<P> The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places of importance to cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972 . </P> <P> There are 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories . The UNESCO list contains one designated site in both England and Scotland (the Frontiers of the Roman Empire) plus seventeen exclusively in England, five in Scotland, three in Wales, one in Northern Ireland, and one in each of the overseas territories of Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Pitcairn Islands, and Saint Helena . The first sites in the UK to be inscribed on the World Heritage List were Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast; Durham Castle and Cathedral; Ironbridge Gorge; Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey; Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites; and the Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd in 1986 . The latest site to be inscribed was the Lake District in England in July 2017 . </P> <P> The constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (commonly referred to as UNESCO) was ratified in 1946 by 26 countries, including the UK . Its purpose was to provide for the "conservation and protection of the world's inheritance of books, works of art and monuments of history and science". The UK contributes £ 130,000 annually to the World Heritage Fund which finances the preservation of sites in developing countries . Some designated properties contain multiple sites that share a common geographical location or cultural heritage . </P>

How many unesco world heritage sites in uk