Several times, in newspapers, television programs and textbooks, we come across the expressions UK, Great Britain and England and we have no idea of the difference between them. In many cases, these words are used as synonyms, however This is not always true. See what each expression means:
Great Britain: It is an island in northern Europe that hosts England, Scotland and Wales. Great Britain is administered by the same government and has an area of 244,820 km².
UK: It's Great Britain added to northern Ireland, which is located to the west, on the island of ireland. It is the entire kingdom led by England and which has the English royal family as head of state and the English prime minister as head of government. Northern Ireland shares the island with Ireland, which is not part of the United Kingdom.
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England: It is the main country in the UK, having London as the capital, the place where the royal family and the administrative seat of government are located.
Therefore, England, Scotland and Wales are part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom.
Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but not part of Great Britain.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "United Kingdom, England and Great Britain"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/reino-unido-inglaterra-gra-bretanha.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
