| Location | Western Europe, islands - including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France |
| Geographic coordinates | 54 00 N, 2 00 W |
| Map references | Europe |
| Area | total: 243,610 sq km land: 241,930 sq km water: 1,680 sq km note 1: the percentage area breakdown of the four UK countries is: England 53%, Scotland 32%, Wales 9%, and Northern Ireland 6% note 2: includes Rockall and the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland |
| Area - comparative | twice the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Oregon |
| Land boundaries | total: 499 km border countries (1): Ireland 499 km |
| Coastline | 12,429 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
| Climate | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast |
| Terrain | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Ben Nevis 1,345 m lowest point: The Fens -4 m mean elevation: 162 m |
| Natural resources | coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 71% (2018 est.) arable land: 25.1% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 45.7% (2018 est.) forest: 11.9% (2018 est.) other: 17.1% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 950 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 147 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | winter windstorms; floods |
| Geography - note | lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel (the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel); because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
