the mid-1950s to describe rock and roll's fusion with the "new youth music".[427] The Oxford Dictionary of Music states that artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones drove pop music to the forefront of popular music in the early 1960s.[428] Birmingham became known as the birthplace of heavy metal, with the band Black Sabbath starting there in the 1960s.[429] In the following years, Britain widely occupied a part in the development of rock music, with British acts pioneering hard rock;[430] raga rock; heavy metal;[431] space rock; glam rock;[432] Gothic rock,[433] psychedelic rock,[434] and punk rock.[435] British acts also developed neo soul and created dubstep.[436] The modern UK is known to produce some of the most prominent English-speaking rappers along with the United States, including Stormzy, Kano, Yxng Bane, Ramz, Little Simz and Skepta.[437]

The Beatles have international sales of over 1 billion units and are the biggest-selling and most influential band in the history of popular music.[438][439][440][441] Other prominent British contributors to have influenced popular music over the last 50 years include the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Queen, Led Zeppelin, the Bee Gees, and Elton John, all of whom have worldwide record sales of 200 million or more.[442] The Brit Awards are the BPI's annual music awards, and some of the British recipients of the Outstanding Contribution to Music award include the Who, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, the Police, and Fleetwood Mac (who are a British-American band).[443] More recent UK music acts that have had international success include George Michael, Oasis, Spice Girls, Radiohead, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Robbie Williams, Amy Winehouse, Susan Boyle, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Lewis Capaldi, One Direction and Harry Styles.[444]

A number of UK 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.[445] Glasgow's contribution to music was recognised in 2008 when it was named a UNESCO City of Music.[446] Manchester played a role in the spread of dance music such as acid house, and from the mid-1990s, Britpop. London and Bristol are closely associated with the origins of electronic music sub-genres such as drum and bass and trip hop.[447]