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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland ( commonly known as the
United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a
sovereign state located off the
north-western coast of continental Europe.
it spans 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 boarder with another sovereign
state, sharing it with the Republic of
Ireland. Apart from this island boarder , UK
is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the
Northern sea, the English channel, and the
Irish sea.
The United Kingdom is a
constitutional monarchy and unitary state.
It is a country consisting of four
countries: England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales. It is governed by a
parliamentary system with its seat of
government in the capital city of London.
There are three devolved national
administrations, with varying powers in
Belfast, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, the
capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and
Scotland respectively. There are three Crown
Dependencies and fourteen overseas
territories that are not constitutionally
part of the UK. 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. As a result, British
influence can still be observed in the
language, culture and legal systems of many
of its former territories.
the UK is a developed county, with the
world's sixth largest economy by nominal GDP
and eight largest economy by purchasing
power parity. it was the world's first
industrialized country and the world's
foremost power during the 19th and early
20th centuries, 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 leading economic,
cultural, military, scientific and political
influence. it is a recognized nuclear
weapons state while its military expenditure
ranks third or fourth in the world,
depending on the method of calculation. it's
a Member State of the European Union, a
permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council, and a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations, G8, G20, NATO,
OECD, the Council of Europe and the World
Trade Organization.
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