United Kingdom

At a Glance

The United Kingdom is a compact collection of nations, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, each with a distinct culture, landscape, and temperament, bound together by a shared history of remarkable reach and a language that has become the world's common tongue. The countryside from the Scottish Highlands and the Welsh valleys to the English Lake District and the Cornish coast is genuinely beautiful, and the cities, particularly London, Edinburgh, and Manchester, have a cultural density hard to match. Those who can see past the grey skies and self-deprecating humour will find a culture of great warmth and surprising depth.

• One of only three countries without a written constitution.
• Invented the World Wide Web, then watched the US turn it into a product.
• Drives on the left — a colonial export that outlasted the empire.