UK vs UK: What is the difference between Great Britain, the British Isles and the United Kingdom?
Establishing the difference between Great Britain, the British Isles and the United Kingdom can cause confusion even among Britons.
The region, off the northwest coast of mainland Europe, has a collective history with a long list of terms to refer to different areas, both geographically and politically.
Scroll down to find out more about what sets them apart – and never confuse Britain with the UK again!
UK vs Great Britain (or Great Britain)
Great Britain, or Great Britain for short, is not a country but an island made up of England, Scotland and Wales.
It is called ‘Great’ because of its size, as it is said to be the largest island in the British Isles Historic UK.
Great Britain consists of England, Scotland, and Wales, while the island of Ireland consists of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
Like Great Britain, the United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland and Wales, plus Northern Ireland.
But just to confuse things, the term Great Britain is sometimes used to refer to the UK as a whole as noted by Britain.
Is the UK a country?
The UK Prime Minister’s official site describes the UK as “countries within a country,” as evidenced by the National Archives.
To break this down, the UK is an independent ‘island country’ made up of four national countries: England, Scotland and Wales (aka Great Britain) and Northern Ireland.
The UK is also referred to as a sovereign state where Parliament has the “supreme legal power” to “create or terminate any law,” according to the UK Parliament’s website.
“For Americans, the best analogy would be that the UK is like the US, while the four consistent countries are like states,” says Historic UK.
England, Scotland and Wales make up Great Britain, while the United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland is an independent country in its own right. They are all geographically located within the British Isles, although this is a controversial notion in Ireland
British Isles
The British Isles is a geographic term used to refer to a collection of over 6,000 islands.
‘The group consists of two main islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and numerous smaller islands and groups of islands, including the Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Man,’ says Britannica.
“Some also include the Channel Islands in this grouping,” it adds (more on that below).
British Isles – An Irish Perspective
Pictured is Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland
“While the term British Isles has a long history of common use, it has become increasingly controversial” Britannica explains.
This is “particularly true for some in Ireland who object to the connotation of political and cultural ties between Ireland and the UK,” it adds.
The Irish Government has not supported the use of the term ‘British Isles’ since September 2005.
The then Foreign Secretary, Dermot Ahern, said at the time: ‘The British Isles is not an officially recognized term in any legal or intergovernmental sense. It has no official status.’
The famous remarks of Mr. Ahern are quoted by Sean Moncrieff in his book ‘The Irish Paradox: How and Why We Are Such a Contraditory People’.
England vs Wales vs Scotland
The British Parliament (top left) is located in London, in the House of Commons and the House of Lords
The British Parliament – made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords in London – is, according to the British Constitution, “the supreme legal authority” that can “create or terminate any law.”
However, Wales and Scotland both have parliaments with some degree of autonomy. And while the legal systems of England and Wales are linked, both Wales and Scotland can create their own laws.
For example, the drink driving limit and legal hours for buying alcohol are stricter in Scotland than in England and Wales.
Arson and manslaughter do not exist as offenses in Scotland, where they are retroactively referred to as ‘intentional arson’ and ‘culpable homicide’ according to the Scottish Parliament.
Ireland vs Northern Ireland vs Republic of Ireland
Ireland is an island west of Great Britain, separated by the North Channel.
The island is the second largest in the geographical area of the British Isles, after Great Britain.
It consists of two countries: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland is part of the UK, which is no longer part of the European Union.
While the Republic of Ireland is its own independent country and remains one of the 27 members of the EU bloc.
The entire island of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1922.
Where do the Channel Islands fit in?
The Channel Islands are not part of the UK, but depend on the British Crown
The Channel Islands have been ‘dependencies of the British Crown’ since 1066 Britain.
They are off the coast of France, are not part of the UK and are self-governing with their own customs and laws.
The four main islands are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark.
Some say the Channel Islands are part of the British Isles, including the official website of the British Royal Familywhich refers to them as ‘self-governing possessions of the British Crown’.
While others argue that they are not included because they are physically a separate archipelago from the rest of the islands.
The Channel Islands were the only British territory to be occupied by the Germans during World War II, Britannica adds.