TEST DOCUMENT

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United
Kingdom (U.K. or UK)[15] or Britain,[note 11] is a sovereign country located off the northwestern
coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the
northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands.[16] Northern Ireland is the
only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land borderwith another sovereign state,
the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by
the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and
the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish
Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom's 242,500 square kilometres
(93,600 sq mi) were home to an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.
The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.[17][18] The
current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the
world's longest-serving current head of state.[19] The United Kingdom's capital and largest city
is London, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3
million.[20] Other major cities include Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds and Liverpool.
The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales,
and Northern Ireland.[21] Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast,
respectively. Apart from England, the countries have their own devolved governments,[22] each
with varying powers,[23][24] but such power is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom,
which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution. The nearby Isle of
Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown
dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international
representation.[25] The medieval conquest and subsequent annexation of Wales by the Kingdom
of England, followed by the union between England and Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of
Great Britain, and the union in 1801 of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Irelandcreated
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in
1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland.[note 12] There are fourteen British Overseas Territories,[26] the remnants of the British
Empirewhich, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land mass
and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture
and political systems of many of its former colonies.[27][28][29][30][31]
The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world's sixth-largest economy by
nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It has a high-income
economy and has a very high Human Development Index rating, ranking 14th in the world. It was
the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early
20th centuries.[32][33] The UK remains a great power, with considerable economic, cultural, military,
scientific and political influence internationally.[34][35] It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and
is sixth in military expenditure in the world.[36] It has been a permanent member of the United
Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946. It has been a leading member state of
the European Union (EU) and its predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC), since
1973. A referendum in 2016resulted in 51.9% of the turnout being in favour of leaving the EU,
which is currently scheduled to take place on or before 31 January 2020. The United Kingdom is
also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO,
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol and the World
Trade Organization (WTO).
The 1707 Acts of Union declared that the kingdoms of England and Scotland were "United into
One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".[37][38][note 13] The term "United Kingdom" has
occasionally been used as a description for the former kingdom of Great Britain, although its
official name from 1707 to 1800 was simply "Great Britain".[39][40][41][42][43] The Acts of Union
1800 united the kingdom of Great Britain and the kingdom of Ireland in 1801, forming the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following the partition of Ireland and the independence of
the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland
within the United Kingdom, the name was changed to the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland".[44]
Although the United Kingdom is a sovereign country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland are also widely referred to as countries.[45][46]The UK Prime Minister's website has used
the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom.[21] Some statistical
summaries, such as those for the twelve NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom refer to
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as "regions".[47][48] Northern Ireland is also referred to as a
"province".[49][50] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial,
with the choice often revealing one's political preferences".[51]
The term "Great Britain" conventionally refers to the island of Great Britain, or politically to
England, Scotland and Wales in combination.[52][53][54] It is sometimes used as a loose synonym for
the United Kingdom as a whole.[55]
The term "Britain" is used both as a synonym for Great Britain,[56][57][58] and as a synonym for the
United Kingdom.[59][58] Usage is mixed, with the BBC preferring to use Britain as shorthand only for
Great Britain[60] and the UK Government, while accepting that both terms refer to the United
Kingdom, preferring to use the term UK rather than Britain.[61] The UK Permanent Committee on
Geographical Names lists "United Kingdom" and "UK or U.K." as shortened and abbreviated
geopolitical terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it does not list
"Britain",[62]stating that it has been used "informally" by government websites.[63]
The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom. The
term has no definite legal connotation, but is used in law to refer to United Kingdom citizenship
and matters to do with nationality.[64] People of the United Kingdom use a number of different
terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as
being British, English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, or Irish;[65] or as belonging to a combination
of different national identities.