The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain (a term sometimes loosely applied to the whole state), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. UK is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 22nd-most populated country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants. Together, this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance .Its Capital City is London. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. The UK is considered to have a high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index, ranking 14th in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946. The UK is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7 finance ministers, the G7 forum, the G20, NATO, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Geography
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometers (94,060 sq mi). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the south-east coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° to 61° N, and longitudes 9° W to 2° E.