3. The People

British people, referred to as the British （and also as Britons, informally Brits or Britishers） are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man², any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants. British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which are acquired, for instance, by birth in the U.K. or by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, the term British people refers to the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the Forth.

Although early assertions of being British date from the late Middle Ages, the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness was forged during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and the First French Empire, 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 Britain; Britishness became superimposed on much older identities, of English, Scots and Welsh cultures, whose distinctiveness still resists notions of a homogenized British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by unionists.

Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled in Great Britain before the 11th century. Prehistoric, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse influences were blended in Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings from northern France. Conquest and union facilitated migration, cultural and linguistic exchange, and intermarriage between the peoples of England, Scotland and Wales during the Middle Ages, Early Modern period and beyond. Since the 19th century, and particularly since the mid-20th century, there has been immigration to the United Kingdom by people from the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, other parts of Europe and elsewhere; they and their descendantsare mostly British citizens with some assuming a British, dual or hyphenated identity.

The British are a diverse, multinational and multicultural society, with strong regional accents, expressions and identities. Social structure of Britain has changed radically since the 19th century, with the decline in religious observance, enlargement of the middle class, and increased ethnic diversity. The population of the United Kingdom stands at around 62.5 million, with around 140 million concentrated in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, ranking about fifteen in the world terms of population, with England （46 million） by far the most populous part （followed by Scotland 5 million, Wales 2.8 million and Northern Ireland 1.5 million）. The population is increasing very slowly and in 1976–1978 and 1982 actually fell. The estimated age distribution in 1985 was 21%＜16; 64% 16-64; 15%＞64. Although there are more than 6% more male than female births, the higher mortality of men at all ages means that there are more females than males （29 million against 27.6 million）.

The average population density in Britain is about 239 per sq. km, compared with, for example, 190 per sq. km in Italy. England, with 361 inhabitants per sq. km, is one of the most densely populated countries in the world （the rest of Britain is much lower: Wales 135 per sq. km, Scotland 65 and Northern Ireland 111）.