The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is one of the charities that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as on selected inland waterways.
The RNLI was founded on 4 March 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, adopting the present name in 1854. It now operates as an international service to the peoples of the UK and Ireland and has official charity status in each nation.
The RNLI operates 444 lifeboats (332 are on station, 112 are in the relief fleet), from 235 lifeboat stations around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Since 1980, lifeboat rescues have doubled. The RNLI's lifeboats rescued an average of 21 people a day in 2008. RNLI lifeboats launched 8,293 times in 2008, rescuing 7,612 people.
RNLI lifeguards placed on selected beaches around the South West, South, East and North of England as well as South Wales, aided 11,027 people. They saved 288 lives in 2008 alone, meaning the total figure indicating the number of lives saved by the RNLI since 1824 is 137,000. The RNLI Operations department defines 'rescues' and 'lives saved' differently.