Introduction
Background: Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the nineteenth century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. The British Empire covered approximately one-fourth of the earth's surface at its zenith. In the first half of the twentieth century its strength was seriously depleted by two world wars. Since the end of World War II, the British Empire has been dismantled, and Britain has rebuilt itself into a prosperous, modern European nation with significant international political, cultural, and economic influence. As the twentieth century draws to a close, Britain is debating the degree of its integration with continental Europe. While a member of the EU, for the time being it is staying out of the euro system introduced in January 1999. Constitutional reform, including the House of Lords and the devolution of power to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is an ongoing issue in Great Britain.
Geography
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: 244,820 sq km
land: 241,590 sq km
water: 3,230 sq km
note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km
Coastline: 12,429 km