United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Capital (and largest city) London

Official language(s) English

Recognised regional languages Irish, Ulster Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Welsh, Cornish

Government: Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy

Monarch: Elizabeth II

Prime Minister: David Cameron MP

Legislature: Parliament

- Upper House House of Lords

- Lower House House of Commons

Formation: Acts of Union 1 May 1707

- Acts of Union 1 January 1801

- Anglo-Irish Treaty 12 April 1922

Area: Total 243,610 km2 (80th)

Population: Mid-2010 estimate 62,262,000

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.

The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right[10][11] and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[12] There are three devolved national administrations, each with varying powers,[13][14] situated in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh; the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies[15] and fourteen overseas territories.[16] These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.

The UK is a developed country and has the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP (gross domestic product - валовой внутренний продукт) and seventh-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The UK remains a great power with leading economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence.

The name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" was introduced in 1927 by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act to reflect the granting of independence to the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland still within the UK. Prior to this, the Acts of Union 1800, that led to the uniting the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, had given the new state the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain before 1801 is occasionally referred to as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain". However, Section 1 of both of the 1707 Acts of Union declare that England and Scotland are "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The term united kingdom is found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the new state but only became official with the union with Ireland in 1801.

Although the United Kingdom, as a sovereign state, is a country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also referred to as countries, whether or not they are sovereign states or have devolved or other self-government.[29][30] The British Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom.[11] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences."[31] Other terms used for Northern Ireland include "region" and "province".[32][33]

The United Kingdom is often referred to as Britain. British government sources frequently use the term as a short form for the United Kingdom, whilst media style guides generally allow its use but point out that the longer term Great Britain refers only to England, Scotland and Wales.[34][35][36] However, some foreign usage, particularly in the United States, uses Great Britain as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom.[37][38] Also, the United Kingdom's Olympic team competes under the name "Great Britain" or "Team GB".[39][40] GB and GBR are the standard country codes for the United Kingdom (see ISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) and are consequently commonly used by international organisations to refer to the United Kingdom.

The adjective British is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom. Although the term has no definite legal connotation, it is used in legislation to refer to United Kingdom citizenship.[41] However, British people use a number of different terms to describe their national identity. Some may identify themselves as British only, or British and English, Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish. Others may identify themselves as only English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish and not British. In Northern Ireland, some describe themselves as only Irish.[42][43][44]

History

See also: History of the British Isles

Prior to 1707

Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.

Main articles: History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, History of Ireland, and History of the formation of the United Kingdom

Settlement by anatomically modern humans of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago.[45] By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged, in the main, to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brythonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland.[46] The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain, was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing the Brythonic area mainly to what was to become Wales.[47] The region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century.[48] Meanwhile, Gaelic-speakers in north west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in the 5th century)[49][50] united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century.[51]

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings and the events leading to it.

In 1066, the Normans invaded England and after its conquest, seized large parts of Wales, conquered much of Ireland and settled in Scotland bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture.[52] The Norman elites greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with, each of the local cultures.[53] Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and made an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to annex Scotland. Thereafter, Scotland maintained its independence, albeit in near-constant conflict with England. The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years War.[54]

The early modern period saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country.[55] Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England,[56] and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown.[57] In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and land given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.[58] In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political institutions.[59][60] In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in a series of connected wars (including the English Civil War) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.[61][62] Although the monarchy was restored, it ensured (with the Glorious Revolution of 1688) that, unlike much of the rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system.[63] During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power (and the interest in voyages of discovery) led to the acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies, particularly in North America.[64][65]

Since the Acts of Union of 1707

Main article: History of the United Kingdom

The Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.

On 1 May 1707, a new kingdom of Great Britain came into being, created by the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in accordance with the Treaty of Union that had been negotiated the previous year and ratified by the English and Scottish Parliaments passing Acts of Union.[66][67][68]

In the 18th century, the country played an important role in developing Western ideas of the parliamentary system as well as making significant contributions to literature, the arts, and science.[18] The British-led Industrial Revolution transformed the country and fuelled the growing British Empire. During this time Britain, like other great powers, was involved in colonial exploitation, including the Atlantic slave trade, although with the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 the United Kingdom took a leading role in battling the trade in slaves.[69] The colonies in North America had been the main focus of British colonial activity. However, with their loss following the American War of Independence, imperial ambition turned to other parts of the globe, particularly India.[70]

In 1800, while the wars with France still raged, the Parliaments of Great Britain and of Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which came into being on 1 January 1801.[71]

The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the start of Pax Britannica.

After the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), the United Kingdom emerged as the principal naval and economic power of the 19th century (with London the largest city in the world from about 1830 to 1930)[72] and remained a foremost power into the mid-20th century.[73] Unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted the role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica.[74] It was also a period of rapid economic, colonial, and industrial growth. Britain was described as the "workshop of the world",[75] and the British Empire grew to include India, large parts of Africa, and many other territories across the world. Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries, such as China, Argentina and Siam.[76][77] Domestically, there was a shift to free trade and laissez-faire policies and a very significant widening of the voting franchise. The country saw a huge population increase during the century, accompanied by rapid urbanization, resulting in significant social and economic stresses.[78] By the end of the century, other states began to challenge Britain's industrial dominance.[79]

Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme. More than 885,000 British soldiers lost their lives on the battlefields of World War I.

The UK, along with Russia, France and (after 1917) the USA, was one of the major powers opposing the German Empire and its allies in World War I (1914–18).[80] The UK armed forces grew to over five million people[81] engaged across much of its empire and several regions of Europe, and increasingly took a major role on the Western front. The nation suffered an estimated two and a half million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt.[81] After the war the United Kingdom received the League of Nations mandate over former German and Ottoman colonies, and the British Empire had expanded to its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population.[82] However, the rise of Irish Nationalism and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921,[83] with the Irish Free State becoming independent with Dominion status in 1922, and Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom.[84] The Great Depression (1929–32) occurred at a time when the UK was still far from having recovered from the effects of the war, and led to hardship as well as political and social unrest.[85]

The United Kingdom was one of the three main Allies of World War II. Following the defeat of its European allies in the first year of the war, the United Kingdom continued the fight against Germany, notably in the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. After the victory, the UK was one of the Big Three powers that met to plan the post-war world. The war left the United Kingdom financially damaged. However, Marshall Aid and loans from both the United States and Canada helped the UK on the road to recovery.[86]

Territories that were at one time part of the British Empire. Current British Overseas Territories are underlined in red.

The Labour government in the immediate post-war years initiated a radical programme of changes having a significant impact on British society for the following decades.[87] Domestically, major industries and public utilities were nationalized, a Welfare State was established, and a comprehensive publicly-funded healthcare system, the National Health Service, was created.[88] In response to the rise of local nationalism, the Labour government's own ideological sympathies and Britain's now diminished economic position, a policy of decolonisation was initiated with the granting of independence to India and Pakistan in 1947.[89] Over the next three decades most territories of the Empire gained independence and became sovereign members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Although the new post-war limits of Britain's political role were illustrated by the Suez Crisis of 1956, the UK nevertheless became one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and was the third country to develop a nuclear weapons arsenal (with its first atomic bomb test in 1952). The international spread of the English language also ensured the continuing international influence of its literature and culture, while from the 1960s its popular culture also found influence abroad. As a result of a shortage of workers in the 1950s, the British Government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries, thereby transforming Britain into a multi-ethnic society in the following decades.[90] In 1973, the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community (EEC), and when the EEC became the European Union (EU) in 1992, the UK was one of its 12 founding members. From the late 1960s Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence (sometimes affecting elsewhere in the UK and also the Republic of Ireland) conventionally known as the Troubles. It is usually considered to have ended with the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement of 1998.[91][92][93]

Following a period of global economic slowdown and industrial strife in the 1970s, the Conservative Government of the 1980s initiated a radical policy of deregulation, particularly of the financial sector, flexible labour markets, the sale of state-owned companies (privatisation), and the withdrawal of subsidies to others.[94] Aided, from 1984, by the inflow of substantial North Sea oil revenues, the UK experienced a period of significant economic growth.[95] Around the end of the 20th century there were major changes to the governance of the UK with the establishment of devolved national administrations for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales following pre-legislative referendums,[96] and the statutory incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Domestic controversy surrounded some of Britain's overseas military deployments in the first decade of the 21st century, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.[97]

Geography

Main article: Geography of the United Kingdom

The topography of the UK.

The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles[98] archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the south-east coast coming within 35 kilometres (22 mi) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.[99] As of 1993 10% of the UK was forested, 46% used for pastures and 25% used for agriculture.[100] The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London is the defining point of the Prime Meridian.

The United Kingdom lies between latitudes 49° to 61° N, and longitudes 9° W to 2° E. Northern Ireland shares a 360-kilometre (224 mi) land boundary with the Republic of Ireland.[99] The coastline of Great Britain is 17,820 kilometres (11,073 mi) long.[101] It is connected to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel, which at 50 kilometres (31 mi) (38 kilometres (24 mi) underwater) is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.[102]

England accounts for just over half of the total area of the UK, covering 130,395 square kilometres (50,350 sq mi).[103] Most of the country consists of lowland terrain,[100] with mountainous terrain north-west of the Tees-Exe line; including the Cumbrian Mountains of the Lake District, the Pennines and limestone hills of the Peak District, Exmoor and Dartmoor. The main rivers and estuaries are the Thames, Severn and the Humber. England's highest mountain is Scafell Pike (978 metres (3,209 ft)) in the Lake District. Its principal rivers are the Severn, Thames, Humber, Tees, Tyne, Tweed, Avon, Exe and Mersey.[100]

Ben Nevis, in Scotland, is the highest point in the British Isles

Scotland accounts for just under a third of the total area of the UK, covering 78,772 square kilometres (30,410 sq mi)[104] and including nearly eight hundred islands,[105] predominantly west and north of the mainland; notably the Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands. The topography of Scotland is distinguished by the Highland Boundary Fault—a geological rock fracture—which traverses Scotland from Arran in the west to Stonehaven in the east.[106] The faultline separates two distinctively different regions; namely the Highlands to the north and west and the lowlands to the south and east. The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous land, including Ben Nevis which at 1,343 metres (4,406 ft) is the highest point in the British Isles.[107] Lowland areas, especially the narrow waist of land between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth known as the Central Belt, are flatter and home to most of the population including Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, and Edinburgh, its capital and political centre.

Wales accounts for less than a tenth of the total area of the UK, covering 20,779 square kilometres (8,020 sq mi).[108] Wales is mostly mountainous, though South Wales is less mountainous than North and mid Wales. The main population and industrial areas are in South Wales, consisting of the coastal cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and the South Wales Valleys to their north. The highest mountains in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa) which, at 1,085 metres (3,560 ft), is the highest peak in Wales.[100] The 14, or possibly 15, Welsh mountains over 3,000 feet (914 m) high are known collectively as the Welsh 3000s. Wales has over 1,200 km (750 miles) of coastline. There are several islands off the Welsh mainland, the largest of which is Anglesey (Ynys Môn) in the northwest.

Northern Ireland accounts for just 14,160 square kilometres (5,470 sq mi) and is mostly hilly. It includes Lough Neagh which, at 388 square kilometres (150 sq mi), is the largest lake in the British Isles by area.[109] The highest peak in Northern Ireland is Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains at 852 metres (2,795 ft).[100]

Climate

Main article: Climate of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round.[99] The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below −11 °C (12 °F) or rising above 35 °C (95 °F).[110] The prevailing wind is from the south-west and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean,[99] although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind—as the majority of the rain falls over the western regions the eastern parts are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters; especially in the west where winters are wet and even moreso over high ground. Summers are warmest in the south-east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to great depth away from high ground.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative geography of the United Kingdom

Administrative units of the United Kingdom

Each country of the United Kingdom has its own system of administrative and geographic demarcation, which often has origins that pre-date the formation of the United Kingdom itself. Consequently there is "no common stratum of administrative unit encompassing the United Kingdom".[111] Until the 19th century there was little change to those arrangements, but there has since been a constant evolution of role and function.[112] Change did not occur in a uniform manner and the devolution of power over local government to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland means that future changes are unlikely to be uniform either.

The organisation of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the UK parliament and the Government of the United Kingdom, as England does not have a devolved parliament. The upper-tier subdivisions of England are the nine Government office regions or European Union government office regions.[113] One region, Greater London, has had a directly elected assembly and mayor since 2000 following popular support for the proposal in a referendum.[114] It was intended that other regions would also be given their own elected regional assemblies but the rejection of a proposed assembly in the North East region, by a referendum in 2004, stopped this idea in its tracks.[115] Below the region level England has either county councils and district councils or unitary authorities and London which consists of 32 London boroughs. Councillors are elected by the first-past-the-post system in single-member wards or by the multi-member plurality system in multi-member wards.[116]

Local government in Scotland is divided on a basis of 32 council areas, with wide variation in both size and population. The cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are separate council areas as is the Highland Council which includes a third of Scotland's area but just over 200,000 people. The power invested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors, of which there are currently 1,222[117] and are each paid a part-time salary. Elections are conducted by single transferable vote in multi-member wards that elect either three or four councillors. Each council elects a Provost, or Convenor, to chair meetings of the council and to act as a figurehead for the area. Councillors are subject to a code of conduct enforced by the Standards Commission for Scotland.[118] The representative association of Scotland's local authorities is the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).[119]

Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary authorities. These include the cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport which are unitary authorities in their own right.[120] Elections are held every four years under the first-past-the-post system.[121] The most recent elections were held in May 2008. The Welsh Local Government Association represents the interests of local authorities in Wales.[122]

Local government in Northern Ireland has, since 1973, been organised into 26 district councils, each elected by single transferable vote. Their powers are limited to services such as collecting waste, controlling dogs, and maintaining parks and cemeteries.[123] On 13 March 2008 the executive agreed on proposals to create 11 new councils and replace the present system.[124] The next local elections were postponed until 2011 to facilitate this.[125]

Dependencies

Main articles: British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

The fourteen British Overseas Territories are indicated in red

The United Kingdom has sovereignty over seventeen territories which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself: 14 British Overseas Territories[126] and three Crown Dependencies.

The fourteen British Overseas Territories are: Anguilla; Bermuda; the British Antarctic Territory; the British Indian Ocean Territory; the British Virgin Islands; the Cayman Islands; the Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; the Turks and Caicos Islands; the Pitcairn Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus.[127] British claims in Antarctica are not universally recognised.[128] Collectively Britain's overseas territories encompass an approximate land area of 667,018 square miles (1,727,570 km2) and a population of approximately 260,000 people.[129] They are the remnants of the British Empire and several have specifically voted to remain British territories.

The Crown Dependencies are British possessions of the Crown, as opposed to overseas territories of the UK.[130] They comprise the Channel Island Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea. Being independently administered jurisdictions they do not form part of the United Kingdom or of the European Union, although the UK government manages their foreign affairs and defence and the UK Parliament has the authority to legislate on their behalf. The power to pass legislation affecting the islands ultimately rests with their own respective legislative assemblies, with the assent of the Crown (Privy Council or, in the case of the Isle of Man, in certain circumstances the Lieutenant-Governor).[131] Since 2005 each Crown dependency has had a Chief Minister as its head of government.

Politics

Main articles: Politics of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of the United Kingdom, and Elections in the United Kingdom

HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms

The United Kingdom is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state of the UK as well as of fifteen other independent Commonwealth countries. The monarch itself is symbolic rather than political, and only has "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn".[132] The United Kingdom has an uncodified constitution,[133] as do only three other countries in the world.[note 7] The Constitution of the United Kingdom thus consists mostly of a collection of disparate written sources, including statutes, judge-made case law and international treaties, together with constitutional conventions. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and "constitutional law" the UK Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change.[134]

Government

The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world—a legacy of the British Empire. The parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster has two houses; an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords. Any bill passed requires Royal Assent to become law. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom since the devolved parliament in Scotland as well as the devolved assemblies in Northern Ireland and Wales are not sovereign bodies and could, theoretically, be abolished by the UK parliament.

The position of prime minister, the UK's head of government,[135] belongs to the member of parliament who can obtain the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons, usually the current leader of the largest political party in that chamber. The prime minister and cabinet are formally appointed by the monarch to form Her Majesty's Government, though the prime minister chooses the cabinet and, by convention, HM The Queen respects the prime minister's choices.[136]

The Palace of Westminster, seat of both houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and become Ministers of the Crown. The Rt. Hon. David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, has been Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 11 May 2010.[137] For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is currently divided into 650 constituencies[138] with each electing a single member of parliament by simple plurality. General elections are called by the monarch when the prime minister so advises. The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 require that a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election.[139]

The UK's three major political parties are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. During the 2010 general election these three parties won 622 out of 650 seats available in the House of Commons; 621 seats at the 2010 general election[140] and 1 more at the delayed by-election in Thirsk and Malton.[141] Most of the remaining seats were won by minor parties that only contest elections in one part of the UK: the Scottish National Party (Scotland only); Plaid Cymru (Wales only); and the Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Ulster Unionist Party, and Sinn Féin (Northern Ireland only, though Sinn Féin also contests elections in the Republic of Ireland). In accordance with party policy no elected Sinn Féin member of parliament has ever attended the House of Commons to speak on behalf of their constituents – this is because members of parliament are required to take an oath of allegiance to the monarch. The current five Sinn Féin MPs have however, since 2002, made use of the offices and other facilities available at Westminster.[142] For elections to the European Parliament the UK currently has 72 MEPs, elected in 12 multi-member constituencies.[143]

Devolved national administrations

Main articles: Northern Ireland Executive, Scottish Government, and Welsh Government

The Scottish Parliament Building in Holyrood is the seat of the Scottish Parliament

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own government or executive, led by a First Minister, and a devolved unicameral legislature. England, the largest country of the United Kingdom, has no devolved executive or legislature and is administered and legislated for directly by the UK government and parliament on all issues. This situation has given rise to the so-called West Lothian question which concerns the fact that MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can vote, sometimes decisively,[144] on matters affecting England that are handled by devolved legislatures for their own constituencies.[145]

The Scottish Government and Parliament have wide ranging powers over any matter that has not been specifically 'reserved' to the UK parliament, including education, healthcare, Scots law and local government.[146] Following its victory at the 2007 elections the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) formed a minority government with its leader, Alex Salmond, becoming First Minister of Scotland.[147] The pro-union parties responded to the electoral success of the SNP by creating a Commission on Scottish Devolution[148] which reported in 2009 and recommended that additional powers should be devolved, including control of half the income tax raised in Scotland.[149] At the 2011 elections the SNP won re-election and achieved an overall majority in the Scottish parliament.[150]

The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland,.[151] Following the passing of the Government of Wales Act 2006 the assembly was able to legislate in devolved areas through Assembly Measures once permission to legislate on that specific matter had been granted by Westminster through a Legislative Competence Order;[152] but since May 2011 the Assembly has been able to legislate on devolved matters through Acts of the Assembly, which require no prior consent. The current Welsh Government was formed after the 2011 elections, and is a minority Labour administration lead by Carwyn Jones, who had been First Minister of a Labour/Plaid Cymru administration since December 2009.[153]

The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland. The Northern Ireland Executive is led by a diarchy, currently First Minister Peter Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin).[154]

Law and criminal justice

Main article: Law of the United Kingdom

The Royal Courts of Justice of England and Wales.

The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system as Article 19 of the 1706 Treaty of Union provided for the continuation of Scotland's separate legal system[155] Today the UK has three distinct systems of law; English law, Northern Ireland law and Scots law. Recent constitutional changes saw a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.[156][157] The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, including the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown Dependencies.

The High Court of Justiciary—the supreme criminal court of Scotland.

Both English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law are based on common-law principles.[158] The essence of common law is that, subject to statute, the law is developed by judges in courts, applying statute, precedent and common sense to the facts before them to give explanatory judgements of the relevant legal principles, which are reported and binding in future similar cases (stare decisis).[159] The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil appeal cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the same jurisdiction, often having a persuasive effect in other jurisdictions.[160]

Scots law applies in Scotland, a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law principles. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases,[161] and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases.[162] The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law.[163] Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as sheriff solemn court, or with a sheriff and no jury, known as sheriff summary Court.[164] The Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal with no possibility of retrial.[165]

Crime in England and Wales increased in the period between 1981 and 1995, though since that peak there has been an overall fall of 48% in crime from 1995 to 2007/08,[166] according to crime statistics. The prison population of England and Wales has almost doubled over the same period, to over 80,000, giving England and Wales the highest rate of incarceration in Western Europe at 147 per 100,000.[167] Her Majesty's Prison Service, which reports to the Ministry of Justice, manages most of the prisons within England and Wales. Crime in Scotland fell to its lowest recorded level for 32 years in 2009/10, falling by ten percent.[168] At the same time Scotland's prison population, at over 8,000,[169] is hitting record levels and is well above design capacity.[170] The Scottish Prison Service, which reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, manages Scotland's prisons. In 2006 a report by the Surveillance Studies Network found that the UK had the highest level of mass surveillance among industrialised western nations.[171]

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, and the President of the United States, Barack Obama, during the 2010 G-20 Toronto summit.

The United Kingdom is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, G7, G8, G20, NATO, the OECD, the WTO, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and is a member state of the European Union. The UK has a "Special Relationship" with the United States[172][173] and a close partnership with France – the "Entente cordiale" – and shares nuclear weapons technology with both countries. Other close allies include other European Union and NATO members, Commonwealth nations, and Japan. Britain's global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading relations, foreign investments, official development assistance and armed forces.[174]

Military

Main article: British Armed Forces

Examples of the modern equipment used by the British Armed Forces.

The United Kingdom fields one of the most technologically advanced and best trained armed forces in the world and as of 2008 maintained at least 20 military deployments around the globe.[175][176][177] According to various sources, including the Ministry of Defence, the UK has the third- or fourth-highest military expenditure in the world, despite only having the 25th largest military in terms of manpower. Total defence spending currently accounts for 2.5% of total national GDP.[178] The British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy are collectively known as the British Armed Forces and officially as HM Armed Forces. The three forces are managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence.

The UK maintains the largest air force and navy in the EU and second-largest in NATO. The Royal Navy is a blue-water navy, currently one of only three (with the French Navy and the United States Navy).[179] The Ministry of Defence signed contracts worth £3.2bn to build two new supercarrier-sized aircraft carriers on 3 July 2008.[180] In early 2009 the British Army had a reported strength of 105,750, the Royal Air Force had 43,300 personnel and the Navy 38,160.[181] The United Kingdom Special Forces, such as the Special Air Service and Special Boat Service, provide troops trained for quick, mobile, military responses in counter-terrorism, land, maritime and amphibious operations, often where secrecy or covert tactics are required. There are reserve forces supporting the active military. These include the Territorial Army, the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Active and reserve duty military personnel total approximately 404,090.[181]

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the UK and its overseas territories, promoting the UK's global security interests and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They are active and regular participants in NATO, including the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, as well as the Five Power Defence Arrangements, RIMPAC and other worldwide coalition operations. Overseas garrisons and facilities are maintained in Ascension Island, Belize, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Diego Garcia, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kenya and Qatar.[182]

Despite the United Kingdom's military capabilities, recent defence policy has a stated assumption that "the most demanding operations" will be undertaken as part of a coalition.[183] Setting aside the intervention in Sierra Leone, UK military operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and, most recently, Libya, have followed this approach. The last war in which the British military fought alone was the Falklands War of 1982, in which they were victorious.

Economy

Main article: Economy of the United Kingdom

London is the largest financial centre in the world alongside New York.[184][185][186]

The UK has a partially regulated market economy.[187] Based on market exchange rates the UK is today the sixth-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in Europe after Germany and France, having fallen behind France for the first time in over a decade in 2008.[188] HM Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of England is the UK's central bank and is responsible for issuing the nation's currency, the pound sterling. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover their issue. Pound sterling is the world's third-largest reserve currency (after the U.S. Dollar and the Euro).[189] Since 1997 the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, headed by the Governor of the Bank of England, has been responsible for setting interest rates at the level necessary to achieve the overall inflation target for the economy that is set by the Chancellor each year.[190]

The Bank of England; the central bank of the United Kingdom.

The Airbus A380 has wings and engines manufactured in the UK.

In the final quarter of 2008 the UK economy officially entered recession for the first time since 1991.[191] Unemployment increased from 5.2% in May 2008 to 7.6% in May 2009 and by January 2011 the unemployment rate among 18 to 24-year-olds had risen from 11.9% to 20.3%, the highest since current records began in 1992.[192] Total UK government debt rose from 44.5% of GDP in December 2007 to 76.1% of GDP in December 2010.[193][194]

The UK service sector makes up around 73% of GDP.[195] London is one of the three "command centres" of the global economy (alongside New York City and Tokyo),[196] is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York,[184][186][197] and has the largest city GDP in Europe.[198] Edinburgh is also one of the largest financial centres in Europe.[199] Tourism is very important to the British economy and, with over 27 million tourists arriving in 2004, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world[200] and London has the most international visitors of any city in the world.[201] The creative industries accounted for 7% GVA in 2005 and grew at an average of 6% per annum between 1997 and 2005.[202]

The Industrial Revolution started in the UK[203] with an initial concentration on the textile industry, followed by other heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, and Steelmaking.[204][205] The empire created an overseas market for British products, allowing the UK to dominate international trade in the 19th century. As other nations industrialised, coupled with economic decline after two world wars, the United Kingdom began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 20th century. Manufacturing remains a significant part of the economy but accounted for only one-sixth of national output in 2003.[206]

The automotive industry is a significant part of the UK manufacturing sector and employs over 800,000 people, with a turnover of some £52 billion, generating £26.6 billion of exports.[207] The aerospace industry of the UK is the second- or third-largest national aerospace industry depending upon the method of measurement and has an annual turnover of around £20 billion.[208][209][210] The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in the UK economy and the country has the third highest share of global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures (after the United States and Japan).[211][212]

The poverty line in the UK is commonly defined as being 60% of the median household income.[note 8] In 2007–2008 13.5 million people, or 22% of the population, lived below this line. This is a higher level of relative poverty than all but four other EU members.[213] In the same year 4.0 million children, 31% of the total, lived in households below the poverty line after housing costs were taken into account. This is a decrease of 400,000 children since 1998–1999.[214] The UK imports 40% of its food supplies.[215]

Science and technology

Main article: Science and technology in the United Kingdom

Charles Darwin (1809–82), whose theory of evolution by natural selection is the foundation of modern biological sciences

England and Scotland were leading centres of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century[216] and the United Kingdom led the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century,[203] and has continued to produce scientists and engineers credited with important advances.[217] Major theorists from the 17th and 18th centuries include Isaac Newton, whose laws of motion and illumination of gravity have been seen as a keystone of modern science,[218] from the 19th century Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution by natural selection was fundamental to the development of modern biology, and James Clerk Maxwell, who formulated classical electromagnetic theory, and more recently Stephen Hawking, who has advanced major theories in the fields of cosmology, quantum gravity and the investigation of black holes.[219] Major scientific discoveries from the 18th century include hydrogen by Henry Cavendish,[220] from the 20th century penicillin by Alexander Fleming,[221] and the structure of DNA, by Francis Crick and others.[222] Major engineering projects and applications by people from the UK in the 18th century include the steam locomotive, developed by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian,[223] from the 19th century the electric motor by Michael Faraday, the incandescent light bulb by Joseph Swan,[224] and the first practical telephone, patented by Alexander Graham Bell,[225] and in the 20th century the world's first working television system by John Logie Baird and others,[226] the jet engine by Frank Whittle, the basis of the modern computer by Alan Turing, and the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee.[227]

The modern UK plays a leading part in the aerospace industry, with companies including Rolls-Royce playing a leading role in the aero-engine market; BAE Systems acting as Britain's largest and the Pentagon's sixth largest defence supplier, and large companies including GKN acting as major suppliers to the Airbus project.[228] Two British-based companies, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, ranked in the top five pharmaceutical companies in the world by sales in 2009,[229] and UK companies have discovered and developed more leading medicines than any other country apart from the US.[230] The UK remains a leading centre of automotive design and production, particularly of engines, and has around 2,600 component manufacturers.[231] Scientific research and development remains important in British universities, with many establishing science parks to facilitate production and co-operation with industry.[232] Between 2004 and 2008 the UK produced 7% of the world's scientific research papers and had an 8% share of scientific citations, the third and second highest in the world (after the United States and China, and the United States, respectively).[233] Scientific journals produced in the UK include Nature, the British Medical Journal and The Lancet.[234]

Transport

Main article: Transport in the United Kingdom

Heathrow Terminal 5 building. London Heathrow Airport has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the world.[235][236]

A radial road network totals 29,145 miles (46,904 km) of main roads, 2,173 miles (3,497 km) of motorways and 213,750 miles (344,000 km) of paved roads.[99] In 2009 there were a total of 34 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain.[237] The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 km) in Great Britain and 189 route miles (303 route km) in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000 passenger and 1,000 freight trains daily.[99] Plans are now being considered to build new high-speed railway lines by 2025.[238]

In the year from October 2009 to September 2010 UK airports handled a total of 211.4 million passengers.[239] In that period the three largest airports were London Heathrow Airport (65.6 million passengers), Gatwick Airport (31.5 million passengers) and London Stansted Airport (18.9 million passengers).[239] London Heathrow Airport, located 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of the capital, has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the world[235][236] and is the hub for the UK flag carrier British Airways, as well as BMI and Virgin Atlantic.[240]

Energy

Main article: Energy in the United Kingdom

An oil platform in the North Sea

In 2006 the UK was the world's ninth-largest consumer of energy and the 15th largest producer.[241] In 2007 the UK had a total energy output of 9.5 quadrillion Btus, of which the composition was oil (38%), natural gas (36%), coal (13%), nuclear (11%) and other renewables (2%).[242] In 2009 the UK produced 1.5 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of oil and consumed 1.7 million bbl/d.[243] Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of oil since 2005.[243] As of 2010 the UK has around 3.1 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, the largest of any EU member state.[243]

In 2009 the UK was the 13th largest producer of natural gas in the world and the largest producer in the EU.[244] Production is now in decline and the UK has been a net importer of natural gas since 2004.[244] In 2009 the UK produced 19.7 million tons of coal and consumed 60.2 million tons.[242] In 2005 it had proven recoverable coal reserves of 171 million tons.[242] It has been estimated that identified onshore areas have the potential to produce between 7 billion tonnes and 16 billion tonnes of coal through underground coal gasification (UCG).[245] Based on current UK coal consumption, these volumes represent reserves that could last the UK between 200 and 400 years.[246] The UK is home to a number of large energy companies, including two of the six oil and gas "supermajors" – BP and Royal Dutch Shell – and BG Group.[247][248]

Demographics

Main article: Demography of the United Kingdom

A Census occurs simultaneously in all parts of the UK every ten years.[249] The Office for National Statistics is responsible for collecting data for England and Wales with the General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency each being responsible for censuses in their respective countries.[250] In the 2001 census the total population of the United Kingdom was 58,789,194, the third largest in the European Union, the fifth largest in the Commonwealth and the twenty-first largest in the world. By mid-2009 this was estimated to have grown to 61,792,000.[251] In 2008 natural population growth overtook net migration as the main contributor to population growth for the first time since 1998.[252] Between 2001 and 2008 the population increased by an average annual rate of 0.5 per cent. This compares to 0.3 per cent per year in the period 1991 to 2001 and 0.2 per cent in the decade 1981 to 1991.[252] Published in 2008 the mid-2007 population estimates revealed that, for the first time, the UK was home to more people of pensionable age than children under the age of 16.[253] It has been estimated that the number of people aged 100 or over will rise steeply to reach over 626,000 by 2080.[254]

England's population in mid-2008 was estimated to be 51.44 million.[252] It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 383 people resident per square kilometre in mid-2003,[255] with a particular concentration in London and the south east.[256] The mid-2008 estimates put Scotland's population at 5.17 million, Wales at 2.99 million and Northern Ireland at 1.78 million,[252] with much lower population densities than England. Compared to England's 383 inhabitants per square kilometre (990 /sq mi) the corresponding figures were 142 /km2 (370 /sq mi) for Wales, 125 /km2 (320 /sq mi) for Northern Ireland and just 65 /km2 (170 /sq mi) for Scotland in mid-2003.[255] In percentage terms Northern Ireland has had the fastest growing population of any country of the UK in each of the four years to mid-2008.[252]

In 2008 the average total fertility rate (TFR) across the UK was 1.96 children per woman.[257] Whilst a rising birth rate is contributing to current population growth it remains considerably below the 'baby boom' peak of 2.95 children per woman in 1964,[258] below the replacement rate of 2.1, but higher than the 2001 record low of 1.63.[257] Scotland had the lowest fertility at only 1.8 children per woman, while Northern Ireland had the highest at 2.11 children in 2008.[257]

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Largest cities of United Kingdom

2001 Census

Rank City Name English Region/Country Pop. Rank City Name English Region/Country Pop.

London

Birmingham 1 London Greater London 7,172,091 11 Coventry West Midlands 303,475

Glasgow

Liverpool

2 Birmingham West Midlands 1,016,800 12 Kingston upon Hull Yorkshire and the Humber 301,416

3 Glasgow Scotland 629,501 13 Bradford Yorkshire and the Humber 293,717

4 Liverpool North West England 469,017 14 Cardiff Wales 292,150

5 Leeds Yorkshire and the Humber 443,247 15 Belfast Northern Ireland 276,459

6 Sheffield Yorkshire and the Humber 439,866 16 Stoke-on-Trent West Midlands 259,252

7 Edinburgh Scotland 430,082 17 Newcastle-upon-Tyne North East England 259,000

8 Bristol South West England 420,556 18 Wolverhampton West Midlands 251,462

9 Manchester North West England 394,269 19 Nottingham East Midlands 249,584

10 Leicester East Midlands 330,574 20 Plymouth South West England 243,795

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in the United KingdomEthnic group Population % of total*

White British 50,366,497 85.67%

White (other) 3,096,169 5.27%

Indian 1,053,411 1.8%

Pakistani 977,285 1.6%

White Irish 691,232 1.2%

Mixed race 677,117 1.2%

Black Caribbean 565,876 1.0%

Black African 485,277 0.8%

Bangladeshi 283,063 0.5%

Other Asian (non-Chinese) 247,644 0.4%

Chinese 247,403 0.4%

Other 230,615 0.4%

Black (others) 97,585 0.2%

* Percentage of total UK population, according to the 2001 Census

Historically, indigenous British people were thought to be descended from the various ethnic groups that settled there before the 11th century: the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Norse and the Normans. Recent genetic studies have shown that more than 50 percent of England's gene pool contains Germanic Y chromosomes,[259] though other recent genetic analysis indicates that "about 75 per cent of the traceable ancestors of the modern British population had arrived in the British isles by about 6,200 years ago, at the start of the British Neolithic or Stone Age", and that the British broadly share a common ancestry with the Basque people.[260][261][262]

The UK has a history of small-scale non-white immigration, with Liverpool having the oldest Black population in the country dating back to at least the 1730s,[263] and the oldest Chinese community in Europe, dating to the arrival of Chinese seamen in the 19th century.[264] In 1950 there were probably less than 20,000 non-white residents in Britain, almost all born overseas.[265]

Since 1945 substantial immigration from Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia has been a legacy of ties forged by the British Empire. Migration from new EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe since 2004 has resulted in growth in these population groups but, as of 2008, the trend is reversing and many of these migrants are returning home, leaving the size of these groups unknown.[266] As of 2001, 92.1% of the population identified themselves as White, leaving 7.9%[267] of the UK population identifying themselves as mixed race or of an ethnic minority.

Ethnic diversity varies significantly across the UK. 30.4% of London's population[268] and 37.4% of Leicester's[269] was estimated to be non-white as of June 2005, whereas less than 5% of the populations of North East England, Wales and the South West were from ethnic minorities according to the 2001 census.[270] As of 2011, 26.5% of primary and 22.2% of secondary pupils at state schools in England are members of an ethnic minority.[271]

Languages

Main article: Languages of the United Kingdom

The English-speaking world. Countries in dark blue have a majority of native speakers; countries where it is an official but not a majority language in light blue. English is also one of the official languages of the European Union[272] and the United Nations[273]

The UK's official language is English,[1][2] a West Germanic language descended from Old English which features a large number of borrowings from Old Norse, Norman French and Latin. The English language has spread across the world, largely because of the British Empire, and has become the international language of business as well as the most widely taught second language.[274]

Scots, a language descended from early northern Middle English, is recognised at European level, as is its regional variant in the northern counties of Ireland, Ulster Scots.[275] There are also four Celtic languages in use in the UK: Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish. In the 2001 Census over a fifth (21%) of the population of Wales said they could speak Welsh,[276] an increase from the 1991 Census (18%).[277] In addition it is estimated that about 200,000 Welsh speakers live in England.[278]

The 2001 census in Northern Ireland showed that 167,487 (10.4%) people "had some knowledge of Irish" (see Irish language in Northern Ireland), almost exclusively in the Catholic/nationalist population. Over 92,000 people in Scotland (just under 2% of the population) had some Gaelic language ability, including 72% of those living in the Outer Hebrides.[279] The number of schoolchildren being taught in Welsh, Gaelic and Irish is increasing.[280] Welsh and Scottish Gaelic are also spoken by small groups around the globe with some Gaelic still spoken in Nova Scotia, Canada (especially Cape Breton Island),[281] and Welsh in Patagonia, Argentina.[282]

Across the United Kingdom it is generally compulsory for pupils to study a second language to some extent: up to the age of 14 in England,[283] and up to age 16 in Scotland. French and German are the two most commonly taught second languages in England and Scotland. In Wales, all pupils up to age 16 are either taught in Welsh or taught Welsh as a second language.[284]

Religion

Main article: Religion in the United Kingdom

Westminster Abbey is used for the coronation of British monarchs

Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the United Kingdom for over 1,400 years.[285] Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,[286] while immigration and demographic change have contributed to the growth of other faiths, most notably Islam.[287] This has led some commentators to variously describe the UK as a multi-faith,[288] secularised,[289] or post-Christian society.[290] In the 2001 census 71.6% of all respondents indicated that they were Christians, with the next largest faiths (by number of adherents) being Islam (2.8%), Hinduism (1.0%), Sikhism (0.6%), Judaism (0.5%), Buddhism (0.3%) and all other religions (0.3%).[291] 15% of respondents stated that they had no religion, with a further 7% not stating a religious preference.[292] A Tearfund su