Country · Europe
United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom is a country in Northern Europe. About 66.5 million people live there, in an area of 242 900 square kilometres. Its capital city is London.
Picture credit: Colin (CC BY-SA 4.0) · oatsy40 (CC BY 2.0) · GkgAlf (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Edgar El (CC BY 3.0) · mattbuck (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the United Kingdom?
The 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 the United Kingdom?
The 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 everybody out evenly and you get about 273.6 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in the United Kingdom?
About 66.5 million people live in the 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 the 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 the United Kingdom different?
Dishes the country is known for: Fish and chips and Chicken tikka masala.
Websites from here often end in .uk.
The United Kingdom and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 9 live in the United Kingdom.
It takes up about 0.18 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 11th of 45 by size, and 4th by population.
The United Kingdom and its neighbours
The United Kingdom is about 3.5 times the size of Ireland, its only neighbour.
More people live in the United Kingdom than in Ireland — 66.5 million against 4.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 70 live wild in the United Kingdom: Red fox, European badger, Eurasian otter, Eurasian beaver, Red squirrel, European hedgehog and more. The highest mountain in the country is Ben Nevis, at 1 345 metres. The longest river in the country is the River Severn. The largest lake in the country is Lough Neagh.
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
How big is the United Kingdom compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 39 times as big as the United Kingdom: 9 372 610 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of the United Kingdom?
The capital of the United Kingdom is London. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in the United Kingdom?
About 66.5 million people live in the United Kingdom, which makes it the 22nd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom borders Ireland — 1 neighbour in total.
How big is the United Kingdom?
The 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.
What is the highest mountain in the United Kingdom?
The highest mountain in the United Kingdom is Ben Nevis, 1 345 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in the United Kingdom?
The longest river in the United Kingdom is the River Severn, about 354 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in the United Kingdom?
The largest lake in the United Kingdom is Lough Neagh. It covers about 396 km².
Which continent is the United Kingdom in?
The 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.
Last checked: · How these pages are made