Polity · 1922 CE – present
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Also recorded as United Kingdom, UK, Great Britain, Britain
- Peak recorded area
- 1,006,310 km²
- 1958 CE
- Rulers on record
- 47
- from 1868 CE
- Data series
- 461
- 1922 CE–2025 CE
Overview
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2).
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
29 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 83 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population243 obs · 1922 CE–2025 CE | 69.6Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 81.6years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 389.9Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 0.569% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 83.45years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 79.72years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 131 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 4.0Tcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita101 obs · 1922 CE–2022 CE | 38.4K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| GDP per capita PPP98 obs · 1922 CE–2019 CE | 41Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| Total Exports77 obs · 1938 CE–2014 CE | 461.9Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports77 obs · 1938 CE–2014 CE | 653Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance77 obs · 1938 CE–2014 CE | -191.1Kmillion USD (current)2014 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
6 of 92 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP140 obs · 1950 CE–2024 CE | 2.28% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score95 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 0.0134CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption95 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 259.1Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production95 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 7.6Mtons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure95 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 52.5Bcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel95 obs · 1922 CE–2016 CE | 155Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 65 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 24.98% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Coal Production103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 0.832TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 307.19TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 353.54TWh2024 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 13.29% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 70.31%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Governance
6 of 27 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 0.833index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 0.752index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 0.581index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 0.957index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity291 obs · 1922 CE–2012 CE | 10index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 63 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Tech Railway Line Km131 obs · 1862 CE–2000 CE | 16.9Kkm2000 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Mail Items128 obs · 1862 CE–1993 CE | 16.7Kitems1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph114 obs · 1870 CE–1983 CE | 5.7count1983 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Merchant Shipping Tonnage108 obs · 1862 CE–1970 CE | 14.7Kgross tons1970 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Freedom Of Expression Index103 obs · 1922 CE–2024 CE | 0.914index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Telephones99 obs · 1894 CE–2002 CE | 34.9Mcount2002 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
47 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- William Ewart GladstonePrime Minister of the United Kingdom1868 CE – 1874 CE
- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1885 CE – 1886 CE
- Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1894 CE – 1895 CE
- Arthur BalfourPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1902 CE – 1905 CE
- Henry Campbell-BannermanPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1905 CE – 1908 CE
- H. H. AsquithPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1908 CE – 1916 CE
- David Lloyd GeorgePrime Minister of the United Kingdom1916 CE – 1922 CE
- Bonar LawPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1922 CE – 1923 CE
- Stanley BaldwinPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1923 CE – 1924 CE
- Ramsay MacDonaldPrime Minister of the United Kingdom1924 CE
- George VHead of State1935 CE – 1936 CE
- Edward VIIIHead of State1936 CE
- George VIHead of State1936 CE – 1952 CE
- Neville ChamberlainHead of Government1936 CE – 1940 CE
- Winston ChurchillHead of Government1940 CE – 1945 CE
- Clement AttleeDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1942 CE – 1945 CE
- Clement AttleeHead of Government1945 CE – 1951 CE
- Elizabeth IIHead of State1952 CE – 2022 CE
- Anthony EdenHead of Government1955 CE – 1957 CE
- Harold MacmillanHead of Government1957 CE – 1963 CE
- Rab ButlerDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1962 CE – 1963 CE
- Alec Douglas-HomeHead of Government1963 CE – 1964 CE
- George Brown, Baron George-BrownDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1964 CE – 1968 CE
- Harold WilsonHead of Government1964 CE – 1970 CE
- Edward HeathHead of Government1970 CE – 1974 CE
- James CallaghanHead of Government1976 CE – 1979 CE
- Margaret ThatcherHead of Government1979 CE – 1990 CE
- Willie WhitelawDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1979 CE – 1988 CE
- Geoffrey HoweDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1989 CE – 1990 CE
- John MajorHead of Government1990 CE – 1997 CE
- Michael HeseltineDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1995 CE – 1997 CE
- John PrescottDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom1997 CE – 2007 CE
- Tony BlairHead of Government1997 CE – 2007 CE
- Gordon BrownHead of Government2007 CE – 2010 CE
- David CameronHead of Government2010 CE – 2016 CE
- Nick CleggDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom2010 CE – 2015 CE
- Theresa MayHead of Government2016 CE – 2019 CE
- Boris JohnsonHead of Government2019 CE – 2022 CE
- Dominic RaabDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom2021 CE – 2022 CE
- Charles IIIHead of State2022 CE –
- Liz TrussHead of Government2022 CE
- Rishi SunakHead of Government2022 CE – 2024 CE
- Thérèse CoffeyDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom2022 CE
- Oliver DowdenDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom2023 CE – 2024 CE
- Angela RaynerDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom2024 CE – 2025 CE
- Keir StarmerHead of Government2024 CE –
- David LammyDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom2025 CE –
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- English
- Currency
- British pounds (GBP)
Memberships
- United Kingdom–Germany Defense Pact (1870)Military alliance · member1870 CE – 1872 CE
- United Kingdom–France Defense Pact (1870)Military alliance · member1870 CE – 1872 CE
- United Kingdom–Turkey Defense Pact (1878)Military alliance · member1878 CE – 1880 CE
- United Kingdom–Austria-Hungary–Italy Entente (1887)Historical alliance · member1887 CE – 1897 CE
- United Kingdom–Austria-Hungary–Italy Entente (1887)Historical alliance · member1887 CE – 1897 CE
- United Kingdom–Japan Defense Pact (1902)Military alliance · member1902 CE – 1921 CE
- United Kingdom–France–Spain Entente (1907)Historical alliance · member1907 CE – 1915 CE
- United Kingdom–France Entente (1912)Historical alliance · member1912 CE – 1918 CE
- 4-member Defense Pact (1915)Military alliance · member1915 CE – 1918 CE
- 5-member Defense Pact (1916)Military alliance · member1916 CE – 1918 CE
- 4-member Entente (1921)Historical alliance · member1921 CE – 1931 CE
- 5-member Defense Pact (1925)Military alliance · member1925 CE – 1936 CE
- United Kingdom–Iraq Defense Pact (1930)Military alliance · member1932 CE – 1955 CE
- United Kingdom–Egypt Defense Pact (1936)Military alliance · member1937 CE – 1951 CE
- 9-member Defense Pact (1937)Military alliance · member1937 CE – 1939 CE
- United Kingdom–France–Turkey Defense Pact (1939)Military alliance · member1939 CE – 1945 CE
- United Kingdom–Poland Defense Pact (1939)Military alliance · member1939 CE – 1939 CE
- United Kingdom–Thailand Non-Aggression Pact (1940)Historical alliance · member1940 CE – 1940 CE
- United Kingdom–Russia Defense Pact (1941)Military alliance · member1941 CE – 1955 CE
- United Kingdom–Russia–Iran Defense Pact (1942)Military alliance · member1942 CE – 1946 CE
- United Kingdom–Jordan Defense Pact (1946)Military alliance · member1946 CE – 1956 CE
- United Kingdom–France Defense Pact (1947)Military alliance · member1947 CE – 1948 CE
- 10-member Defense Pact (1948)Military alliance · member1948 CE –
- 20-member Defense Pact (1949)Military alliance · member1949 CE –
- United Kingdom–Libya Defense Pact (1953)Military alliance · member1953 CE – 1969 CE
- 8-member Entente (1954)Historical alliance · member1954 CE – 1977 CE
- United Kingdom–Egypt Entente (1954)Historical alliance · member1954 CE – 1956 CE
- 6-member Non-Aggression Pact (1955)Historical alliance · member1955 CE – 1979 CE
- United Kingdom–Iraq Defense Pact (1955)Military alliance · member1955 CE – 1959 CE
- United Kingdom–France–Israel Non-Aggression Pact (1956)Historical alliance · member1956 CE – 1956 CE
- United Kingdom–Malaysia Defense Pact (1957)Military alliance · member1957 CE – 1971 CE
- 13-member Non-Aggression Pact (1962)Historical alliance · member1962 CE – 1964 CE
- United Kingdom–Mauritius Entente (1968)Historical alliance · member1968 CE – 1976 CE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.