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United Kingdom

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Location of the United Kingdom (The light green region is the rest of the European Union of which the UK is a part.)
Location of the United Kingdom (The light green region is the rest of the European Union of which the UK is a part.)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain, is a sovereign island country,[7] spanning the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe, it is a member state of the European Union. Its largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel. The capital city of UK is London.


2.   The United Kingdom is a union of four constituent countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the political union of the Kingdom of England (which included the once independent Principality of Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland on May 1, 1707, an event resulting from the Treaty of Union of 1706. Almost a century later, the Kingdom of Ireland joined the Kingdom of Great Britain with the passing of the Act of Union 1800. Simmering tensions in Ireland, however, led to the partition of the island in 1920, followed by independence for the Irish Free State in 1922. Six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster, however, remained within the UK. In 1927, the formal name of the UK changed to its current name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is governed by a parliamentary system and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.


3.   The total population of the United Kingdom is estimated to be about 61 million in 2006, the third largest in the European Union after Germany and France. It is descended from varied ethnic stocks, though mainly pre-Celtic, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman. 92.1% of the population identified themselves as White. Though the UK does not de jure have an official language; the predominant spoken language is English. 53% of the population identified themselves as Christian. The Church of England, which split from Rome in 1534 (see English Reformation) is today the 'established' Church in England and the senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, while the Roman Catholic Church is the second largest denomination.


4.   The UK is a developed country, with the fifth (nominal GDP) or sixth (PPP) largest economy in the world. The service sector, making up about 73% of GDP, is dominated by financial services, especially in banking and insurance. London is the world's largest financial centre, with the largest concentration of foreign bank branches in the world. The United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world,[8] with London being the most visited city in the world in 2006.[9] The manufacturing sector, however, has greatly diminished since World War II, accounting for only one-sixth of the national output in 2003,[10] while agriculture accounts for only 0.9%. The UK is a nuclear power, with the second or third (depending on method of calculation) highest defence spending in the world.  more... at Wikipedia




  1. http://www.nationalstatistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=6
  2. Population Estimates at www.statistics.gov.uk
  3. CIA World Factbook[Gini rankings]
  4. Welsh Language. Welsh Assembly. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
  5. Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
  6. Scottish Executive "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages" Updated 13/06/06 retrieved 23/08/07
  7. www.number-10.gov.uk. Countries within a country. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. “Countries within a country”
  8. International Tourism ReceiptsPDF (1.10 MiB). UNWTO Tourism Highlights, Edition 2005 Page 12. World Tourism Organisation. Retrieved on 24 May 2006
  9. Bremner, Caroline. "Top 150 city destinations: London leads the way", Euromonitor International. Retrieved on 2008-08-28. 
  10. Patricia Hewitt (2004-07-15). TUC Manufacturing Conference. Department for Trade and Industry. Retrieved on 2006-05-16.
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