Britain, officially: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an Island Nation that belongs to the region that the United Nations defines as 'Northern Europe'. The United Kingdom is a Parlimentary Democracy and a Constitutional Monarchy that is composed of an union of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Central government lies at the Houses of Parliament (Palace of Westminster) in the capital, London though Scotalnd, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own devolved parliaments or assemblies. English is the de facto official language though Irish Gaelic, Ulster Scots, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish are recognized as regional languages with satutory rights. Whist there remains a link betwen church and state in the UK (the Church of England being the official church of England) in practice the UK has a predominantly secular society with only 38% of the popiulation proclaiming belieg in a god.

Britain is the world's fifth largest economy, and as a declared nuclear power holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Britain is also considered a modern 'Great Power' and is a member of the G8, NATO, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, formally possessions of the Crown, are not part of the UK but form a federacy with it. The UK has fourteen overseas territories. all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface.