United Kingdom
State · Capital: London
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with a population of over 69 million in 2024; London is its capital and largest city. It was created in 1707 when the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Acts of Union 1800 incorporated Ireland, though most of Ireland seceded in 1922 as the Irish Free State. The UK became the first industrialized country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and at its height in the 1920s the British Empire encompassed around a quarter of the world's landmass and population, the largest empire in history. Both world wars damaged Britain's economic power, and a global wave of decolonization followed.
Office holders on November 2, 2026
Member of Parliament 14
Jeremy Corbyn
1983–present
Iain Duncan Smith
1992–present
John Healey
1997–present
Yvette Cooper
1997–present
Jeremy Hunt
2005–present
Ed Miliband
2005–present
Priti Patel
2010–present
Rachel Reeves
2010–present
Shabana Mahmood
2010–present
James Cleverly
2015–present
Suella Braverman
2015–present
Rishi Sunak
2015–present
Kemi Badenoch
2017–present
Andy Burnham
2026–present
Offices
| Office | Holders | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Monarch | 10 | 1801–present |
| Prime Minister | 73 | 1721–present |
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | 84 | 1717–present |
| Home Secretary | 98 | 1782–present |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | 65 | 1727–1964 |
| Secretary of State for War | 30 | 1854–1963 |
| Secretary of State for Air | 15 | 1916–1955 |
| Secretary of State for the Colonies | 57 | 1854–1966 |
| Minister of Defence | 3 | 1940–1955 |
| President of the Board of Trade | 62 | 1775–2026 |
| Minister of Munitions | 5 | 1915–1921 |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | 136 | 1783–present |
| Leader of the Opposition | 77 | 1807–present |
| Member of Parliament several at a time | 304 | 1781–present |
Relations
- Colonies: British Raj (1858–1947), Sultanate of Egypt (1914–1922), Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948), Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963)
- Member of Triple Entente (1907–1917), United Nations (1945–), NATO (1949–), SEATO (1955–1977), CENTO (1955–1979), European Economic Community (1973–1993), G7 (1975–), European Union (1993–2020)
- Successor of Great Britain (1801–)
- Parties and groups: Liberal Party (UK), Conservative Party (UK), Whigs (British political party), Independent Labour Party, Liberal Unionist Party, Liberal Democrats (UK)
Military units
Royal Navy · Royal Marines · Abercromby's army in Egypt (1801) · Parker's fleet at Copenhagen (1801) · British Mediterranean Fleet (1805) · HMS Shannon · Moore's army (1808–1809) · Anglo-Portuguese Army · 3rd (UK) Division · Hoste's frigate squadron (1811) · Royal Navy North America Station · Right Division (Upper Canada) · Centre Division (Upper Canada) · Barclay's Lake Erie squadron · Ross's Chesapeake army · Downie's Lake Champlain squadron · Prevost's army (1814) · Pakenham's army (New Orleans) · Wellington's Anglo-allied army (1815) · 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot · British Black Sea Fleet (1854–1856) · British Baltic Fleet (1854–1855) · HMS Harrier · 1st Flintshire Rifle Volunteers · Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) · Seymour Expedition force · Grand Fleet · 1st Mounted Division · 63rd (Royal Naval) Division · 11th (Northern) Division
Eras
Industrial Revolution (1760–1840) · Scramble for Africa (1881–1914) · Cold War (1947–1991) · Decolonisation of Africa (1951–1975)