UUNITED KINGDOM
FACTBOOK
United Kingdom FactbookDraft

November 2026 Edition

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United Kingdom Factbook · National chapter / GBR

Environment

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2021 Factbook flag mirror; image identity has not been individually audited. Source.

Last updated: November 5, 2026

Sections in Environment
  1. Environmental issues
  2. International environmental agreements
  3. Climate
  4. Land use
  5. Urbanization
  6. Carbon dioxide emissions
  7. Particulate matter emissions
  8. Methane emissions
  9. Waste and recycling
  10. Total water withdrawal
  11. Total renewable water resources
  12. Geoparks

Environment

Environmental issues:69

air pollution in the London region; soil pollution from pesticides and heavy metals; decline in marine and coastal habitats from housing, tourism, and industry
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [69]

International environmental agreements:70

party to:Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:none of the selected agreements
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [70]

Climate:71

temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [71]

Land use:72

agricultural land:70.3% (2023 est.)
arable land:25% (2023 est.)
permanent crops:0.2% (2023 est.)
permanent pasture:45.2% (2023 est.)
forest:13.4% (2023 est.)
other:14.7% (2023 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [72]

Urbanization:73

urban population:84.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization:0.8% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [73]

Carbon dioxide emissions:74

total emissions:340.94 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke:17.093 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids:197.133 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas:126.713 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [74]

Particulate matter emissions:75

7.8 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Source context

Reference period: 2019.

Original reference ↗

Source note [75]

Methane emissions:76

energy:353.4 kt (2022-2024 est.)
agriculture:1,030.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)
waste:1,070.1 kt (2019-2021 est.)
other:62 kt (2019-2021 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [76]

Waste and recycling:77

municipal solid waste generated annually:30.771 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled:34.2% (2022 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [77]

Total water withdrawal:78

municipal:6.227 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial:1.01 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural:1.183 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [78]

Total renewable water resources:79

147 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Source context

Reference period: 2022.

Original reference ↗

Source note [79]

Geoparks:80

total global geoparks and regional networks:10 (2025)
global geoparks and regional networks:Arran; Black Country; Cuilcagh Lakelands (includes Ireland); English Riviera; Fforest Fawr; GeoMôn; Mourne Gullion Strangford; North Pennines AONB; North-West Highlands; Shetland (2025)
Source context

Reference period: As stated in each note.

Original reference ↗

Source note [80]

Historical observations

Notes & sources

  1. Environmental issues. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  2. International environmental agreements. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  3. Climate. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  4. Land use. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  5. Urbanization. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  6. Carbon dioxide emissions. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  7. Particulate matter emissions. Reference edition; observation: 2019. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  8. Methane emissions. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  9. Waste and recycling. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  10. Total water withdrawal. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  11. Total renewable water resources. Reference edition; observation: 2022. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
  12. Geoparks. Reference edition; observation: dates as stated in text. Field last updated: not supplied; profile fallback: 2025-12-04 13:07:35 -0500 (not a field revision date); needs review. Reference source. Edition retrieval date: not supplied (retrieval only). ↩
← People and SocietyNotes & sourcesGovernment →

Countries & territories

Same-year values. Equal values share a rank.

Sources & method

Ranks cover available countries and territories, using the same indicator, source unit and reference year. Unrounded source values determine ties. Coverage is not a sovereign-country or complete global ranking; national definitions may differ. Missing values and other years are excluded. The information icon preserves the original number, unit and evidence.

RankCountry or territoryValue
Source information
International organization

Source observations