Today's UK name (the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland") was created in 1931 after the 1921 disputes within Ireland that led to the partition of the island & its independence in 1931 On the 1st of January, 1973, the UK joined the EU, departing after 47 years when the December 2019 election where the British Parliament finally ratified the withdrawal agreement [ https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliament-and-europe/overview/britain-and-eec-to-single-european-act/ ] [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit ] See the "Region of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" place for more info? ================================================================================================ The UK is an island that is located off of the northwestern coast of the European mainland and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean: the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the southwest; the Irish Sea also separates Great Britain and the island of Ireland The UK today is a sovereign country that includes: the island of Great Britain (consisting of the countries of England, Wales & Scotland), the northeastern part of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland), many, many smaller islands, [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_the_United_Kingdom ] and 15 Commonwealth countries that remain from the British Empire, which held 800 million people at it's peak… [ https://www.royal.uk/commonwealth-and-overseas ] [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire ] [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom#From_the_union_with_Ireland_to_the_end_of_the_First_World_War ]