British Empire

The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.[25] There are also 14 British Overseas Territories,[26] the l

ast remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world’s landmass and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and political systems of many of its former colonies.[27][28][29][30][31]

The United Kingdom has the world’s fifth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the ninth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 13th in the world. The UK became the world’s first industrialised country and was the world’s foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries

.[32][33] Today the UK remains one of the world’s great powers, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific, technological and political influence internationally.[34][35] It is a recognised nuclear weapon state and is ranked sixth globally in military expenditure.[36] It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.