The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state in Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of Great Britain (the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.
The total area of the United Kingdom is approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the south-east coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.
Based on market exchange rates the UK is today the fifth-largest economy in the world and the second-largest in Europe after Germany. HM Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy. The UK service sector makes up around 73% of GDP. The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in the UK economy and the country has the third-highest share of global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures. Between 2004 and 2008 the UK produced 7% of the world's scientific research papers and had an 8% share of scientific citations, the third and second highest in the world (after the United States and China, respectively).
In Infectious diseases, United Kingdom produced many researchers so far. UK has established infrastructure for advanced medical research. Infectious diseases Society of UK has emerged as a leader in basic, translational and clinical Infectious diseases,providing guidance in clinical care, education, training, research, patient advocacy, information dissemination and capacity building, within and outside UK. Several leading Institutions in the country including University of South Wales, King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London, University of Liverpool and others are spearheading the Infectious diseases Research. Many Infectious diseases journals of UK are publishing innovative research work in the field of Infectious diseases. List of Infectious diseases journals UK includes Nature, The British Medical Journal.