England: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026

News •

The coach who energized U.S. soccer at the World Cup is on the verge of leaving for a job in England • Nov. 12, 2026, 5:32 PM ET (AP)

US soldier assigned to NATO unit arrested in Britain on suspicion of espionage linked to Russia • Nov. 10, 2026, 4:38 PM ET (AP)

Top UK appeals court rules gay sex not a crime in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago • Nov. 10, 2026, 1:06 PM ET (AP)

US Air Force relocates aircraft from a base in England because of a threat, US official says • Nov. 10, 2026, 10:14 AM ET (AP)

Karl Bushby embraces emotional mother as he completes his 28-year, 31,000-mile walk around world • Nov. 2, 2026, 2:00 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Population	(2011) 53,012,456
Form Of Government¹
Official Language	none
National Religion	Church of England
Total Area (Sq Km)	130,278
Total Area (Sq Mi)	50,301
Monetary Unit	pound sterling (£)
Leading City	London
¹England does not have a formal government or constitution, and a specifically English role in contemporary government and politics is hard to identify in any formal sense, for these operate on a nationwide British basis.

Photos and Videos

Political map of England showing major cities, towns, and transportation links, with borders outlined for Scotland, Wales, and surrounding countries. The map includes neighboring bodies of water such as the Irish Sea, North Sea, and Celtic Sea, and features an inset for regional context within the British Isles and Europe.

Map showing the physical features of England, including major hills, plains, national parks, and upland regions such as the Lake District, Pennines, Yorkshire Dales, Cotswolds, and South Downs. The map also marks surrounding countries-Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Ireland-as well as nearby bodies of water like the North Sea, Irish Sea, and English Channel.

Cathedral of Saint Mary

Aerial view of Hambleden, England, showing red-roofed village buildings, a stone church tower, and surrounding green fields and wooded hills.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Esthwaite Water in the Lake District, England

Map of the United Kingdom highlighting current political boundaries and subdivisions for Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The map shows administrative counties, unitary authorities, metropolitan counties, and other local authorities, with major cities and numbered subdivisions labeled in each country. Insets display the Channel Islands, Shetland Islands, and a locator map for geographic context. Lists of numbered subdivisions for each UK country are included around the map.

Take a look into the rolls featuring the Act of Union with Scotland (1707) and the Articles of Union with Scotland (1706)

Sir Francis Drake: Admiral, pirate, and explorer

See the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Draft Declaration of Rights (1689) kept in the United Kingdom Parliamentary Archives Search Room

Uncover how the new United States fought with the British over naval impressment and their history of conflict

The conflicting legacies of King Henry VIII

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Topics

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Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon

British author, philosopher, and statesman

Painting of Oliver Cromwell in black armor with a white sash, standing outdoors as a young attendant in red helps adjust his armor.

Oliver Cromwell

English statesman

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I

queen of England

Engraved portrait of William I, also known as William the Conqueror, shown wearing a crown and medieval robes, facing forward.

William I

king of England

Hans Holbein the Younger: Portrait of Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII

king of England

Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer

archbishop of Canterbury

St. Gregory the Great

St. Gregory the Great

pope

Full-length portrait of Charles I of England standing in elaborate blue and silver attire, holding a staff, with a crown and red drapery on a table beside him.

Charles I

king of Great Britain and Ireland

John Bunyan

John Bunyan

English author

Lord Nelson, detail of an oil painting by J.F. Rigaud; in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Eng.

Horatio Nelson

British naval commander

Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger, showing More in dark robes and a black hat, wearing a gold chain of office, seated against a green and yellow draped background.

Thomas More

English humanist and statesman

King Henry II and St. Thomas Becket

Henry II

king of England

Diarist Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys

English diarist and naval administrator

Richard III

Richard III

king of England

Richard II

Richard II

king of England

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

English statesman

Edward I

Edward I

king of England

St. Thomas Becket

St. Thomas Becket

archbishop of Canterbury

Sir Francis Walsingham

Sir Francis Walsingham

English statesman

Portrait of Sir Francis Drake with a lace ruff collar, mustache, and short curly hair, painted in oil on panel. The background includes his name in gold lettering.

Sir Francis Drake

English admiral

United Kingdom

country, Europe

London

London

national capital, United Kingdom

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Avebury

England, United Kingdom

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Ashford

district, England, United Kingdom

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Sunderland

district, England, United Kingdom

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Lichfield

district, England, United Kingdom

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Lincoln

England, United Kingdom

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Dartford

district, England, United Kingdom

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Doncaster

district, England, United Kingdom

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Stockport

district, England, United Kingdom

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Bolton

district, England, United Kingdom

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Barrow-in-Furness

district, England, United Kingdom

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Oldham

district, England, United Kingdom

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Oswestry

district, England, United Kingdom

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Gateshead

metropolitan borough, England, United Kingdom

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English language school promotion illustration. Silhouette of a man advertises or sells shouts in a megaphone and emerging from the flag of the United Kingdom (Union Jack).

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