Topic outline of the United Kingdom

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For an alphabetical index of this subject, see the List of United Kingdom-related topics.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain,^[1] is a sovereign island country^[2]^[3] located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of the island of Ireland and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.^[4] 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 consists of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with its seat of government in London, the capital, and a constitutional monarchy with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as the 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.^[5] The UK has fourteen overseas territories,^[6] all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, making it the largest empire in history. As a direct result of the empire, British influence can be observed in the language and culture of states such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and the United States of America, and other less globally influential independent states. HM Queen Elizabeth II remains the head of the Commonwealth of Nations and head of state of the Commonwealth realms.

The following topic outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to United Kingdom:

United Kingdom portal


Flag of United Kingdom		Coat of arms of United Kingdom

1 General reference
2 Geography of the UK
3 Government and politics of the UK
4 History of the UK
5 Culture of the UK
- 5.1 The Arts in the UK
- 5.2 Sports and games in the UK
  - 5.2.1 Sport in the UK
  - 5.2.2 Games in the UK
6 Economy of the UK
7 Education in the UK
8 Infrastructure of the UK
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

[edit] General reference

Pronunciation: /ˈkɪŋdəm/
Abbreviation: UK
Adjective: British
International rankings of the United Kingdom
Terminology of the British Isles
United Kingdom-related topics

[edit] Geography of the UK

Satellite photo of the United Kingdom

Main article: Geography of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is: an island country
Location:
- Atlantic Ocean
- Northern Hemisphere, on the Prime Meridian
- Eurasia (but not on the mainland)
  - Europe
    - Northern Europe
      - British Isles
        
        Great Britain (island, all of it)
        
        Ireland (island, northeastern sixth of it)
    - Western Europe
- Time zone(s): GMT
- Extreme points of the United Kingdom
Population of the United Kingdom: 60,975,000 people (2007 estimate) - 22nd most populous country
Area of the United Kingdom: 244,820 km² (94,526 sq mi) - 79th largest country
Atlas of the United Kingdom
Geography of the United Kingdom

[edit] Environment of the UK

Twelve areas are designated as national parks in England and Wales, and a 13th (South Downs) is in the process of being designated.

Main article: Environment of the United Kingdom

Climate of the United Kingdom
Ecology of the United Kingdom
Geology of the United Kingdom
National parks of the United Kingdom
- National Parks of England and Wales
- National Parks of Scotland
Protected areas of the United Kingdom
- Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA)
- Heritage Coast
- Scenic areas
  - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - England, Wales, Northern Ireland
  - National Scenic Area - Scotland
- Scheduled Ancient Monument
- Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (European Union)
- Special Protection Area (SPA) (European Union)
- Wetlands designated under the Ramsar Convention (International)
Wildlife of the United Kingdom
- Flora of the United Kingdom
- Fauna of the United Kingdom
  - Birds of the United Kingdom
    - Birds of Great Britain
  - Mammals of the United Kingdom

[edit] Geographic features of the UK

Main article: Landforms of the United Kingdom

[edit] Regions of the UK

Time zone of the UK

[edit] Ecoregions of the UK

Main article: Ecoregions in the United Kingdom

[edit] Subdivisions of the UK

Main article:Subdivisions of the United Kingdom

Islands of the United Kingdom

[edit] Constituent countries of the UK

Main article: Constituent country

[edit] England

Main articles: England and Subdivisions of England

Regions of England
- Counties of England (see also Metropolitan county and Shire county)
  - Districts of England (see also Metropolitan district and Shire district)
    - Civil parishes in England
- Greater London
  - London boroughs
- Unitary authorities of England

Structure of English administrative divisions (since 1995)

Region

Metropolitan district

Shire district

n/a

London borough

Parish level

Civil parish

n/a

[edit] Northern Ireland

Map of the United Kingdom

Main articles: Northern Ireland and Subdivisions of Northern Ireland

Regions of Northern Ireland
- Districts of Northern Ireland

[edit] Scotland

Main articles: Scotland and Subdivisions of Scotland

[edit] Wales

Main articles: Wales and Subdivisions of Wales

[edit] Municipalities of the UK

Main article: Municipalities of the United Kingdom

Cities of the UK
- Capital of the United Kingdom: London
- Second city of the United Kingdom
- Cities of the UK by population
Towns of the United Kingdom

[edit] Demography of the UK

Main article: Demographics of the United Kingdom

[edit] Government and politics of the UK

Main articles: Her Majesty's Government, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, and Politics of the United Kingdom

Form of government: parliamentary multi-party representative democratic constitutional monarchy
Capital of the United Kingdom: London

[edit] Branches of the government of the UK

Main article: Government of the United Kingdom

[edit] Executive branch of the government of the UK

[edit] Legislative branch of the government of the UK

Parliament of the United Kingdom (bicameral)
- Upper house: House of Lords
- Lower house: House of Commons of the United Kingdom

[edit] Judicial branch of the government of the UK

Main article: Courts of the United Kingdom

[edit] Foreign relations of the UK

Main article: Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

Anglo-American relations (US-UK relations)

[edit] International organization membership

The United Kingdom is a member of:

[edit] Law and order in the UK

Main article: Law of the United Kingdom

[edit] Military of the UK

Main article: British Armed Forces

[edit] Local government in the UK

Main article: List of articles about local government in the United Kingdom

[edit] History of the UK

Main article: History of the United Kingdom, Timeline of British history, and Current events of the United Kingdom

[edit] Culture of the UK

Main article: Culture of the United Kingdom

[edit] The Arts in the UK

[edit] Sports and games in the UK

[edit] Sport in the UK

Main article: Sport in the United Kingdom

[edit] Games in the UK

[edit] Economy of the UK

Main article: Economy of the United Kingdom

Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 5th (fifth)

United Kingdom Stock Exchange

[edit] Education in the UK

Main articles: Education in the United Kingdom and List of schools in the United Kingdom

[edit] Infrastructure of the UK

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ See British Isles (terminology) for further explanation of the usage of the term "Britain" in geographical and political contexts.
^ "Encyclopaedia Britannica". Retrieved on 2007-09-25. "Island country located off the north-western coast of mainland Europe"
^ www.number-10.gov.uk. "Countries within a country". Retrieved on 2007-06-13. "Countries within a country"
^ "Member States: United Kingdom". UK Presidency of the EU 2005. Retrieved on 29 May, 2006.
^ "UK gov explanation of names".
^ "UK Overseas Territories". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Retrieved on 2007-04-20.

[edit] External links

Find more about the United Kingdom on Wikipedia's sister projects:

Definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from Wikiversity

v • d • e Lists in Wikipedia

Outline of knowledge · Topic lists (article indexes) · Glossaries · Countries · People · Timelines

v • d • e Lists by country

Articles that include one or more maps are shown in italics.

Lists of topics	Country articles · portals · categories · topics Culture · Demography · Economy · Geography · History · Law enforcement · Maps · Politics · Religion · Sport · Tourism · Transport

Codes	Airline codes · Country calling codes · FIPS country codes · Internet TLDs · IOC country codes · FIFA country codes · ISO country codes · Ship prefixes

Names and symbols	Adjectives · Country name etymologies · Country native names · Coats of arms · Flags · National mottos · Anthems by country · National emblems

Politics and government	Administrative divisions table · Election results · Incumbents · Intelligence agencies · Heads of state and government · National legislatures · Political parties (party systems) · Sovereign states · System of government · Member states of the United Nations · Voting systems

Other data by country	Abortion law · Airlines · Armed forces · Battles · Cathedrals · Cemeteries · Cities · Colleges and universities · Common family names · Cuisine · Currencies · Death penalty · Education · Emergency contraception · Energy · Euthanasia law · Football (soccer) · Forex rates · Homosexuality laws · Human rights · Islands · Tram and light-rail transit systems · Music genres · National capitals (historical) · National parks · Newspapers · Novelists · Official languages · People · Railway companies · Schools · School leaving age · World Heritage Sites

Other lists	Member states of the European Union (by accession · by political system) · Oldest person · Tallest buildings and structures

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic_outline_of_the_United_Kingdom"