The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland includes England, Scotland, and Wales. Ever since the 10th century, England has existed as a unified entity. The union between England and Wales, begun in 1284, was not formalized until 1536. In 1707 England and Scotland agreed to permanently join together as Great Britain. Nearly a hundred years later, in 1801, the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented, with the formal adoption of the name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

 

In 1921 only six Northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom under the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. At its zenith, the old British Empire encompassed over one-fourth of the earth's surface. In the second half of the 20th century, the UK witnessed the dismantling of its once glorious Empire, but then rebuilt itself, into a modern and prosperous European nation.

The UK is a member of the European Union, but it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. The country is a founding member of the NATO.