Today, perhaps the most mistaken and confusing country name would be England, or Great Britain, or Britain, or is it United Kingdom? Wait, did I just confuse the terms myself? No need to worry because in this article we are going to untangle this confusion that surrounds Great Britain, or England, or United Kingdom…
First, we have to understand the Geographical conditions surrounding these isles.
The islands which are collectively called the “British Isles” are a group of islands which consist of two main large islands and thousands of smaller islands. Approximately, there are more than six thousand smaller islands surround the large two islands.
The island of Great Britain and the island of Ireland are the two main islands.
Together, these two greater islands and smaller ones cover an area of approximately 315,159 square kilometers or 121,684 square miles. The total population living in these regions is around 67 million.
What Is Great Britain?
Britain is named after the powerful tribes who were called Britons, lived here since antiquity. The Romans conquered the southern part (England) of the British Isles and named it Britannia.
Great Britain refers to the larger island of the two which is comprised of England, Scotland, and Wales. This larger island accounts for nearly 73% of the total landmass of the British Isles which is almost 229,848 square kilometers (88,744 square miles) and 90% of the region’s population, which is nearly 61 million people.
England is the largest country in Great Britain, covering nearly 57% of the total landmass, or 130,279 square kilometers (50,301 square miles) of the island and nearly 86% of the people, that’s roughly 53 million people.
Scotland becomes the second-largest nation on the island. Accounting for an area of 34% or 77,933 square kilometers (30,090 square miles) and
Wales is the smallest country on the island with only 9% of the lad area, equivalent to 20,779 square kilometers (8,022 square miles) and holding a population of 5%, which is nearly 3 million people.
So, England Is Not Britain? England Vs. Great Britain
No. England is not Britain, it’s a country that is in the British Isles and forms Great Britain and the United Kingdom. England is situated in the southern part of the British Isles and holds the administrative and commercial capital of the United Kingdom, London.
What’s the United Kingdom Then? United Kingdom Vs. Great Britain
The United Kingdom is one of the two officially and internationally recognized countries in the British Isles, the other country is Ireland, which is situated on the smaller island of the archipelago.
The United Kingdom is formed by England, Scotland and Wales in the Great Britain region and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. Together, these four countries form the Sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is the official name of the state.
Do you know? British Vs. English Vs. Irish Vs. UK Citizens
People from the Great Britain region are British. People from the Island of Ireland are Irish, which makes the people of Northern Ireland Irish and not British while Northern Irish people are citizens of the United Kingdom. However, English only refers to people from England.
Meanwhile, people from the republic Ireland are Irish yet not a part of the United Kingdom but a part of the British Islands/archipelago.
A bit “Messy” isn’t it? read again and try figuring it out yourself!
However, it should be noted that certain smaller regions in Northern Ireland have people whose ancestors were of British origins such as the Ulstermen of Northern Ireland who are also known as the “Unionist Ulstermen”.
So, I believe that we have solved one of the commonest puzzles in our time. England Vs. UK Vs. Great Britain Vs. Britain! Now that you know which is what and what is which, let us give you a brief sketch on the history of the isles.
Do you Know?
The United Kingdom has the longest and the slowest National Anthem in the World.
The British Isles were occupied by humans since the earliest days, dating to around 4,000 B.C and even beyond the Megalithic and Neo-Megalithic ages (commonly known as the stone age). Visible proof of this is the famous “Stonehenge Monument”.
Do you know?
Although Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are separate nations with separate cultures, they work together in a Federal-Structured government and under one constitution.
The flag of the United Kingdom is called the “Union Jack” and is a collection of the flags of each of these countries.
Later, these people evolved and separated into various smaller tribal nations such as the Celts, Britons, and Picts. These tribal nations would eventually turn into what we call Irish, English and Scottish people, mainly with the influence of Christianity since the 4th century A.D. that is as brief as we can be about it.
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