Map of United Kingdom | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was born of the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, which previously had been distinct states joined in a personal union, under the 1701 Acts of Union. The island of Ireland, also joined via a personal union, was incorporated under the 1800 Acts of Union, while Wales had been part of the Kingdom of England since the 16th century. The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the rapid expansion of the British Empire despite the loss of the Thirteen Colonies, and at its zenith in the early 20th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw two World Wars seriously deplete the UK's strength and the Irish Republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth of Nations, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The devolved Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1998.


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Location: Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France

Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 243,610 km²
Land: 241,930 km²
Water: 1,680 km²
Note 1: the percentage area breakdown of the four UK countries is: England 53%, Scotland 32%, Wales 9%, and Northern Ireland 6%
Note 2: includes Rockall and the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland
Comparative: twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries
Total: 499 km
Border countries: (1) Ireland 499 km

Coastline: 12,429 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast

Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast

Elevation
Highest point: Ben Nevis 1,345 m
Lowest point: The Fens -4 m
Mean elevation: 162 m

Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 71% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 25.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 45.7% (2018 est.)
Forest: 11.9% (2018 est.)
Other: 17.1% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 718 km² (2018)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 6.23 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 1.01 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 1.18 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 147 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: winter windstorms; floods

Geography
Note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel (the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel); because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters


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Population
Distribution: the core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scottish lowlands between Edinburgh and Glasgow, southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and far eastern Northern Ireland centered on Belfast: 68,138,484 (2023 est.) United Kingdom
Constituent countries by percentage of total population:
Growth rate: 0.49% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 18.6% (2017 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
Adjective: British

Ethnic groups: White 87.2%, Black/African/Caribbean/black British 3%, Asian/Asian British: Indian 2.3%, Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 1.9%, mixed 2%, other 3.7% (2011 est.)

Languages: English
Note: the following are recognized regional languages: Scots (about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 speakers in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 people in Cornwall) (2012 est.)

Religions: Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.91% (male 5,901,611/female 5,620,070)
15-64 years: 64.03% (male 21,997,962/female 21,628,742)
65 years and over: 19.06% (2023 est.) (male 5,953,187/female 7,036,912)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57.7
Youth dependency ratio: 27.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 29.8
Potential support ratio: 3.4 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 40.6 years (2023 est.)
Male: 39.9 years
Female: 41.4 years

Population growth rate: 0.49% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 10.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 9.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: the core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scottish lowlands between Edinburgh and Glasgow, southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and far eastern Northern Ireland centered on Belfast

Urbanization
Urban population: 84.6% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.8% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 9.648 million LONDON (capital), 2.791 million Manchester, 2.665 million Birmingham, 1.929 million West Yorkshire, 1.698 million Glasgow, 952,000 Southampton/Portsmouth (2023)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution improved but remains a concern, particularly in the London region; soil pollution from pesticides and heavy metals; decline in marine and coastal habitats brought on by pressures from housing, tourism, and industry
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 9.52 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 379.02 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 49.16 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29 years (2018 est.)
Note: data represents England and Wales only

Maternal mortality ratio: 10 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.1 years (2023 est.)
Male: 80 years
Female: 84.2 years

Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 76.1% (2010/12)
Note: percent of women aged 16-49

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 12% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 3 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 2.5 beds/1,000 population (2019)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Note: on 31 August 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an updated Travel Alert for polio in Europe; the United Kingdom is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 27.8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 9.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 3.53 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 3.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 2.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 15.4% (2020 est.)
Male: 17.3% (2020 est.)
Female: 13.5% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 5.5% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Total population: NA
Male: NA
Female: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 17 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 18 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 13.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 14.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 11.8%


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Country name
Conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - the island of Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales
Conventional short form: United Kingdom
Abbreviation: UK
Etymology: self-descriptive country name; the designation "Great Britain," in the sense of "Larger Britain," dates back to medieval times and was used to distinguish the island from "Little Britain," or Brittany in modern France; the name Ireland derives from the Gaelic "Eriu," the matron goddess of Ireland (goddess of the land)

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: London
Geographic coordinates: 51 30 N, 0 05 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Time zone note: the time statements apply to the United Kingdom proper, not to its crown dependencies or overseas territories
Etymology: the name derives from the Roman settlement of Londinium, established on the current site of London around A.D. 43; the original meaning of the name is uncertain

Administrative divisions
England: 24 two-tier counties, 32 London boroughs and 1 City of London or Greater London, 36 metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities (including 4 single-tier counties*);

Dependent areas: (12) Anguilla, Bermuda, 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, Turks and Caicos Islands (12)

Independence: no official date of independence: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union formally incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union formally unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union formally unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties remain part of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland); 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

National holiday: the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday

Constitution
History: uncoded; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Amendments: proposed as a bill for an Act of Parliament by the government, by the House of Commons, or by the House of Lords; passage requires agreement by both houses and by the monarch (Royal Assent); many previous, last in 2020 - The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020

Legal system: common law system; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the United Kingdom
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); Heir Apparent Prince WILLIAM (son of the king, born 21 June 1982); note - CHARLES succeeded his mother, Queen ELIZABETH II, after serving as Prince of Wales (heir apparent) for over 64 years - the longest such tenure in British history
Head of government: Prime Minister Rishi SUNAK (Conservative) (since 25 October 2022)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister; election last held on 12 December 2019 (next to be held no later than 28 January 2025)
Note:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of 12 justices, including the court president and deputy president); note - the Supreme Court was established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and implemented in 2009, replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the United Kingdom
Judge selection and term of office: judge candidates selected by an independent committee of several judicial commissions, followed by their recommendations to the prime minister, and appointed by the monarch; justices serve for life
Subordinate courts: England and Wales: Court of Appeal (civil and criminal divisions); High Court; Crown Court; County Courts; Magistrates' Courts; Scotland: Court of Sessions; Sheriff Courts; High Court of Justiciary; tribunals; Northern Ireland: Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland; High Court; county courts; magistrates' courts; specialized tribunals

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CD, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UN Security Council (permanent), UNSOM, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Karen Elizabeth PIERCE (since 8 April 2020)
In the us chancery: 3,100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 588-6,500
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 588-7,870
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jane HARTLEY (since 19 July 2022)
From the us embassy: 33 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW11 7US
From the us mailing address: 8,400 London Place, Washington DC 20,521-8,400
From the us telephone: [44] (0) 20-7,499-9,000
From the us FAX: [44] (0) 20-7,891-3,845
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories

National symbols: lion (Britain in general); lion, Tudor rose, oak (England); lion, unicorn, thistle (Scotland); dragon, daffodil, leek (Wales); shamrock, flax (Northern Ireland); national colors: red, white, blue (Britain in general); red, white (England); blue, white (Scotland); red, white, green (Wales)

National anthem
Name: "God Save the King"
Lyrics/music: unknown
Note: in use since 1745; by tradition, the song serves as both the national and royal anthem of the UK; it is known as either "God Save the Queen" or "God Save the King," depending on the gender of the reigning monarch; it also serves as the royal anthem of many Commonwealth nations

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 33 (28 cultural, 4 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in Bermuda
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: high-income, diversified non-EU European economy; sixth-largest importer and exporter; global financial and diplomatic leader; nominal consumption-led growth; high inflation and increased interest rates eroding purchasing power despite real wage growth

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 65.8% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 18.3% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.2% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 30.2% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -31.5% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.7% (2017 est.)
Industry: 20.2% (2017 est.)
Services: 79.2% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat, milk, barley, sugar beets, potatoes, rapeseed, poultry, oats, pork, beef

Industries: machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: 9.12% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 34.637 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 13.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 14.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 11.8%

Population below poverty line: 18.6% (2017 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 35.1 (2017 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 1.7%
Highest 10%: 31.1% (2012)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $998.006 billion (2020 est.)
Expenditures: $1.362 trillion (2020 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -1.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 24.73% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: 6 April - 5 April

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: United States 13%, Germany 9%, Netherlands 8%, Ireland 7%, Switzerland 6% (2021)
Commodities: cars, gold, gas turbines, crude petroleum, packaged medicines (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 13%, Germany 11%, United States 8%, Netherlands 6%, Norway 5% (2021)
Commodities: gold, cars, natural gas, crude petroleum, packaged medicines (2021)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 113.153 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 289.688 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 4.481 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 22.391 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 27.746 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 37.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 15.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 4.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 25.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 2.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 15% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 2.892 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 9.401 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 1.309 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 5.537 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 26 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 890,400 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 1,578,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 818,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 891,700 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 2.5 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.29 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 613,800 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 907,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 32.48 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Consumption: 75.7 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Exports: 6.873 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 51,050,178,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 180.661 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 398.084 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 23.5 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 216.237 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 158.346 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 119.894 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 29.798 million (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 48 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 80 million (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 120 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: public service broadcaster, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world; BBC operates multiple TV networks with regional and local TV service; a mixed system of public and commercial TV broadcasters along with satellite and cable systems provide access to hundreds of TV stations throughout the world; BBC operates multiple national, regional, and local radio networks with multiple transmission sites; a large number of commercial radio stations, as well as satellite radio services are available (2018)

Internet
Country code: .uk
Users total: 64.99 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 97% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 27,330,297 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 40 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: United Kingdom Armed Forces (aka British Armed Forces, aka His Majesty's Armed Forces): British Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force (2023)

Military service age and obligation: some variations by service, but generally 16-36 years of age for enlisted (with parental consent under 18) and 18-29 for officers; minimum length of service 4 years; women serve in all military services including combat roles; conscription abolished in 1963 (2023)
Note 1: women made up over 11% of the military's full-time personnel in 2023
Note 2: the British military allows Commonwealth nationals who are current UK residents and have been in the country for at least 5 years to apply; it also accepts Irish citizens
Note 3: the British Army has continued the historic practice of recruiting Gurkhas from Nepal to serve in the Brigade of Gurkhas; the British began to recruit Nepalese citizens (Gurkhas) into the East India Company Army during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816); the Gurkhas subsequently were brought into the British Indian Army and by 1914, there were 10 Gurkha regiments, collectively known as the Gurkha Brigade; following the partition of India in 1947, an agreement between Nepal, India, and Great Britain allowed for the transfer of the 10 regiments from the British Indian Army to the separate British and Indian armies; four of the regiments were transferred to the British Army, where they have since served continuously as the Brigade of Gurkhas

Space program
Overview: has a comprehensive space program and is active across all areas of the space sector outside of launching humans into space, including satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs)/rockets and their components, space probes, satellites and satellite subcomponents, space sensors, spaceports, and various other space-related technologies; as a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA), it is heavily involved in ESA programs and has bi-lateral relations with many members; is a close partner of the US NASA and since 2016 has forged over 350 relationships with international organizations across nearly 50 developing countries; has an extensive commercial space sector that produces SLVs, SLV components, satellites, satellite subcomponents and sensors, and other space-related technologies; the UK’s space sector generates revenues of over $20 billion per year (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Continuity Irish Republican Army; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); New Irish Republican Army; al-Qa'ida
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 20 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 794
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 165,388,610 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 6,198,370,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: G

Airports: 460 (2021)
With paved runways: 271
With paved runways civil airports: 51
With paved runways military airports: 25
With paved runways joint use (civil-military) airports: 1
With paved runways other airports: 194
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 189
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 9 (2021)

Pipelines: 502 km condensate, 9 km condensate/gas, 28,603 km gas, 59 km liquid petroleum gas, 5,256 km oil, 175 km oil/gas/water, 4,919 km refined products, 255 km water (2013)

Railways
Total: 16,390 km (2020) 6,167 km electrified

Roadways
Total: 394,428 km (2009)
Paved: 394,428 km (2009) (includes 3,519 km of expressways)

Waterways: 3,200 km (2009) (620 km used for commerce)

Merchant marine
Total: 1,174 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 133, container ship 58, general cargo 97, oil tanker 73, other 813

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Dover, Felixstowe, Immingham, Liverpool, London, Southampton, Teesport (England); Forth Ports (Scotland); Milford Haven (Wales)
Oil terminals: Fawley Marine terminal, Liverpool Bay terminal (England); Braefoot Bay terminal, Finnart oil terminal, Hound Point terminal (Scotland)
Container ports teus: Felixstowe (3,700,000), London (3,111,000), Southampton (1,871,081) (2021)
Lng terminals import: Dragon, Isle of Grain, South Hook, Teesside


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Disputes international: UK-Argentina: UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 21,904 (Iran), 15,615 (Eritrea), 11,371 (Sudan), 12,155 (Syria), 10,259 (Afghanistan), 8,009 (Pakistan), 7,699 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 248,260 (Ukraine) (as of 21 November 2023)
Stateless persons: 5,483 (2022)

Illicit drugs: a major consumer and transshipment point, though not a source, for illicit drugs; among the highest consumer of heroin and cocaine in Europe; one of the largest markets for cannabis; a major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics