great britain is an island in the north atlantic ocean off the northwest coast of continental europe. with an area of , it is the largest of the british isles, the largest european island, and the ninth-largest island in the world. in 2011, great britain had a population of about people, making it the world's third-most populous island after java in indonesia and honshu in japan. the island of ireland is situated to the west of great britain, and together these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, form the british isles archipelago.