Culture of the United Kingdom

The culture of the United Kingdom is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, monarchy, imperial power and, particularly, as a political union of four constituent countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—which each have their own preserved and distinctive customs and symbolism. As a direct result of the British Empire, British cultural influence (such as the English language) can be observed in the language and culture of a geographically wide assortment of countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, and South Africa, the United States, and the British overseas territories. These states are sometimes collectively known as the Anglosphere. The empire also influenced British culture, particularly British cuisine. Innovations and movements within the wider-culture of Europe have also changed Britain; Humanism, Protestantism, and representative democracy are borrowed from broader Western culture.

The Industrial Revolution, with its origins in the UK, brought about major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation, and had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of the world. Popular culture of the United Kingdom has impacted upon the world in the form of the British invasion, Britpop and British television broadcasting. British literature and British poetry, particularly that of William Shakespeare is revered across the world.

The social structure of Britain, with the monarchy of the United Kingdom at its top, has played a central cultural role throughout the history of British society. As a result of the history of the formation of the United Kingdom, the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness.

The United Kingdom has no official language. English is the main language and the de facto official language, spoken monolingually by an estimated 95% of the UK population.

However, in Wales, English and Welsh are both widely used by officialdom, and Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited use alongside English in Northern Ireland, mainly in publicly commissioned translations. Additionally, the Western Isles council area of Scotland has a policy to promote Scottish Gaelic.

The UK Government has committed itself to the promotion of certain linguistic traditions. Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish are to be developed in Wales, Scotland and Cornwall respectively. Other native languages afforded such protection include Irish in Northern Ireland, Scots in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Broad Scots, and British Sign Language.