The full official name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Territory - 242.495 thousand square kilometres.

The population is 67.9 million people (as of 2021). England (84%), Wales (4.8%), Scotland (8.3%) and Northern Ireland (2.9%).

The ethnic composition - British (76%), Scots (5.8%), Irish (1.9%), Welsh (3.1%), Indians (2.3%), Pakistanis (1.8%), Polish (0.9%), Bangladeshi (0.7%), Chinese (0.5%), Arabs (0.4%), from the CIS countries (0.3%), Iranians (0.1%), others (6.1%).

Capital is London (with suburbs - 10.3 million people). The largest cities are Manchester (2,553,379), Birmingham (1,074 million), Leeds (751,500), Glasgow (598,800).

Administrative-territorial division - England - 9 regions, 48 ​​ceremonial counties, 83 metropolitan and non-capital counties, 326 districts, about 4,500 civil districts; Wales - 22 separate main districts (11 of them have the status of counties, 11 - county counties), 6 cities; Northern Ireland - 26 counties, 2 cities; Scotland - 32 municipal areas. Independent administrative units are the Isle of Man, the islands of Guernsey and Jersey.

The national holiday is the birthday of the Queen. The holiday is annually determined by the Government's decision: usually on one of the Saturdays in the first half of June.

The official language is English. Other languages ​​- Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish, Celtic (about 60 thousand people in Scotland).

State religion is Anglican (27 million people) in England and Wales (the head of the church is the monarch), Presbyterian in Scotland (headed by the General Assembly, which includes representatives of both clergy and laity), Roman Catholic - 9 million people, Muslims - 1.6 million people.

Since 1931, the Commonwealth of historically connected countries has formed around the United Kingdom, which includes 54 independent states. Under the direct control of London, there are 15 "overseas territories" - mostly small islands with a total population of about 190 thousand people.

The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the UN Security Council; a member of the OSCE and the Council of Europe; a member of NATO, a member of the G-8, the WTO, OECD, and the G-20.

The State system - Great Britain - is a parliamentary monarchy.

The head of state is King Charles III (since September 8, 2022).

Parliament is a legislative body. It consists of the House of Lords (766 members) and the House of Commons (an elective body of 650 deputies elected for a period of five years). As a result of the December 2019 elections, the seats in the House of Commons were distributed as follows: conservatives - 365, Labour - 203, Liberal Democrats - 11, Scottish National Party - 48, Democratic Unionist Party - 8, others party - 15 seats.

Government, as a rule, is formed by the party leader who wins the majority of seats in the elections and / or enjoys the support of the majority of MPs’ in the House of Commons; consists of cabinet members, ministers who are not members of the Cabinet, and junior ministers (there are altogether about 100 people).

Prime Minister - Rishi Sunak,  Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs - James Cleverly

The system of law is a case law with elements of Roman and modern European law.

The judiciary is the Supreme Court (formerly the Judicial College of the House of Lords); the supreme courts of England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland; the Scottish Court.

The main political parties. Conservative Party. Organizationally formed in 1867. There are about 134,000 members. The leader of the party is Boris Johnson.

The Labour Party (UK LP) is in opposition. It was founded in 1890. Includes about 552 thousand members.

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Formed in March 1988 by the merger of the liberal and social-democratic parties.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) is a centre-left political party that stands for Scotland's independence. Formed in 1934 as a result of the merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party. Includes more than 103 thousand members.

The British Independence Party (BIP) is a political party demanding the withdrawal of the country from the European Union and adhering to conservative and right-populist views. It was formed in 1993. It includes about 39 thousand members. Following the election in June 2017, Paul Nuttall resigned. Parties are coming elections for a new leader.

The Green Party is a political party operating in England and Wales. It was formed in 1990.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a political party headquartered in Belfast. It was founded in 1971.

The Alliance Party is a British liberal political party headquartered in Belfast, distancing itself from the ideologies of both unionism and Irish nationalism. It was formed in 1970.

The Shinn Fein Party is an Irish political party that adheres to a socialist orientation and stands for a united Ireland. It was formed in 1905.

The Social Democratic Party and the Labour Party (SDLP) is a political party in Northern Ireland with ideas of Irish nationalism and social democracy. It was formed in 1970.

The national currency is the British pound sterling.