大英帝國（英語：British Empire）指英格蘭王國以及《1707年聯合法令》生效以來由英國統治的殖民帝國，是歷史上領土面積最大的帝國，亦被稱做「日不落帝國」[3]。大英帝國的最大面積曾達3400萬平方公里[4][註 6]（一說為3550萬平方公里）[5]。其帝國的領土及管轄範圍囊括英格蘭王國以及《1707年聯合法令》生效以來的英國管轄的自治領、殖民地及其它類型之領土[6]。 The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and colonisation attempts by Scotland during the 17th century.[1] At its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power.[2] By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time,[3] and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi),[4] 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. It was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.[5]
