The United Kingdom Map highlights rivers in the UK are not very long since the country is an island. Important east-flowing rivers that flow into the North Sea are the Thames, Great Ouse, Trent, Ouse, Tyne and Tweed, with the Severn and the Wye rivers flowing westwards into the Atlantic Ocean. Technically the longest river in the UK is the Severn, while the deepest is the Thames, and is navigable as far inland as London. The rivers are marked on the map of United Kingdom.
The map of UK shows the largest lakes , are the Windermere and Rutland Water in England; Llyn Trawsfynydd and Lake Vyrnwy in Wales; Loch Lomond and Loch Ness in Scotland, and Lough Neagh and Lower Lough Erne in Northern Ireland. Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the UK, and Loch Ness is famous for its sightings of the mythical creature 'Nessie.'
Despite its relatively small size, the UK is home to a number of different habitats, which include coastal habitats like sand dunes and salt marshes; lowland grassland and lowland heathland habitats; freshwater and lowland habitats like rivers, lakes, fens, and raised bogs, upland habitats like blanket bog, limestone pavements, and woodland habitats like mixed deciduous, native pinewood, and wood pastures. These habitats are home to thousands of species of flora and fauna.
Iconic flora of the UK is oak, elm, ash, beech, pine, and birch trees. The iconic fauna is; fox, deer, hare, hedgehog, rabbit, weasel, stoat, shrew, rat, and mice. Larger animals like wolf, bear, boar, and reindeer, have become extinct from the country. Among the declining bird species, the pheasant, partridge, and red grouse are protected as game birds even today.

There are 15 National Parks in the UK, 10 are in England, three in Wales, and two in Scotland. The National Parks in England see a great many visitors each year.
The popular National Parks are; the Yorkshire Dales, the Lake District, the North York Moors, the South Downs, Dartmoor, Northumberland, the Broads, the New Forest, the Peak District, and Exmoor. The Welsh National Parks are; The Brecon Beacons, the Pembrokeshire Coast, and Snowdonia. The two National Parks in Scotland are, the Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park.
Culture of United Kingdom

Traditional food in the UK has been facing competition from recipes brought into the country from around the world, to the extent that today it is said that curry is the most popular dish in England. Most of the traditional dishes in the UK are based on meat, fish, potatoes, butter, and eggs.
An interesting fact about meal times in the UK is that the three meals of the day were traditionally called breakfast, eaten in the morning; dinner, which was the main meal in the afternoon; and tea, which was the evening meal. Today they are referred to as breakfast, lunch, and supper.

In the early 1960's, the Beatles arrived on the UK music scene, and since then Pop music has been an integral part of British culture. Given the multicultural composition of the UK today, there are several other genres of music that are popular in the country. In alphabetical order they include Bhangra, BritPop, Garage, Glam Rock, Goth, Grunge, Hip Hop, Indie, Madchester, Mods, Northern Soul, Progressive Rock, Punk, Rockers, Ska, Soca, and Techno.
The UK is home to some of the biggest legends of the music world, including: Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Sir Elton John, and Pete Townsend. Many world-renowned bands hail from the UK, including The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, The Who, The Clash, and the genre-defining,Led Zeppelin.

Art in the UK has been greatly impacted by European traditions, and a classification of British art separate from the European styles is extremely difficult. Thus, the art movements of Europe which have also had an influence on
British art are Medieval and Gothic Art, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Classical, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism and Post-Modernism which is continuing till today.
However three British art movements which began in the UK are: the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848-1854), the Arts and Crafts Movement (1861-1914), and Pop Art (1955-1985).
Some of the most renowned British painters are: William Hogarth (1697-1764), Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), George Stubbs (1724-1806), Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), John Constable (1776-1837), J.W.M. Turner (1775-1851), John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), Samuel Palmer (1805-1881), Sir Stanley Spencer (1891-1959), Richard Hamilton (1922-2011) and David Hockney (1937- ).
Some of oldest sculptures found in the UK are the massive stone crosses believed to have been carved between 500 and 1000 AD. Stone, marble, bronze, wood, ceramic, and metal are among the diverse media that have been commonly used for sculpting in the UK.
Some of the finest British sculptors are Nicholas Stone (1586-1647), John Bushnell (1630-1701), Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), Joseph Wilton (1722-1803), Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823), John Bacon (1740-1799), John Flaxman (1755-1826),Sir Richard Westmacott (1775-1856), Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777-1862), Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781-1841), John Gibson (1790-1866), Samuel Joseph (1791-1850), Alfred Stevens (1817-1875), George Frederick Watts (1817-1904), Alexander Munro (1825-1871), Jacob Epstein (1880-1959), Henry Moore (1898-1986), Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975), Sir Anthony Caro (1924-2013 ), Antony Gormley (1950- ) and Anish Kapoor (1954- ).
Like many aspects of its culture, British architecture has been influenced by the nation's long and diverse history. Broadly the architectural styles in the UK correspond to its historical periods, and are classified as Pre-Roman, of which Stonehenge is the most famous example and can be located on the map of United Kingdom; Roman, of which the Hadrian's wall is an example; Anglo-Saxon, characterized by high and narrow structures; Norman, characterized by rounded arches; Gothic, which was influenced by France; Vernacular, which was constructed in wood; Tudor, in which the focus shifted from defense to entertainment structures; Stuart, which was influenced by the Palladian style of Italy; Georgian, which was influenced by the European Palladianism; Victorian, in which steel was introduced; 20th Century, characterized by non-symmetrical designs; Modernism, in which reinforced concrete frames were introduced; High-Tech, which was used for commercial buildings; Post Modern, which led the construction boom of the shopping malls and office complexes; and current, which focuses on building sustainable structures.
Some of the well-known British architects are Inigo Jones (1573-1652), Christopher Wren (1632-1723), Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661-1736), Thomas Archer (1668-1743), Colen Campbell (1676-1729), William Kent (1685-1748), Lancelot 'Capability' Brown (1716-1783), Robert Adam (1728-1792), James Wyatt (1746-1813), Humphrey Repton (1752-1818), Charles Barry (1795-1860), Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878), A.W. Pugin (1812-1852), William Butterfield (1814-1900), G.E. Street (1824-1881), Sir Richard Rogers (1933- ), Sir Norman Foster (1935- ), Sir Terry Farrel (1938- ), Will Alsop (1947- ), Zaha Hadid (1950-2016 ), Eric Parry (1952- ), David Chipperfield (1953- ) and Sunand Prasad (1962- ).
In the UK, the eras of literature can be classified into Gothic, Medieval, Renaissance, Restoration, Romantic, Victorian, and the Modern period.
It is contended that some of the world's greatest writers and poets have come from the UK. This claim is difficult to refute with names like: Geoffrey Chaucer (1342/43-1400), William Shakespeare (1564-1616), John Milton (1608-1674), Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), William Wordsworth (1770-1850), Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), Jane Austen (1775-1817), Lord Byron (1788-1824), Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), John Keats (1795-1821), Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855), Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1895), H.G. Wells (1866-1946), William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), E.M. Forster (1879-1970), Sir P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975), Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930), Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), George Orwell (1903-1950), Graham Greene (1904-1991) and Dylan Thomas (1914-1953).
And added to the list are Nobel Prize winners in Literature from the UK: Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), John Galsworthy (1867-1933), T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), Patrick White (1912-1990), Elias Canetti (1905-1994), Sir William Golding (1911-1993), Sir V.S. Naipaul (1932- ), Harold Pinter (1930-2008), and Doris Lessing (1919-2013).
From the spangled silk gowns of the days of yore, to the style of the swinging sixties and Punk style, the fashion scene in the UK has seen it all. Some of the most famous fashion designers and brands from the UK are Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes, Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Burberry, Christopher Kane, Mary Quant, Matthew Williamson, Katharine Hamnett, Jonathan Saunders, and Paul Smith.
While some well-known fashion boutiques for women in the UK are: A La Mode, Bernard, Celestine Eleven, Feathers, Genevieve, Mechant Archive, Mooi, Rewind Vintage Affairs, The Gathering Goddess, and Twentyone St. Johns Wood, all in London; Changing Room, in Tunbridge Wells; and Please Don't Tell, in Belfast. Two boutiques which cater to men are Shefton Men in London, and Zoo in Ilford.
Some of the famous boutiques for both men and women's fashion are: the Box Boutique, Browns, B Store, Diverse, Hostem, House of Liza, Labour of Love, Larizia, Layers, Old Curiosity Shop, Press, Primitive London Ltd, Start, The Library, The Old Shoreditch Station, Ursa Loves all in London; Autograp in Birmingham; Pollyanna in Barnsley; Seasons in Sheffield; Giulio in Cambridge, and The Editeur in Chester.

Due to the influence of its history and the rich tradition of literature, cinema in the UK has favored some genres over others. Broadly, the British films can be classified into Action, Adventure, Drama, Animation, Biopic, Documentary, Fantasy, Romance, Comedy (including romantic comedy), Family, Crime, Horror, Science, Thriller and Musical.
One of the iconic characters of British cinema is the world’s most well known MI6 spy, Secret Agent, James Bond, code named '007'.
Other famous film actors from the UK are: Sir Lawrence Olivier, Anthony Jeremy Brett, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Roger Moore, Dame Judy Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Jeremy Irons, Micheal Caine, Emma Thomson, Kate Winslet, Emma Watson, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Grant, Daniel Craig, Daniel Radcliffe and Benedict Cumberbatch. Sir Sean Connery is a well-known Scottish actor. Two well-known Welsh actors are Sir Anthony Hopkins and Katherine Zeta-Jones.
Some famous British film directors are: Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, Richard Attenborough, David Lean, Ridley Scott, Danny Boyle, Mike Leigh, and Ken Russell.

Sports are very popular in the UK. Some of the most popular sports are; football (soccer), rugby, cricket, tennis, squash, golf, horse racing, motor sports, darts, boxing, athletics, and chess.
Some of the UK's best-known sporting icons are: Sir David Beckham and Sir Bobby Charlton (football), Sir Stephen Redgrave (rowing), Lester Piggott (horse racing), Ian Botham (cricket), Sir Sebastian Coe and Paula Radcliffe (middle-distance and long-distance running), Lennox Lewis (boxing), Daley Thomson (decathlon), Mo Farrah (middle-distance running), Nick Faldo (golf), Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (ice-skating), and Fred Perry and Andy Murray (tennis).
10 Britons who are considered most influential by the British public are: Sir Winston Churchill, a politician, soldier, artist and former Prime Minister; Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an extraordinary Victorian engineer; Princess Diana of Wales; Charles Darwin, a naturalist; William Shakespeare, a playwright and poet; Sir Isaac Newton, a mathematician and scientist; Queen Elizabeth I who reigned over England from 1558-1603; John Lennon, a musician and composer; Horatio Nelson, a British naval hero; and Oliver Cromwell, a military, political, and religious figure.
Transport and Communication of United Kingdom

With about 397,039 km (245,709 miles) of roads, the UK had the 20th-largest road network in the world in 2017. The country has a system of trunk roads which are maintained by the highway authority, and non-trunk roads which are maintained by the local authorities. Based on their grading, the roads are classified into three categories; motorways, A-roads, and B-roads.
UK Road Map...

The UK is ranked 18th in the world, with its 16,320 km ( 10,141 miles) of railway tracks. The main railway stations in the country are; Paddington Station, Waterloo Station, London Bridge Station, King's Cross Station, Liverpool Street Station, Victoria Station, Euston Station, and Charing Cross Station in London; Glasgow Central Station in Glasgow; Birmingham New Street, in Birmingham, and Leeds City Station, in Leeds.
UK Rail Map...

With 460 airports, as per the year 2013 data, and 28 registered air carriers, the UK is ranked at number 18 in the world. Twenty four of the airports are international commercial airports, and based on the volume of passengers, the largest are; London Heathrow, London; London Gatwick, London; Manchester, Manchester; London Stansted, London; London Luton, Luton, Bedfordshire; Edinburgh, Edinburgh; Birmingham International, Birmingham; Glasgow International, Glasgow; Bristol International, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon, Liverpool.
As an island nation, the UK has about 7,723 miles (12,429 km) of coastline, and over 1,988 miles (3,200 km) of waterways. However, only about 385 miles (620 km) of the waterways in the country are used for commercial activities. Some of the country's well-known ports are; Dover, Felixstowe, Immingham, Liverpool, London, Southampton, and Teesport in England; Milford Haven in Wales, and Forth Ports in Scotland.
The UK has several oil terminals, including; Fawley Marine terminal, and Liverpool Bay terminal in England, Braefoot Bay terminal, Finnart oil terminal, and Hound Point terminal in Scotland.
By March 2019, the United Kingdom had 60 operating satellites (as per the UCS Satellite Database).
Telephone/ Mobile network

The international country code for the UK is 44. There were 33.14 million telephone lines in use, and 79.10 million mobile cellular connections in the country according to 2017 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) data.
The internet country code for the UK is '.uk,' and as per 2017 data, 26.01 million people used the fixed line broadband internet connection in the country.
In the UK there are no specific criteria to define a city, and even today city status is granted by the British Monarch. Thus, many cities included in the official list of 66 UK cities would be considered ‘towns or villages,’ by the rest of the world. For example, St. David's, in Wales, with a population of just 2,000, is the smallest city in the UK.
By global standards, some of the largest cities in the UK are; London, Birmingham, Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bristol, Liverpool/ Merseyside, Leicester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. These cities can be located on the map of United Kingdom.
Interestingly, not classified as cities in the UK are: Reading, Berkshire, Dudley, West Midlands, Northampton, East Midlands, Luton, Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Bournemouth, Dorset, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Swindon, Wiltshire, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, Poole, Dorset, Middlesbrough, and North Yorkshire, yet nearly anywhere else in the world they would be considered cities.
United Kingdom Facts
Quick Facts
Official Name
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
ContinentEurope
Lat Long51.5000 N, 0.1167 W
Area242,495 km2 (93, 628 sq mi )Water (%) 1.34
Population65648100
CapitalLondon
Largest CityLondon
Official LanguagesEnglish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Ulster Scots Major ReligionChristianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduismism Christian (includes Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 59.5%, Muslim 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, other 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7% (2011 est.)
National Day12. April 1927
Form of GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
PresidentNA
Vice PresidentNA
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson since 2019
CurrencyPound Sterling (GBP)
GDP$2.569 trillion (2014 est.)
Calling Code44
Time ZoneGMT (UTC) Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Internet TLD.uk
What is the Official name of UK
The official name of UK is
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Where is United Kingdom?
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Infographic
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country consists of the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many other smaller islands as shown in the map of United Kingdom.
What is the capital of United Kingdom?
London is the capital city of the United Kingdom. Covering an area of 607 square miles, it is the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. It is located on the River Thames.
London is the largest financial center in the world, almost on par with New York. It has the fifth-largest GDP in compared to the other wealthy cities in the world. Fashion, cuisine, tourist places, and art and architecture of the city attract a million visitors; it is the most-visited city in the world. The Tower of London, Kew Gardens, Palace of Westminster, St Margaret's Church, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, and Trafalgar Square are the major attractions. Some of these places are shown on the map of United Kingdom.
How big is United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom covers a total area of 94,060 square miles. The country has a coastline of 11,073 miles. As per census in 2011, the country had a population of 63.18 million.
What are the ethnic groups in United Kingdom?
The majority of the population of the United Kingdom is composed of whites. The minority ethnic groups in the country include South Asians, Blacks, and Chinese.
What are the administrative divisions of United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom comprises four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as seen in the United Kingdom Map, and fourteen overseas territories. Each country has its own system of administration.
Who are the political leaders of United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister is the head of the government.
Monarch - Elizabeth II
Prime Minister - Boris Johnson
What is the official currency used in United Kingdom?
The pound sterling denoted by the ISO 4217 code GBP is the official currency of the United Kingdom. It is commonly called the pound and is the currency of the Crown dependencies as well as the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is subdivided into 100 pence.
What is the official language of United Kingdom?
English is the official language of the United Kingdom. Scots, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish are the other languages spoken in the country.
What is the official religion of United Kingdom?
Christianity is the dominant religion of the United Kingdom. The Anglican Church of England is the established church in the country. The other major religions in the country include Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland is the national church of the country.
What is the economy of United Kingdom like?
The United Kingdom is the fifth-largest economy in the world with a high per capita GDP. In 2017, its gross domestic product (nominal) was estimated at a total of $2.638 trillion, while the nominal GDP per capita was $10,749. The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and issues the national currency, the pound sterling; it is the world's third-largest reserve currency.
Services sector is the largest sector, accounting for around seventy-nine percent of the GDP. Tourism is a significant part of the economy; the United Kingdom is the sixth-most visited country in the world. London draws the maximum number of international visitors of any city.
The country also has a large automotive and aerospace industry. The pharmaceutical industry is also a significant part of the economy. The United States, Germany, Netherlands, France, Ireland and China are its major trading partners.
When is the national day of United Kingdom celebrated?
The United Kingdom does not have any official national day, though proposals have been made for the same. Presently, the Queen's official birthday is celebrated as a national day. The four countries of the United Kingdom have their own national days, including St George's Day in England, St Andrew's Day in Scotland, St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland and St David's Day in Wales.
Note: Since Brexit, the UK is in the mode of transition from the being a part of EU. It is estimated this will last till the end of 2020.
Last Updated on: September 19, 2020