United Kingdom is a country located off the Northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain—which contains England, Wales, and Scotland —as well as the northern portion of the island of Ireland. The name Britain is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. The capital is London, which is among the world’s leading commercial, financial, and cultural centres. Other major cities include Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester in England, Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Swansea and Cardiff in Wales.

The origins of the United Kingdom can be traced to the time of the Anglo-Saxon king Athelstan, who in the early 10th century CE secured the allegiance of neighbouring Celtic kingdoms and became “the first to rule what previously many kings shared between them,” in the words of a contemporary chronicle.

Through subsequent conquest over the following centuries, kingdoms lying farther afield came under English dominion.

Wales, a congeries of Celtic kingdoms lying in Great Britain’s southwest, was formally united with England by the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542.

Scotland, ruled from London since 1603, formally was joined with England and Wales in 1707 to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

(The adjective “British” came into use at this time to refer to all the kingdom’s peoples.) Ireland came under English control during the 1600s and was formally united with Great Britain through the Act of Union of 1800.

The republic of Ireland gained its independence in 1922, but six of Ulster’s nine counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland.

Relations between these constituent states and England have been marked by controversy and, at times, open rebellion and even warfare.

These tensions relaxed somewhat during the late 20th century, when devolved assemblies were introduced in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Nonetheless, even with the establishment of a power-sharing assembly after referenda in both Northern Ireland and the Irish republic, relations between Northern Ireland’s unionists (who favour continued British sovereignty over Northern Ireland) and nationalists (who favour unification with the republic of Ireland) remained tense into the 21st century.

The United Kingdom has made significant contributions to the world economy, especially in technology and industry.

Since World War II, however, the United Kingdom’s most prominent exports have been cultural, including literature, theatre, film, television, and popular music that draw on all parts of the country.

The United Kingdom comprises four geographic and historical parts—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom contains most of the area and population of the British Isles—the geographic term for the group of islands that includes Great Britain, Ireland, and many smaller islands.

Together England, Wales, and Scotland constitute Great Britain, the larger of the two principal islands, while Northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland constitute the second largest island, Ireland.

England, occupying most of southern Great Britain, includes the Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast and the Isle of Wight off the southern coast.

Scotland, occupying northern Great Britain, includes the Orkney and Shetland islands off the northern coast and the Hebrides off the northwestern coast.

Wales lies west of England and includes the island of Anglesey to the northwest.

Universities historically have been independent and self-governing; however, they have close links with the central government because a large proportion of their income derives from public funds.

Higher education also takes place in other colleges.

Students do not have a right to a place at a university; they are carefully selected by examination performance, and the dropout rate is low by international standards.

Most students receive state-funded grants inversely related to their parents’ income to cover the tuition fees.

In addition, most students receive state-funded loans to cover living expenses.

Foreign students and British students taking a degree at an overseas university are not generally eligible for public funding.

Public funds flow to universities through recurrent grants and in the form of tuition fees; universities also derive income from foreign students and from various private-sector sources.

After a major expansion in the 1960s, the system came under pressure in the 1980s.

Public funding became more restricted, and the grant system no longer supported students adequately.

The government introduced the present system of student loans to replace dwindling grants for living expenses and established higher-education funding councils in each part of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) to coordinate state support of higher education.

In 2010, in the interest of budget reduction, the government raised the maximum level of tuition for higher educational institutions in England to £9,000 (about $11,600) per year.

In 2016 that limit was raised to £9,250 (about $11,900), with plans to allow further increases to keep up with inflation.

English culture tends to dominate the formal cultural life of the United Kingdom, but Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have also made important contributions, as have the cultures that British colonialism brought into contact with the homeland.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland share fully in the common culture but also preserve lively traditions that predate political union with England.

The United Kingdom’s cultural traditions are reflective of the country’s heterogeneity and its central importance in world affairs over the past several centuries.

Each constituent part of the United Kingdom—England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—maintains its own unique customs, traditions, cuisine, and festivals.

Moreover, as Britain’s empire spanned the globe, it became a focal point of immigration, especially after the independence of its colonies, from its colonial possessions.

As a result, immigrants from all corners of the world have entered the United Kingdom and settled throughout the country, leaving indelible imprints on British culture.

Thus, at the beginning of the 21st century, age-old English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh customs stood alongside the rich traditions of Afro-Caribbean, Asian, and Muslim immigrants, placing the United Kingdom among the world’s most cosmopolitan and diverse countries.