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This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 1 January 2025. Archipelago in north-western Europe This article is about the geographical archipelago. For those parts under British sovereignty, see British Islands. British Isles Other native names Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór (Irish) Ynysoedd Prydain (Welsh) Enesow Bretennek (Cornish) Eileanan ...
A British passport. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official full title of the state. This name appears on official documentation such as British passports. For convenience, the name is usually shortened to United Kingdom, UK or Britain. [5] [14] The United Kingdom is a sovereign state.
In the fifth chapter of the seventh book of Geography, Ptolemy describes the British Isles as being at the northern limits of the oecumene: "in the north, the oecumene is limited by the continuation of the ocean which surrounds the British Isles and the northernmost parts of Europe" (ἀπ’ ἄρκτων δὲ τῷ συνημμένῳ ...
With an area of 209,331 km 2 (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island, and the ninth-largest island in the world. [5] [d] It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons.
Euler diagram of the British Isles. This structure was formed by the union agreed between the former sovereign states, the Kingdom of England (including the Principality of Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland in the Treaty of Union and enacted by the Acts of Union 1707 to form the single Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800); followed by the Act of Union 1800, which combined Great Britain with ...
In light of these changes, the British state was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 12 April 1927 with the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act. The modern-day United Kingdom is the same state, that is to say a direct continuation of what remained after the Irish Free State's secession, as opposed to being an ...
The term mainland Europe is also sometimes used. [citation needed] Usage of these terms may reflect political or cultural allegiances, for example it has been observed that there is a correlation between whether a British citizen considers themselves "British" or "European" and whether they live in an area which primarily supported Brexit. [14]
The UK prime minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. [8] Although the United Kingdom is a unitary sovereign country, it contains three distinct legal jurisdictions in Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland, each retaining its own legal system even after joining the UK. [9]