Key facts
Key facts about United Kingdom
5 to 10 facts that help explain what makes the country distinctive.
No single written constitution
The United Kingdom is one of the few democracies in the world without a single, codified constitutional text: its constitutional law rests on statutes, conventions and case law accumulated over centuries.
14 overseas territories across the globe
From Gibraltar to the Falkland Islands and the British Antarctic Territory, these territories are the last direct remnants of the British Empire.
Driving on the left
The United Kingdom is one of the countries where traffic drives on the left, a custom inherited from medieval traditions that survived even as the rest of continental Europe standardised on the right.