Great Britain, also known as Britain Listeni/ˈbrɪ.tən/, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest island of Europe and the ninth-largest in the world.[5][note 1] In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the world's third-most populous island, after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan.[7][8] The island of Ireland is situated to the west of Great Britain and together, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, comprise the British Isles archipelago.[9]
The island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with Great Britain constituting most of the United Kingdom's territory.[10] Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island, with their respective capital cities - London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff. The term Great Britain often extends to include surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales.[13]
A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the Union of Scotland and England (which already comprised the present-day countries of England and Wales) in 1707. More than a hundred years before, in 1603, King James VI, King of Scots, had inherited the throne of England, but it was not until 1707 that the Parliaments of the two countries agreed to form a political union. In 1801, Great Britain united with the neighbouring Kingdom of Ireland, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the Irish Free State seceded in 1922.
