As a result of these factors, inflation surged across Europe and in other parts of the world, but typically declined in 2023, and approached more usual levels by 2024. 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.
The UK has a highly developed social market economy.262263 With an estimated nominal GDP of £2.765 trillion in 2024,264 it is the sixth-largest national economy in the world and the second-largest in Europe. Since 2022 the UK has been both the world’s fourth-largest exporter266 and fourth-largest importer267 of goods and services. Despite having one of the highest levels of income inequality in the OECD,268269 the UK has a very high HDI ranking, including when adjusted for inequality. As of 2025 the UK unemployment rate is 4.7%,270 which is moderately low by European standards. 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.
Regional Britain
- There was far less industrial action by 2024, however, due to settlements in many of the disputes, although some are ongoing as of 2025.
- 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.
- After an outcry among Labour lawmakers, and a better-than-expected update on public finances, she reversed course, opting for a smorgasbord of smaller revenue-raising measures.
- As of February 2025, the overall CPI inflation rate was 2.8 percent, although an uptick in inflation is expected later in the year, with a rate of 3.7 percent forecast for the third quarter of the year.
- In 1707 the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Northern Ireland also has symbols, many of which are shared with the Republic of Ireland. Although the Retail Price Index is a commonly utilized inflation indicator, the UK also uses a newer method of calculating inflation, the Consumer Price Index. The CPI, along with the CPIH (Consumer Price Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs) are usually preferred by the UK government, but the RPI is still used in certain instances. Increases in rail fares for example, are calculated using the RPI, while increases in pension payments are calculated using CPI, when this is used as the uprating factor.
Countries of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom bears the extra burden of Brexit, which has knocked billions off the economy since the country left the European Union in 2020. Unfortunately for Reeves, the UK economy, the world’s sixth-largest, isn’t doing as well as she hoped, with many critics blaming her decision last year to slap taxes on business. Though there were signs the economy was improving in the first half of the year, when it was the fastest-growing among the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, it has faltered again. The Met Office has issued a yellow “be aware” warning for western and northern Scotland. In 2025 there were 197 restaurants with a Michelin Star; 55 of them consider their cuisine to be ‘Modern British’.508 Sweet foods are common within British cuisine, and there is a long list of British desserts.
Over the 17th century the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War. In 1707 the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts non gamstop casinos of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State, and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom. In 2024, the average salary for full-time workers in the UK was 37,430 British pounds a year, up from 34,963 in the previous year. In London, the average annual salary was far higher than the rest of the country, at 47,455 pounds per year, compared with just 32,960 in North East England.