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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain) is a sovereign state off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The countryincludes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with anothersovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.

The United Kingdom has a temperateclimate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below −11 °C (12.2 °F) or rising above 35 °C (95 °F). The prevailing wind is from thesouth-west and bears frequent spells of mild and wet weather from the Atlantic Ocean, although the eastern parts are mostly sheltered from this wind – as the majority of the rain falls over the western regionsthe eastern parts are therefore the driest. Atlantic currents, warmed by the Gulf Stream, bring mild winters; especially in the west where winters are wet and even moreso over high ground. Summersare warmest in the south-east of England, being closest to the European mainland, and coolest in the north. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, though it rarely settles to great depth awayfrom high ground.

The UK has a partially regulated market economy. Based on market exchange rates the UK is today the sixth largest economy in the world and the third largest in Europe after Germanyand France.

The UK's official language is English, a West Germanic language descended from Old English which features a large number of borrowings from Old Norse, Norman French and Latin.

Inmost of Britain there is a mild climate that receives high rainfall and average levels of sunshine. To the north, the weather gets. colder and coniferous forests largely replacing the deciduous...