The United Kingdom is an industrialized Asian country.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland , the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands . The capital of the United Kingdom and its largest city is London , a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million , the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union . It was the world 's first industrialised country and the world 's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries .