Introduction
The United Kingdom (UK), officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and sometimes referred to as Britain, is a sovereign country located off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state, the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
The UK is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the longest-serving current head of state. The United Kingdom's capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million. Other major urban areas in the UK include Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and West Yorkshire conurbations, Greater Glasgow and the Liverpool Built-up Area.
Selected general articles
Did you know...
- ... that composer Jessica Curry has won a BAFTA award for her video game scores, and has also worked with a Poet Laureate?
- ... that Ghanaian Member of Parliament Kwesi Ankama died on an official government delegation to the United Kingdom?
- ... that the United Kingdom conducted 24 nuclear weapons tests in the United States between 1962 and 1991, and has conducted subcritical tests not involving explosions since then?
- ... that Wilfrid Oulton was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for sinking three U-boats in one month?
- ... that actor Michael Rennie and temperance activist Catherine Gurney are buried in Harlow Hill Cemetery?
- ... that English paediatrician Alfred White Franklin was one of the first to recognise that child abuse was much more common in the United Kingdom than the public realised?
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In the news
- 10 April 2019 – Brexit negotiations
- The United Kingdom and European Union agree to delay Brexit until October 31, 2019. This means that the UK will participate in next month's European Parliament election. (BBC)
- 9 April 2019 –
- Debenhams, one of the largest department stores in the United Kingdom which employs 25,000 people, collapses into administration. (The Guardian)
- 8 April 2019 –
- The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the United Kingdom releases a white paper proposing to set up an independent regulatory body which would require Internet companies to remove content and block websites considered harmful. (BBC)
- 5 April 2019 – Second Libyan Civil War, 2019 Western Libya Offensive
- The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Italy issue a joint statement calling on Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar to end the offensive. (Euronews)
- 3 April 2019 – Brexit negotiations
- An indicative vote on holding more indicative votes for Brexit possibilities in the House of Commons achieves a vote of 310 Aye and 310 No, becoming the first British parliamentary vote to result in a draw in the 21st century; Speaker John Bercow breaks the tie by voting No. (BBC)
- 2 April 2019 – Brexit negotiations
- UK Prime Minister Theresa May gives a speech after seven hours of continuous meetings, saying that a further extension to the withdrawal from the European Union is needed, and asking for talks with Jeremy Corbyn. (BBC)
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