The United Kingdom is a union of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Great Britain refers to the island of England, Scotland, and Wales. England dominates the UK, but Scotland and Wales have some self-government. “British” refers to people from Great Britain, not just England. Scotland and England united in 1707, and Wales has been separate since 1955. Northern Ireland is on a different island and is independent of the Republic of Ireland. The British Isles include Ireland, Great Britain, and thousands of small islands.
The United Kingdom (United Kingdom) is often mistakenly referred to as England, Great Britain or Great Britain. In fact, the United Kingdom is a union of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The name United Kingdom is short for: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain refers to one of the two major islands that make up the British Isles; consists of England, Scotland and Wales.
Some people probably confuse England as equal to all of Great Britain or the United Kingdom due to England’s dominance and power in Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Being the largest part of the United Kingdom, England holds about 84% of the population of the whole of the United Kingdom and geographically covers about 57% of Great Britain. Furthermore, London, as the capital of England and the largest city in the United Kingdom, has been the center of government of the United Kingdom since 1707. In 1999, however, Scotland and Wales were granted some powers of self-government, and the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales now have some governing power.
It is also easy to confuse the term “British” with the same meaning as “English”. “British” correctly refers to any people of Great Britain and not just the “English” from England. For the most part, people from England, Scotland and Wales prefer to be referred to as ‘English’, ‘Scottish’ and ‘Welsh’ respectively, as opposed to the more generic term ‘British’.
Scotland occupies the upper part of Great Britain. It was a separate country from England until 1603, when King James VI, King of Scots also inherited the English throne. The countries, however, remained separate until the Acts of Union were passed in 1707, uniting the English and Scottish Parliaments into one Parliament of the United Kingdom. By this time, England already controlled Wales and Ireland.
Wales, on the other hand, occupies a sort of southwest region of Great Britain and is separated from Ireland and Northern Ireland by the Irish Sea. Although its complex history with England has spanned many centuries, it has been officially considered separate from England since 1955.
The last component of the United Kingdom is Northern Ireland, founded in 1920 and independent of the Republic of Ireland. It is the only one of the four UK countries that is on a different island. Both Ireland and Northern Ireland occupy the island west of Great Britain. These two islands, Ireland on one side and Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) on the other, as well as thousands of small islands, comprise the British Isles. The Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man are some of the most popular small islands in the British Isles.
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