British people Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
British people
Total population
Flag of the United Kingdom
British 72 million British diaspora 140 million
Regions with significant populations
United Kingdom	57,678,000
United States	34,275,567 678,000
Australia	10,764,870 1,300,000
Canada	10,753,945 609,000
New Zealand	2,425,278 217,000
South Africa	1,603,575 750,000
Chile	700,000
France	400,000
Ireland	291,000
Argentina	250,000
British Overseas Territories	247,899
United Arab Emirates	240,000
Spain	236,669
Peru	150,000
Germany	115,000
Pakistan	79,447
Cyprus	59,000
Thailand	51,000
Singapore	45,000
Switzerland	45,000
Netherlands	44,000
Israel	44,000
Portugal	41,000
Sweden	39,989
Italy	26,000 39,177
Norway	34,279
Turkey	34,000
India	32,000
Kenya	29,000
Belgium	28,000
Barbados	27,000
Saudi Arabia	26,000
Jamaica	25,000
Trinidad and Tobago	25,000
Japan	23,000
Hong Kong	19,405 3,400,000 33,733
Greece	18,000
Finland	16,732
Hungary	9,000
Languages
English Cornish Guernésiais Irish Jèrriais Llanito Manx Welsh Scots (including Ulster-Scots) Scottish Gaelic Immigrant languages
Religion
mainly Christianity (Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Catholicism, Methodism) see also Religion in the United Kingdom

The British people, or Britons, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.

When used in a historical context, "British" or "Britons" can refer to the Celtic Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain and Brittany, whose surviving members are the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, and Bretons. It also refers to citizens of the former British Empire, who settled in the country prior to 1973, and hold neither UK citizenship or nationality.

The Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity.

The notion of Britishness and a shared British identity was forged during the 18th century and early 19th century when Britain engaged in several global conflicts with France, and developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in Great Britain.

Modern Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic groups that settled in Great Britain in and before the 11th century: Prehistoric, Brittonic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Normans. Since 1922 and earlier, there has been immigration to the United Kingdom by people from what is now the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, mainland Europe and elsewhere; they and their descendants are mostly British citizens, with some assuming a British, dual or hyphenated identity. This includes the groups black British and Asian British people, which constitute around 10% of the British population.

The British are a diverse, multinational, multicultural and multilingual society, with "strong regional accents, expressions and identities".

The population of the UK stands at around 66 million, with a British diaspora of around 140 million concentrated in the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, with smaller concentrations in the Republic of Ireland, Chile, South Africa, and parts of the Caribbean.

Images for kids

Medieval tapestry showing King Arthur, a legendary ancient British ruler who had a leading role in the Matter of Britain, a national myth used as propaganda for the ancestral origins of the British Royal Family and their British subjects.
The Battle of Trafalgar by J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1822–1824) combines events from several moments during the Napoleonic Wars' Battle of Trafalgar—a major British naval victory upon which Britishness has drawn influence.
A famous First World War-era recruitment poster, stressing the concept of British national identity
Britons gathered in Whitehall to hear Winston Churchill's victory speech on 8 May 1945
V-E Day celebrations in Toronto, May 1945
Postage stamp with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1954
British and Chilean flags in a monument in Antofagasta city
Cecil John Rhodes, the 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (divided between two provinces in modern-day South Africa) and founder of the De Beers diamond company.
Paddy Mayne from County Down; a founding member of the SAS; was one of the most decorated British soldiers of World War II. He also played rugby for Ireland.
Fish and chips, a popular take-away food throughout the United Kingdom, has been described as the quintessential British dish.
J.K. Rowling is one of the world's best selling British authors. Her Harry Potter series of books have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide.
The Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts held across the United Kingdom. The Last Night of the Proms celebrates British tradition with patriotic classical music of the United Kingdom.
Westminster Abbey is used for the coronation of the British monarchs, who are also made the head of the Church of England.
The British gold medalist relay team of the 2008 World Orienteering Championships.

British people facts for kids

Images for kids

See also