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The United Kingdom took shape through a series of unions: Wales was formally joined with England by the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542, Scotland followed in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, and Ireland was added by the Act of Union of 1800, taking effect on 1 January 1801. Most of Ireland became independent in 1922, and the country adopted its current name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in 1927. It comprises four constituent nations — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — governed as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with London as its capital. The Industrial Revolution began here in the 18th century, and the British Empire once covered close to a quarter of the world's land and population. Today the UK has a population of around 70 million, with London standing as one of the world's leading financial and cultural centres.