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United Kingdom
From Metapedia
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country[11][12] and sovereign state[13][14] located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island nation,[15] spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border[16] with another sovereign state, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.[17][18] The UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. Great Britain is linked to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[19] It is governed by a parliamentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations of varying powers[20][21] in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. The Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies, which means they are constitutionally tied to the British monarch but are not part of the UK.[22] The UK has fourteen overseas territories that are not constitutionally part of the UK.[23] These territories are remnants of the British Empire, which at its height in 1922 encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies.
The UK is a developed country, with the world's sixth largest economy by nominal GDP and the sixth largest by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country[24] and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries,[25] but the economic and social cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless remains a great power with strong economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a recognised nuclear weapons state while its military expenditure ranks third or fourth in the world, depending on the method of calculation.[26] It is a Member State of the European Union, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, G8, G20, NATO, OECD and the World Trade Organization.
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References
- ↑ English is established by de facto usage. In Wales, the Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg is legally tasked with ensuring that, "in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice, the English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of equality". Welsh Language Act 1993. Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved on 3 September 2007. Bòrd na Gàidhlig is tasked with "securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language" Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved on 9 March 2007.
- ↑ Under the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages the Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Irish, Scots and its regional variant Ulster Scots are officially recognised as Regional or Minority languages by the UK Government for the purposes of the Charter (European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Scottish Government. Retrieved on 11 December 2010.) See also Languages of the United Kingdom.
- ↑ United Kingdom population by ethnic group. United Kingdom Census 2001. Office for National Statistics (1 April 2001). Retrieved on 15 April 2009.
- ↑ Population Estimates National Statistics Office
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 United Kingdom. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved on 21 April 2010.
- ↑ http://www.poverty.org.uk/09/index.shtml
- ↑ Human Development Report 2010 United Nations. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- ↑ The euro is accepted in many payphones and some larger shops.
- ↑ British dependencies drive on the left except for BIOT and Gibraltar.
- ↑ ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 states that this should be GB and .gb was initially used by the Government, but registration has been suppressed in favour of .uk. The .eu domain is shared with other European Union member states.
- ↑ Britain 2001: The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom, p. vii (PDF). Office for National Statistics. Retrieved on 2010-09-12.
- ↑ Countries within a country. The Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved on 13 June 2007. “Countries within a country”
- ↑ Term used most frequently for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the modern sovereign state comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Cabinetoffice.gov.uk (2010-08-11). Retrieved on 2010-09-12.
- ↑ Institutional Affairs. European Union (15 July 2010). Retrieved on 8 September 2010.
- ↑ United Kingdom: 2006 Review By OECD. Publishing p23. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved on 2010-09-12.
- ↑ Excluding the British Overseas Territory border of Gibraltar with Andalusia, Spain and the SBAs bordering Cyprus
- ↑ UK Region – Northern Ireland - UK. UK Trade and Investment. Retrieved on 8 July 2009.
- ↑ Border checks between Britain and Ireland proposed. Telegraph (24 July 2008). Retrieved on 8 July 2009.
- ↑ The Countries of the UK. UK National Statistics. Retrieved on 10 October 2008.
- ↑ Fall in UK university students BBC News, 29 January 2009
- ↑ Country Profiles Transport Research Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ↑ Key facts about the United Kingdom. Government, citizens and rights. Directgov. Retrieved on 26 July 2008. “The full title of this country is 'the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. 'The UK' is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 'Great Britain' (or just 'Britain') does not include Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK.”
- ↑ FCO global network. FCO in Action. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Retrieved on 26 July 2008.
- ↑ P. Mathias, The First Industrial Nation: the Economic History of Britain, 1700-1914 (London: Routledge, 2nd edn., 2001), ISBN 0-415-26672-6
- ↑ Ferguson, Niall (2004). Empire, The rise and demise of the British world order and the lessons for global power. Basic Books. ISBN 0465023282.
- ↑ Stockholm Institute - The 15 Major Spender Countries in 2008. Military Expenditures. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved on 30 March 2010.
