The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] (commonly known The various terms used to describe the different geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding islands are often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity between some of the actual words used, but also because they are often used loosely. The purpose of this article is to explain the as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state A sovereign state is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. While in abstract terms a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised states will often find it hard to located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands. Notably, in British English usage, the term means Europe excluding the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Ireland and Iceland. It is an island country An island country is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands[citation needed]. As of 2008, forty-seven (appoximately 25%) of the world's countries are island countries,[6][7] spanning an archipelago An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago, is directly derived from the Greek ἄρχι- - arkhi- ("chief") and πέλαγος - pelagos ("sea"). In Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, the Archipelago (from medieval Greek *ἀρχιπέλαγος) was including Great Britain Great Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people in mid-2008, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of, the northeastern part of Ireland Ireland (pronounced [ˈaɾlənd],; Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen); Ulster Scots: Airlann) is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland is the island of Great Britain,, and many small islands. Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɪrlənd/ , locally [ˈaɾlənd], Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)), described as the Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann), is a country in northwestern Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned into two jurisdictions on 3 May 1.[8][9] Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the &, the North Sea The North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of around 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi). A large part, the English Channel The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 560 km (350 mi) long and varies in width from 240 km (150 mi) at its widest, to only 34 km (21 mi) in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of and the Irish Sea The Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean in the south by St George's Channel, and in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France France (pronounced /ˈfræns/ franss or /ˈfrɑːns/ frahns; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a member state of the European Union located in its western region, with several overseas territories and islands located on other by the Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel , known colloquially as the Chunnel, is a 50.5-kilometre (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent near Dover in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is 75 metres (250 ft) deep. At 37.9 kilometres (2.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the perimeters of a written , unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or blended constitution. It differs from absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves as the sole source of political power in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution and unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central government chooses to delegate. Many states in the world have a unitary system of government consisting of four countries Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales: these four together form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, itself described as a country, and constituting a sovereign state. While "countries" is the commonly used descriptive term, owing to the lack of a: England England ( /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental Europe. Most of England, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west. At the time of the 2001 UK Census, its population was 1,685,000, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the population of, Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland and Wales Wales /ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru; pronounced /ˈkəmrɨ/ (help·info)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. Wales has a population estimated at three million and is officially bilingual; both Welsh and English have equal status and bilingual signs are the.[10] It is governed by a parliamentary system A parliamentary system is a system of government where in the ministers of the executive branch are drawn from the legislature, and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined. In such a system, the head of government is both de facto chief executive and chief legislator with its seat of government The seat of government is defined by Brewer's Politics as "the building, complex of buildings or city from which a government exercises its authority". The seat of government is usually located in the capital. In some countries the seat of government differs from the capital, e.g. in the Netherlands where The Hague is the seat of in London London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest and most populous metropolitan area and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures, the capital A capital is the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status; although there are exceptions, a capital is almost always a city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and fixed by law. Alternate terms include capital city and political capital; the latter phrase, but with three devolved Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. It differs from federalism in that the powers devolved may be temporary and ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains, de jure, unitary national administrations in Belfast Belfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, the second largest city on the island of Ireland and the 15th largest city in the United Kingdom, Cardiff Cardiff (pronounced /ˈkɑrdɪf/ , Welsh: Caerdydd (info)) is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the and Edinburgh Edinburgh (pronounced /ˈɛdɪnbrə/ ( listen), ED-in-brə or ED-in-bə-rə; (Scots: Embra/E'nburrie) (Gaelic:Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest city in Scotland and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The city, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. The Channel Island The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. According to the official website of the British Monarchy, they are British Crown dependencies, but neither is part of the United Kingdom; rather they are bailiwicks A bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of authority, experience, activity, study, or interest of Jersey The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands which are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs. Together with the bailiwick of Guernsey, it and Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, and the Isle of Man The Isle of Man , or Mann (Manx: Mannin, [ˈmanɪn]), is a self-governing British Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom are Crown Dependencies The Crown Dependencies are possessions of The Crown in Right of the United Kingdom, as opposed to overseas territories or colonies of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea which means they are constitutionally tied to the British Monarch but are not part of the UK.[11] The UK has fourteen overseas territories The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories that the United Kingdom considers to be its sovereign territory, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself. They are the remnants of the British Empire that have not achieved independence or have voted to remain British territories,[12] all remnants of the British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a, which at its height in 1922 encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, the largest empire in history An empire involves the extension of a state's sovereignty over territories all around the world. For example, because of the British Empire's territories around the globe, it was often said in the 19th century that "the sun never sets on the British Empire." This article provides a list of the largest empires in world history. British influence can still be observed in the language English is a West Germanic language that developed in England and south-eastern Scotland during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of, culture The culture of the United Kingdom refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the United Kingdom and the peoples of Britain. It is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, major power, and, its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—each of which have preserved and legal systems Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action. A "common law system" is a legal system that gives great precedential weight to common law, on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different of many of its former colonies.

The UK is a developed country The term developed country is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue and is surrounded by fierce debate. Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita;, with the world's sixth largest economy This article includes a list of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product , the market value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given year. The GDP dollar estimates presented here are calculated at market or government official exchange rates by nominal GDP The gross domestic product or gross domestic income (GDI) is a basic measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living, though its use as a stand-in for measuring the standard of living and the seventh largest There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). The GDP dollar estimates given on this page are derived from purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations by purchasing power parity The purchasing power parity theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power. Based on a theory proposed by the School of Salamanca in the 16th century , it was developed in its modern form by Gustav Cassel in 1918, it is based on the law of one price: the theory states that, in ideally.[4] It was the world's first industrialised Industrialisation , Industrialization (American English), is the process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a pre-industrial society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly country[13] and the world's foremost power Power in international relations is defined in several different ways. Political scientists, historians, and practitioners of international relations have used the following concepts of political power: during the 19th and early 20th centuries,[14] but the economic and social 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 remains a major power A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess economic, military, diplomatic, and cultural strength, which may cause other smaller nations to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of their own. International relations theorists have with strong economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and has the third highest defence spending in the world. It is a Member State of the European Union, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, G8, G20, NATO, OECD, and the World Trade Organization.

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German Bilfinger Berger wins contracts in the United Kingdom - Construction and Maintenance News
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German Bilfinger Berger wins contracts in the United Kingdom

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... framework agreements for a range of industrial services with BP and other international oil and gas companies at four sites in the United Kingdom . ...
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The Bing vs Google Battle Steps Up in the United Kingdom
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The Bing vs Google Battle Steps Up in the United Kingdom

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Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:02:05 GM

Will Bing increase their market share for searches in the . United Kingdom. and across Europe?

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Tue Mar 9 05:27:48 2010
Does the United Kingdom Gov't want an international definition of terrorism via the UN?
Q. I am an American, trying to do a report from the perspective of the UK. However, I cannot find any information on the United Kingdom's opinion of whether or not there should be an international definition of terrorism. I figure that they would sit on one side of the fence or the other. Can anyone help?
Asked by Amada - Wed Dec 2 06:42:01 2009 - - 7 Answers - 0 Comments

A. There is already a UN-recognized definition of terrorism. I direct your attention to UN Security Council resolution 1566. It defines terrorism as "criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act." This passed unanimously in October 2004. The United Kingdom was one of the sponsors of the resolution and the UK ambassador stated that the UNSC members had "reaffirmed their view that terrorism in all its forms and… [cont.]
Answered by Tom - Fri Dec 4 16:31:34 2009

Yahoo Answers Search: United Kingdom,
Sat Mar 6 06:43:07 2010