The united kingdom

T he United Kingdom is an abbreviation of “the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. It is often further abbreviated to “UK”, and is the political name of the country which is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (also known as Ulster).

The British Isles lie off the north-west coast of continental Europe between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The UK is separated from the continent by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France.

Great Britain is the largest island consisting of England, Scotland, and Wales. Some small islands off the coast of Great Britain are part of the UK, whereas others are not even part of the Commonwealth although they have very close political, economic, and cultural relations with Britain, and recognize the Queen as Head of State (e.g. the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man). The number of islands and islets of the British Archipelago amounts to 750.

The UK has a total area of approximately 245,000 sq km, of which nearly 99% is land and the remainder inland water. From north to south it is about 1,000 kilometres long. Interesting fact: no one in the UK lives more than 120 km (75 miles) from the sea.

The UK is a part of Europe and a member of the European Union (EU). The capital of the UK is London.