The pound sterling (symbol: £; ISO code: GBP), commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence.
Sterling is the fourth most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the US dollar, the euro and the Japanese yen. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF Special Drawing Rights, with a 11.3% weighting (the 3rd greatest) as of 2011. Sterling is also the third most held reserve currency in global reserves.
As a member of the European Union, the United Kingdom could adopt the euro as its currency. However, the subject remains politically controversial. Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, ruled out membership for the foreseeable future, saying that the decision not to join had been right for Britain and for Europe