Country · Europe
United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom is a country in Northern Europe. Its capital city is London. About 66.5 million people live there, in an area of 242 900 square kilometres.
Picture credit: Colin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Benjamin Shaw (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Benjamin Shaw (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Edgar El (CC BY 3.0) · mattbuck (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is United Kingdom?
United Kingdom lies in Northern Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 6 011 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 12 429 km long.
It shares a border with 1 country: Ireland.
How big is United Kingdom?
United Kingdom covers 242 900 square kilometres.
That is about 5.9 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 78th largest.
Spread out evenly, that is roughly 273.6 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in United Kingdom?
About 66.5 million people live in United Kingdom.
That is the 22nd biggest population in the world.
People here speak English.
They pay with the British pound (£).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 78 years.
The land of United Kingdom
Its coast runs for about 12 429 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 621 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes United Kingdom different?
A dish the country is known for: Fish and chips and Chicken tikka masala (Indian-British curry).
Websites from here often end in .uk.
United Kingdom and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 9 live in United Kingdom.
It takes up about 0.18 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe it is the 11th largest of 45 countries, and the 4th most populated.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
United Kingdom and its neighbours
United Kingdom is about 3.5 times the size of Ireland, its largest neighbour.
More people live in United Kingdom than in Ireland — 66.5 million against 4.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 17 live wild in United Kingdom: Red fox, European badger, Eurasian otter, Eurasian beaver, Red squirrel and European hedgehog and more. The highest mountain we cover here is Ben Nevis, at 1 345 metres.
Red fox
European badger
Eurasian otter
Eurasian beaver
Red squirrel
European hedgehog
European rabbit
European brown hare
Common pipistrelle bat
Golden eagle
Barn owl
Mute swan
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
Questions children ask
What is the capital of United Kingdom?
The capital of United Kingdom is London. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in United Kingdom?
About 66.5 million people live in United Kingdom, which makes it the 22nd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border United Kingdom?
United Kingdom borders Ireland — 1 neighbour in total.
How big is United Kingdom?
United Kingdom covers 242 900 square kilometres, making it the 78th largest country in the world. That is about 5.9 times the size of Switzerland.
Which continent is United Kingdom in?
United Kingdom is in Europe, in the part called Northern Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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