United Kingdom

=== Transport ===
{{Main|Transport in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:An LNER Azuma train on the East Coast Railway Line, geograph 6275180 by Walter Baxter.jpg|thumb|A high-speed [[East Coast Main Line]] train in [[Northumberland]]]]
A radial road network totals {{Convert|29145|mi|km}} of main roads, {{Convert|2173|mi|km}} of motorways and {{Convert|213750|mi|km}} of paved roads.<ref name="factbook" /> The [[M25 motorway|M25]], encircling London, is the largest and busiest bypass in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moran |first=Joe |url=https://archive.org/details/readingeveryday00mora |title=Reading the Everyday |date=16 November 2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-37216-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/readingeveryday00mora/page/n107 95] |url-access=limited}}</ref> In 2022, there were a total of 40.8&nbsp;million licensed vehicles in Great Britain.<ref name="Transport stats 2022">{{cite web |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Freddie |title=RAC foundation traffic stats |url=https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20Kingdom%2C%20there,the%20end%20of%20September%202022. |access-date=24 February 2023 |archive-date=24 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224202503/https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#:~:text=In%20the%20United%20Kingdom%2C%20there,the%20end%20of%20September%202022. |url-status=live }}</ref>

The UK has an extensive railway network of {{Convert|10072|mi|0|abbr=out}}. In Great Britain, the [[British Rail]] network was [[privatisation of British Rail|privatised]] between 1994 and 1997, followed by a rapid rise in passenger numbers. The UK was ranked eighth among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index assessing intensity of use, quality of service and safety.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sylvain Duranton |last2=Agnès Audier |last3=Joël Hazan |last4=Mads Peter Langhorn |last5=Vincent Gauche |date=18 April 2017 |title=The 2017 European Railway Performance Index |url=https://www.bcg.com/en-ch/publications/2017/transportation-travel-tourism-2017-european-railway-performance-index.aspx |publisher=Boston Consulting Group |access-date=4 February 2019 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531104458/https://www.bcg.com/en-ch/publications/2017/transportation-travel-tourism-2017-european-railway-performance-index.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[High Speed 2]] (HS2) is a new high speed railway under construction linking up London, the Midlands, the North and Scotland, serving over 25 stations, including eight of Britain's 10 largest cities and connecting around 30 million people, capable of speeds of up to 225&nbsp;mph.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is HS2 |url=https://www.hs2.org.uk/what-is-hs2 |website=HS2 |access-date=22 June 2022 |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621190841/https://www.hs2.org.uk/what-is-hs2/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=HS2 Trains |url=https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/trains/ |website=HS2 |access-date=24 February 2023 |archive-date=24 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224183953/https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/trains/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Crossrail]], which was renamed the [[Elizabeth line]] in 2016, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, opened in 2022. It was Europe's largest construction project at the time and is estimated to bring in £42&nbsp;billion to the UK economy.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 January 2012 |title=Crossrail's giant tunnelling machines unveiled |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16289051 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=10 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410034914/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16289051 |url-status=live }}; {{Cite news |last=Leftly |first=Mark |date=29 August 2010 |title=Crossrail delayed to save £1bn |work=Independent |location=London |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/crossrail-delayed-to-save-1631bn-2064629.html |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116062835/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/crossrail-delayed-to-save-1631bn-2064629.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crossrail to become the Elizabeth line in honour of Her Majesty the Queen |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/february/crossrail-to-become-the-elizabeth-line-in-honour-of-her-majesty-the-queen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225110413/https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2016/february/crossrail-to-become-the-elizabeth-line-in-honour-of-her-majesty-the-queen|archive-date=25 February 2023|website=Transport for London}}</ref>

[[File:Heathrow Terminal 5C Iwelumo-1.jpg|thumb|[[Airports of London|London]] has the [[List of busiest city airport systems by passenger traffic|busiest city airport system]] in the world.]]

[[Great British Railways]] is a planned state-owned public body that will oversee [[rail transport in Great Britain]]. In 2014, there were 5.2&nbsp;billion bus journeys in the UK, 2.4&nbsp;billion of which were in London.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bus statistics |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bus-statistics |website=GOV.UK|date=26 April 2023 }}</ref> The red [[Double-decker bus|double-decker]] bus has entered popular culture as an internationally recognised icon of England.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Collection |url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/index.html |access-date=16 August 2014 |publisher=icons.org.uk}}</ref> The [[London Buses|London bus network]] is extensive, with over 6,800 scheduled services every weekday carrying about six million passengers on over 700 different routes making it one of the most extensive bus systems in the world and the largest in Europe.<ref>[http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/modesoftransport/1548.aspx London Buses], Transport for London. Accessed 10 May 2007.</ref>

In the year from October 2009 to September 2010, [[List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies|UK airports]] handled a total of 211.4&nbsp;million passengers.<ref name="caastats">{{Cite web |title=Size of Reporting Airports October 2009&nbsp;– September 2010 |url=http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airport_data/201009/Table_01_Size_of_UK_Airports.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504014257/http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airport_data/201009/Table_01_Size_of_UK_Airports.pdf |archive-date=4 May 2012 |access-date=5 December 2010 |publisher=Civil Aviation Authority}}</ref> In that period the three largest airports were [[London Heathrow Airport]] (65.6&nbsp;million passengers), [[Gatwick Airport]] (31.5&nbsp;million passengers) and [[London Stansted Airport]] (18.9&nbsp;million passengers).<ref name="caastats" /> London Heathrow Airport, located {{Convert|15|mi|km|}} west of the capital, is the world's second busiest airport by [[World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic|international passenger traffic]] and has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the world;<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 June 2008 |title=Heathrow 'needs a third runway' |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7472432.stm |access-date=17 October 2008}}; {{Cite press release |title=Statistics: Top 30 World airports |date=July 2008 |publisher=Airports Council International |url=http://www.aci.aero/aci/aci/file/Press%20Releases/2008/TOP30_International%20Passengers_2007.pdf |access-date=15 October 2008}}</ref> it is the hub for the UK flag carrier [[British Airways]], as well as [[Virgin Atlantic]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 October 2008 |title=BMI being taken over by Lufthansa |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7697261.stm |access-date=23 December 2009}}</ref>