Reviews and Blog Posts: Great Britain

England, Great Britain, United Kingdom: What's the Difference?

Submitted by Janet on July 20, 2012 - 5:15pm
in
Map of the UK: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.

Sometimes you find answers in unexpected places. I found the most succinct description I've ever seen of how England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom relate to each other in a library newsletter about travel guidebooks:

  • London is the capital of England.
  • England is a country.
  • Britain is an area that consists of England and the country of Wales.
  • Great Britain is the name of the island that is home to the countries of England, Wales, and Scotland.
  • The United Kingdom (UK) is a country that is a union of the countries on the island of Great Britain, along with the country of Northern Ireland (which shares the island of Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.)
  • [The Republic of Ireland is] a separate country that is not part of the UK.
  • London is also the capital of the UK.
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