United Kingdom — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of United Kingdom: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
United Kingdom is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm in 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. It covers 243,610 sq km. 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and …
| Capital | London |
|---|---|
| Population | 68,751,311 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $3.636 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $52,500 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 1.1% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 3.3% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 4.2% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 138.6% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Exports | $1.117 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $1.158 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 82.2 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 40.9 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 84.6% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Independence | no official date of independence: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties become Northern Ireland and remain part of the UK); 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) |
| Languages | English |
United Kingdom’s GDP is $3.636 trillion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $3.644 trillion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 1.1% (2024 est.). See where United Kingdom ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +20 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
The July handover from Starmer to Burnham reset British politics — the quarter's single biggest momentum event in any country on this board.
The 29 September conference speech then put content behind it: pension reform for a National Care Service, water nationalisation, a public energy company, and a November EU summit. A +20 quarter by any measure.
- What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 3.3%; unemployment near 4.2% — work for whoever wants it
- What drags it down: public debt above 139% of GDP — the budget's ball and chain
Coal, Oil, Natural gas, Iron ore, Lead, Zinc, Gold, Tin, Salt, Gypsum, Potash.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 36.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); nuclear: 13.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 4.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 30.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 1.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 94.28 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 1,937.0 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 281.3 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 28,016 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Wind 30.0%, Gas 29.9%, Nuclear 14.5%, Solar 5.5%, Oil 3.3%, Hydro 2.0%, Coal 0.8% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 66.0% (2024) |
| Carbon intensity of electricity (OWID) | 210.9 gCO2/kWh (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $1.117 trillion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $1.158 trillion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Deficit of $41.0 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Andy Burnham — Prime Minister. King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022)
United Kingdom maintains 156 embassies and 51 consulates abroad, hosts 167 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 156 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 51 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 167 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Lowy GDI 2024 via Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_diplomatic_missions . Hosted: Consular Affairs Center in-country ranking, Mar 2026. Multilateral rosters as for AUT.
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 12429 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 1057 + 139 heliports (registration prefix G) |
| Major seaports | Aberdeen, Barrow-in-Furness, Barry, Belfast, Blyth, Bristol, Cardiff, Dundee, Falmouth Harbour, Glasgow, Greenock, Grimsby, Immingham, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leith, Lerwick, Liverpool, London, Londonderry, Lyness, Manchester, Milford Haven, Newport, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portland Harbour, Portsmouth Harbour, Southampton, Sunderland, Teesport, Tynemouth |
| Railways | 16390 km |
Major airports
Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ) — Aberdeen; Belfast International Airport (BFS) — Belfast; Birmingham Airport (BHX) — Birmingham, West Midlands; Bristol Airport (BRS) — Bristol; Cardiff International Airport (CWL) — Cardiff; East Midlands Airport (EMA) — Nottingham, Leicestershire; Edinburgh Airport (EDI) — Ingliston, Edinburgh; Glasgow Airport (GLA) — Glasgow; Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) — Prestwick, South Ayrshire; Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) — Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28)
| Political system | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2024 — general; 2024-07-04; winner: Keir Starmer (Labour); Labour 411 seats, landslide Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2029 — general (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for United Kingdom.
Historical timeline of United Kingdom
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of United Kingdom — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is United Kingdom's power score?
United Kingdom has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.