The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland consists of islands situated west of mainland Europe. It borders Ireland. The UK consists of four constituent countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UK has been inhabited since prehistoric times by ancient civilisations, one of which erected Stonehenge 5,000 years ago. During Roman times, present day England was occupied almost up to the present day border with Scotland, where the Romans erected Hadrian Walls. The Roman rule ended in 410 A.D., when the country split up into several independent kingdoms. The Anglo-Saxons came to dominate Britain although after 800 AD with frequent raids and occupations by the Vikings.

In 1066, the Normans invaded and conquered England. There was many civil wars and battles with other nations throughout the Middle Ages. In 1284, the principality of Wales fell under the English crown and in 1603, the Scottish king became the king of England, thereby creating a personal union of the two countries and formally put into effect as the Acts of Union in 1707. The Act of Union in 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1541 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

During the following centuries, the United Kingdom became a world power and played an important role in shaping a modern society with significant contributions to literature, the arts and science. The industrial revolution started in Great Britain and fuelled the British Empire, which showed massive colonial expansion. At the height of the Empire stems the phrase ‘the sun never sets on the British Empire’. The United Kingdom was an important part of the victorious allies in World War I and II, but both wars exhausted the British economy and their influence was diminished and party overtaken by the United States.

With the independency of India in 1947, the British Empire ceased to exist. However, the UK remains a significant financial and military power; it has the third highest defence spending in the world. The United Kingdom has a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and is a member of the European Union, G8 and NATO.

Inhabitants: 61,000,000
Area: 245,000 km2
Capital: London (8,200,000 inhabitants)
Languages: English
Religion: Christian (71,8%), Muslim (2.8%), Hindu (1%), others (1%), non religious (23.4%)
GBD per capita: $37,300
Government: Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
Climate: The UK has a very varied temperate climate with relatively mild and wet winters.