The United Kingdom is a developed nation.
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 . The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world 's fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest economy by purchasing power parity . The UK is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Council of Europe , the G7 finance ministers , the G7 forum , the G20 , NATO , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) , and the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) .