Flag Royal coat of arms Motto "Dieu et mon droit"[11]  (French) "God and my right" Anthem "God Save the Queen"[12]

Location of the  United Kingdom  (dark green) ? on the European continent  (light green & dark grey) ? in the European Union  (light green) Capital (and largest city) London 51°30'N, 0°7'W Official languages English[13] (de facto) Recognised regional languages Irish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish[14] Demonym British, Briton Government Constitutional monarchy (Parliamentary democracy)  -  Monarch HM Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Gordon Brown Formation  -  Acts of Union May 1, 1707   -  Act of Union January 1, 1801   -  Anglo-Irish Treaty April 12, 1922  Accession to the European Union January 1, 1973 Area  -  Total 244,820 km? (79th) 94,526 sq mi   -  Water (%) 1.34 Population  -  mid-2006 estimate 60,587,300[1] (22nd)  -  2001 census 58,789,194[15]   -  Density 246 /km? (48th) 637 /sq mi GDP (PPP) 2006 estimate  -  Total $2.375 trillion (5th)  -  Per capita $35,051 (11th) GDP (nominal) 2006 estimate  -  Total $2.373 trillion[16] (5th)  -  Per capita $38,624 (13th) Gini? (1999) 36.8 (medium)  HDI (2006) 0.940 (high) (18th) Currency Pound sterling (?) (GBP) Time zone GMT (UTC+0)  -  Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1) Internet TLD .uk[17] Calling code +44 ^  In the United Kingdom and Dependencies, some other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous (regional) languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, the UK's official name is as follows: Cornish: Rywvaneth Unys Breten Veur ha Kledhbarth Iwerdhon; Irish: R?ocht Aontaithe na Breataine M?ire agus Thuaisceart ?ireann; Scots: Unitit Kinrick o Graet Breetain an Northren Irland; Scottish Gaelic: An R?oghachd Aonaichte na Breatainn Mh?r agus Eirinn a Tuath; Welsh: Teyrnas Unedig Prydain Fawr a Gogledd Iwerddon. ^  This is the royal motto. In Scotland, the royal motto is the Latin phrase Nemo Me Impune Lacessit ("No-one provokes me with impunity"). There is also a variant form of the coat-of-arms for use in Scotland; see Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. ^  See #Symbols below. It also serves as the Royal anthem. ^  English is established by de facto usage. In Wales, the Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg is tasked with ensuring that, "in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice, the English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of equality".[2][3] The B?rd na G?idhlig is tasked with "securing the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language".[4] ^ Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages the Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Cornish, Irish, Ulster Scots and Scots languages are officially recognised as Regional or Minority languages by the UK Government.[5] See also Languages in the United Kingdom. ^  CIA Factbook. Official estimate provided by the UK Office for National Statistics.[6] ^  ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 is GB, but .gb is practically unused. The .eu domain is also shared with other European Union member states. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (also known as the United Kingdom, the U.K., or Britain)[7] is a country[8][9] to the north-west of mainland Europe. It comprises the island of Great Britain, the north-east part of the island of Ireland and many small local islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.[10][11][12] Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy comprising four constituent countries ? England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales ? with Elizabeth II as head of state. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it.[13] The UK has fourteen overseas territories,[14] all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface. It is a highly developed country, with the fifth-largest economy in the world. Britain was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th century,[15] but the economic 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 retains significant economic, cultural, military and high political influence today and is a nuclear power, with the second highest defence spending in the world. It holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the G8, NATO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.