Great Britain
Island northwest of continental Europe / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of England, Scotland and Wales. With an area of 209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world.[6][note 1] It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The island of Ireland, with an area 40 per cent that of Great Britain, is to the west—these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, form the British Isles archipelago.[8]
Other native names
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| Geography | |
| Location | North-western Europe |
| Coordinates | 54°N 2°W |
| Archipelago | British Isles |
| Adjacent to | Atlantic Ocean |
| Area | 209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi)[1] |
| Area rank | 9th |
| Highest elevation | 1,345 m (4413 ft) |
| Highest point | Ben Nevis[2] |
| Administration | |
| Countries | |
| Largest city | London (pop. 8,878,892) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 60,800,000 (2011 census)[3] |
| Population rank | 3rd |
| Pop. density | 302/km2 (782/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| • Summer (DST) | |
Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a landbridge now known as Doggerland,[9] Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about 61 million, making it the world's third-most-populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan,[10][11] and the most populated island outside of Asia.
The term "Great Britain" can also refer to the political territory of England, Scotland and Wales, which includes their offshore islands.[12] This territory and Northern Ireland constitute the United Kingdom.[13] The single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the 1707 Acts of Union between the kingdoms of England (which at the time incorporated Wales) and Scotland.