Great Britain (commonly shortened to Britain) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland and Wales. With an area of 209,331 km² (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is dominated by a maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The island of Ireland, with an area 40 per cent that of Great Britain, is to the west –these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, comprise the British Isles archipelago.

Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a landbridge now known as Doggerland, Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about 61 million, making it the world's third-most-populous island after Honshu in Japan and Java in Indonesia, and the most populated island outside of Asia.

The term "Great Britain" can also refer to the political territory of England, Scotland and Wales, which includes their offshore islands. This territory, together with Northern Ireland, constitutes the United Kingdom.

Terminology

Toponymy

The archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years: the term 'British Isles' derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC, Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a collective name for the British Isles.