Country profile · Western Europe
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has the world's fifth-largest economy and the sixth-largest military budget. It is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and one of five nuclear-weapon states recognized by the Non-Proliferation Treaty. It left the European Union on January 31, 2020. Andy Burnham became prime minister on July 20, 2026.
Where the United Kingdom ranks
All rankings →Who runs the UK?
Andy Burnham of the Labour Party has been prime minister since July 20, 2026. He took over without a general election or a vote of party members. Labour lost 1,496 councillors in England's local elections in May 2026. Burnham, then mayor of Greater Manchester, entered Parliament by winning a by-election in Makerfield on June 18. Keir Starmer announced his resignation on June 22, and Burnham became Labour leader unopposed on July 17. Burnham was born in 1970 near Liverpool and holds an Everton season ticket. Labour has 403 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, but a YouGov poll of September 27-28 put Reform UK ahead, 25% to 24%.
- Labour 403
- Conservatives 118
- Others 129
Official portrait (2026): House of Commons, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Who are the UK's allies and rivals?
The United States is Britain's closest ally. From March 2026 Britain let US bombers fly from RAF Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites. On March 20 Iran fired two missiles at Diego Garcia, a US-British base in the Indian Ocean. Neither hit. Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos Islands, which a 2025 treaty would hand to Mauritius. Britain paused the treaty in April 2026, and in September the government said it would rework it after President Trump called it 'terrible'. A 2025 public inquiry found President Putin 'morally responsible' for a British woman's death from the nerve agent Novichok in 2018. On September 3, 2026, Argentina's President Milei renewed his country's claim to the Falkland Islands.
Allies and partners
United StatesAbout 10,000 US troops based in Britain
FranceNuclear coordination pact, July 2025
GermanyFirst UK-German treaty since World War II, 2025
NorwayOrdered at least five British frigates
Ukraine£3 billion of military aid a year
EstoniaBritish-led NATO battlegroup there since 2017
AustraliaAUKUS submarine pact since 2021
- English Channel 41,472 people crossed by small boat in 2025. A returns deal with France began in August 2025.
- Gibraltar British territory. A UK-EU treaty signed in July 2026 removes checks at the border with Spain.
- Tapa Britain leads NATO's battlegroup in Estonia, about 900 troops. A unit of about 1,200 is due in 2027.
- Akrotiri RAF base on Cyprus. A drone struck a hangar on March 1, 2026.
- United Kingdom
- Partner
- Rival
Who does the UK trade with?
The United Kingdom exported £929.8 billion of goods and services in 2025 and imported £969.3 billion. Services were 58.6% of exports. Britain ran a deficit of £242.3 billion on goods and a surplus of £202.9 billion on services. The EU took 41.3% of exports and supplied 49.0% of imports. Aircraft engines (£45.5 billion) and medicines (£38.7 billion) were larger goods exports than cars (£29.3 billion). Britain joined CPTPP, a Pacific trade bloc, in December 2024, and its trade deal with India took effect on July 15, 2026. Since July 24, 2026, British goods have paid an extra 10% US tariff. Under a May 2025 deal, 100,000 British cars a year enter the United States at 10%.
Sells to
Share of the United Kingdom's exports
- United States21.8%
- Germany6.7%
Ireland6.1%
Netherlands5.7%- France5.2%
Buys from
Share of the United Kingdom's imports
- United States13.3%
- Germany9.3%
China7.6%- Netherlands6.8%
- France5.8%
Goods and services, 2025. Shares of UK exports and imports, including precious metals, from the Department for Business and Trade (September 2026).
How strong is the UK's military?
SIPRI estimates the United Kingdom spent $89.0 billion on its military in 2025, sixth in the world and 2.4% of GDP. Germany overtook Britain that year. The IISS counts 141,100 active troops. The Defence Investment Plan of June 2026 sets the defense budget at £68.3 billion for 2026-27, or 2.6% of GDP. The navy has two 65,000-ton aircraft carriers. On June 25, 2026, none of its five attack submarines in service was at sea. Three ships were retired in July, leaving five frigates. The 2025 Strategic Defence Review plans up to 12 new attack submarines and six munitions factories. The Ministry of Defence says export orders passed £20 billion in 2025, a record.
Military spending in Europe, 2025
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Russia est.$190bn- Germany$114bn
- United Kingdom$89.0bn
- Ukraine$84.1bn
- France$68.0bn
Italy$48.1bn
Poland$46.8bn
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition
How many nuclear weapons does the UK have?
The Federation of American Scientists estimates the United Kingdom has 225 warheads, about 120 deployed and 105 in reserve. The 2021 Integrated Review set a ceiling of 260. Four Vanguard-class submarines at Faslane carry US-made Trident II D5 missiles from a shared pool at Kings Bay, Georgia. At least one of them has been on patrol at all times since April 1969. Two test launches failed, in 2016 and in January 2024. Four Dreadnought-class replacements are due from the early 2030s, with £8.4 billion committed on July 30, 2026. A new warhead, Astraea, is being developed alongside a US design. In July 2025 Britain and France signed the Northwood Declaration to coordinate their nuclear forces.
Nuclear warheads, 2026
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Federation of American Scientists, Status of World Nuclear Forces, 2026