Page last updated on January 27, 2020
Location:
Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France
Geographic coordinates:
54 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 243,610 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 241,930 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 1,680 sq km
note 1: the percentage area breakdown of the four UK countries is: England 53%, Scotland 32%, Wales 9%, and Northern Ireland 6%
note 2: includes Rockall and the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
81
Area - comparative:
twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon
Area comparison map:
twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
total: 490 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (1):
Ireland 490 km
Coastline:
12,429 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
continental shelf:
as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]
exclusive fishing zone: 200
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive fishing zone country ranks ]
Climate:
temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
More Climate Details
Terrain:
mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Elevation:
mean elevation: 162 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point:
The Fens -4 m
highest point:
Ben Nevis 1,345 m
Natural resources:
coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land
Land use:
agricultural land: 71%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 25.1%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.2%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 45.7%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 11.9%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 17.1%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]
Irrigated land:
950 sq km
(2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
Population distribution:
the core of the population lies in and around London, with significant clusters found in central Britain around Manchester and Liverpool, in the Scotish lowlands between Endinburgh and Glasgow, southern Wales in and around Cardiff, and far eastern Northern Ireland centered on Belfast
Natural hazards:
winter windstorms; floods
Environment - current issues:
air pollution improved but remains a concern, particularly in the London region; soil pollution from pesticides and heavy metals; decline in marine and coastal habitats brought on by pressures from housing, tourism, and industry
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel (the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel); because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters
NOTE: 1) The information regarding United Kingdom on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of United Kingdom Geography 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about United Kingdom Geography 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
This page was last modified 27-Jan-20
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