Outline of the United Kingdom

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the United Kingdom:

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – sovereign country in Europe, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK), or Britain.^[1][2][3] Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of Great Britain—a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country—the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of four countries – England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales each having their own devolved government and national parliament.

General reference

Countries of the United Kingdom, Dependencies, Territories and Commonwealth

Countries of the UK and their subdivisions

• England
  • Subdivisions of England
    • Regions of England
      • Counties of England (see also Metropolitan county and Shire county)
      • Unitary authorities of England
      • Districts of England (see also Metropolitan district and Shire district)
      • Civil parishes
    • Greater London
      • London boroughs
• Northern Ireland
  • Counties of Northern Ireland
  • Local government in Northern Ireland
    • Districts of Northern Ireland
• Scotland
  • Subdivisions of Scotland
• Wales
  • Subdivisions of Wales

Crown Dependencies

Crown Dependencies

• Isle of Man
• Channel Islands
  • Jersey
  • Guernsey
  • Alderney
  • Sark

British Overseas Territories

British Overseas Territories

• Anguilla
• Bermuda
• British Antarctic Territory
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Falkland Islands
• Gibraltar
• Montserrat
• Pitcairn Islands
• Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus
• Turks and Caicos Islands

Commonwealth of Nations

The United Kingdom is a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations

• Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
  • Commonwealth realm
• Commonwealth citizen
  • Head of the Commonwealth
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission (1917-)
• Commonwealth Games (1930-)

Geography, resources and demography

Geography of the United Kingdom

• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere, on the Prime meridian
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Eurasia (but not on the mainland)
    • Europe
      • Northern Europe and Western Europe
        • British Isles
          • Great Britain (entire island and adjacent isles)
          • Ireland (northeastern sixth of the island)
  • Time zone: Greenwich Mean Time = Western European Time (UTC+00), British Summer Time = Western European Summer Time (UTC+01)
• Area of the United Kingdom: 244,820 km² (94,530 sq mi) – 79th most extensive country
  • Area of the countries of the United Kingdom
• Extreme points of the United Kingdom:
  • North: Out Stack, Shetland Islands 60°51′N 0°52′W / 60.850°N 0.867°W / 60.850; -0.867
  • South: Western Rocks, Isles of Scilly 49°51′N 6°24′W / 49.850°N 6.400°W / 49.850; -6.400
  • East: Lowestoft Ness, Suffolk 52°28.87′N 1°45.77′E / 52.48117°N 1.76283°E / 52.48117; 1.76283
  • West: Rockall¹ 57°35′N 13°41′W / 57.583°N 13.683°W / 57.583; -13.683
  • High: Ben Nevis, Lochaber at 1,343 m (4,406 ft) 56°47′49.150″N 5°0′17.22″W / 56.79698611°N 5.0047833°W / 56.79698611; -5.0047833
    • Low: The Fens at −4 m (−13 ft) 52°29′18″N 0°13′52″W / 52.48838°N 0.23118°W / 52.48838; -0.23118
  • Land boundaries:  Republic of Ireland 360 km
  • Land boundary:  France undersea in Channel Tunnel
  • Coastline: 12,429 km
• Atlas of the United Kingdom
  • Atlas of England
  • Atlas of Northern Ireland
  • Atlas of Scotland
  • Atlas of Wales
  • Economic geography of the United Kingdom

Ecoregions

List of ecoregions in the United Kingdom

Environment

• Climate of the United Kingdom
• Environmental issues in the United Kingdom
• Conservation in the United Kingdom
• Energy in the United Kingdom
• Green building in the United Kingdom
• Ecoregions in the United Kingdom
• Renewable energy in the United Kingdom
  • Green electricity in the United Kingdom
    • Hydroelectricity in the United Kingdom
    • Wind power in the United Kingdom
    • Solar power in the United Kingdom
• Geology of the United Kingdom
  • Earthquakes in the British Isles
• National parks of the United Kingdom
  • National parks of England
  • National parks of Wales
  • National parks of Northern Ireland
  • National parks of Scotland
• Protected areas of the United Kingdom
  • Environmentally sensitive area (ESA)
  • Heritage coast
  • Scenic areas
    • Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – England, Wales, Northern Ireland
      • Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales – Wales
    • National scenic area – Scotland
  • Scheduled monument
  • Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
  • Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (European Union)
  • Special Protection Area (SPA) (European Union)
  • Wetlands designated under the Ramsar Convention (International)
• Wildlife of the United Kingdom
  • Flora of the United Kingdom
    • Trees of Britain and Ireland
    • List of the vascular plants of Britain and Ireland
  • Fauna of the United Kingdom
    • List of mammals of the United Kingdom
    • Birds of the United Kingdom
      • List of birds of Great Britain
      • List of birds of Wales
    • List of reptiles of Great Britain
    • List of amphibians of Great Britain
    • List of fish of Great Britain
    • Lists of insects of Great Britain
• Climate of the United Kingdom
  • United Kingdom Climate Change Programme
  • List of UK extreme rainfall amounts
• Conservation in the United Kingdom
• Environmentally sensitive area
  • Green belts
  • Notable trees in Great Britain
  • National nature reserve
  • National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
  • Special Protection Area
    • Site of Special Scientific Interest
• List of waterfalls of the United Kingdom
• List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
  • The Great Storm of 1987

Geographic features

• Coastline
• Islands
• Lakes
• Lochs
• Mountains and hills
  • Volcanoes
• Rivers
  • Waterfalls
• World Heritage Sites

Regions

• Time zone of the UK

Municipalities

• Cities
  • Capital of the United Kingdom: London
  • Second city of the United Kingdom
  • Cities by population
• Towns:
  • Towns in England
  • Burghs in Scotland
  • Towns in Wales
  • Towns in Northern Ireland
• City status in the United Kingdom
• Conurbations
• Green belt

Natural Resources

Demography

Demographics of the United Kingdom

• Population of the United Kingdom: 64,105,700 (2013 estimate) making it the 22nd most populous country and, with a population density of 259/km² (679/sq.mile), ranking it 51st on the List of sovereign states and dependent territories by population density. This is largely due to the particularly high population density of England which measures 406/km².
  • Population of the countries of the United Kingdom
  • UK birth and deaths since 1960
  • Immigration to the United Kingdom

Ethnicity

Government, monarchy, politics and honours

• Form of government: parliamentary multi-party representative democratic constitutional monarchy
• Censorship in the United Kingdom
• Elections in the United Kingdom
  • British elections (specific elections)
• Gun politics in the United Kingdom
• Political parties in the United Kingdom
• Political scandals of the United Kingdom
• Taxation in the United Kingdom

Monarchy

• Air transport of the Royal Family and government of the United Kingdom
• British Royal Family
• British monarchs' family tree
• Monarchy of the United Kingdom
• Coronation of the British monarch
• Household Cavalry
• Household Division
• HMY Britannia
• King's Guard and King's Life Guard
• Line of succession to the British throne
• List of British royal residences
• List of British monarchs
• List of Royal Yachts of the United Kingdom
• List of UK place names with royal patronage
• List of organisations in the United Kingdom with a royal charter
• Royal Assent
• Royal Charter
• Royal Christmas Message
• Royal Collection Management Committee
• Royal Collection Trust
• Royal Collection
• Royal Household
• Royal Librarian
• Royal Library, Windsor
• Royal Peculiar
• Royal Philatelic Collection
• Royal Prerogative
• Royal Standard
• Royal Style and Titles Act
• Royal Train
• Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom)
• Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
• Royal forest
• Style of the British sovereign
• Succession to the British Throne

Branches of the government

Executive branch

• Head of state: Monarch of the United Kingdom, King Charles III
  • Coronation of the British monarch
    • Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom
• Head of government: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (list), Rishi Sunak
• Cabinet of the United Kingdom
• Departments of the United Kingdom Government

Legislative branch

• Parliament of the United Kingdom (bicameral)
  • List of parliaments of the United Kingdom
  • List of parliaments of Great Britain
  • Upper house: House of Lords
  • Lower house: House of Commons of the United Kingdom
    • List of British MPs

Judicial branch

Courts of the United Kingdom

• Courts of England and Wales
• Courts of Northern Ireland
• Courts of Scotland
• Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

Foreign relations

Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

• History
• Timeline of British diplomatic history
• United Kingdom and the United Nations
• Special Relationship
• Diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom
• Diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom

International organisation membership

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a member of:^[1]

Local government

• List of local governments in the United Kingdom

Politics of England

Politics of England

• Regional assemblies in England
• Local government in England
  • History of local government in England
  • Mayors in England

Politics of Northern Ireland

Politics of Northern Ireland

• Northern Ireland Assembly
  • First Minister of Northern Ireland, Office vacant
  • Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Office vacant
• Local government in Northern Ireland
  • History of local government in Northern Ireland
  • Mayors in Northern Ireland

Politics of Scotland

Politics of Scotland

• Scottish Government
  • First Minister of Scotland, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, Humza Yousaf
  • Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Shona Robison
  • International relations of Scotland
  • Scottish Cabinet
    • Dewar government (1999–2000)
    • McLeish government (2000–01)
    • First McConnell government (2001–03)
    • Second McConnell government (2003–07)
    • First Salmond government (2007–11)
    • Second Salmond government (2011–14)
    • First Sturgeon government (2014–16)
    • Second Sturgeon government (2016–21)
    • Third Sturgeon government (2021–23)
    • Yousaf government (2023–present)
• History of Scottish devolution
• Local government in Scotland
  • History of local government in Scotland
  • Provosts in Scotland
• Pressure Groups in Scotland
• Scottish Parliament
  • Members of the Scottish Parliament
  • 2007 Scottish Parliament election
  • 2011 Scottish Parliament election
  • 2016 Scottish Parliament election
  • 2021 Scottish Parliament election

Politics of Wales

Politics of Wales

• Local government in Wales
  • History of local government in Wales
  • Mayors in Wales
• Senedd (Welsh Parliament)
  • Members of the Senedd
  • Members of the 6th Senedd
  • 2007 National Assembly for Wales election
  • 2011 National Assembly for Wales election
  • 2016 National Assembly for Wales election
  • 2021 Senedd election
  • Welsh Government
    • Second Drakeford government
    • First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford

Honours

• New Year Honours
• King's Birthday Honours
• Prime Minister's Resignation Honours
• Chivalric order
  • Chivalric order § Modern orders
• List of honorary British knights and dames
• Category:British honours system
• Declining a British honour

Military and Defence

British Armed Forces

Command

• Commander-in-chief: The Sovereign – King Charles III
  • Chief of the Defence Staff: Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
    • First Sea Lord: Admiral Sir Ben Key
    • Chief of the General Staff: General Sir Patrick Sanders
    • Chief of the Air Staff: Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston
• Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
  • Defence Council of the United Kingdom

Forces

• British Armed Forces
  • British Army
  • Royal Navy
  • Royal Marines
  • Royal Air Force

History

See § History

Related topics

• United Kingdom and weapons of mass destruction
  • Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom

Law and order

Law of the United Kingdom

Law of England and Wales

Law of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland law

• Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland

Law of Scotland

Scots law

Infrastructure

Economy

Economy of the United Kingdom