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What's the Difference Between

England, Britain and the U.K.?
Erin Blakemore

SmartNews Keeping you current

smithsonian.com
June 24, 2016
Unless you are living under a rock, you likely woke up today to
plenty of news and commentary on the decision of U.K. voters to
Brexit the European Union. But what is the United Kingdom,
anyway? The telltale Br in the term seems to have created some
confusion as to whos really saying bye-bye to the EUprompting
well-intentioned onlookers abroad to perpetuate some
misconceptions about how to refer to the political dramas players.
Understanding complex geopolitical dynamics may be hard, but
thats no excuse not to refer to countries by their proper names.
Heres a quick primer to help you sort out whos who when it comes
to the U.K.:
First, lets talk geography
Part of the confusion could come from the fact that much of the
United Kingdom is located on a single island that is itself a part of a

larger set of islands. In strict geographic terms, Great Britain (also

known as Britain) is an island tucked between the North Sea and
the English Channel, which at its narrowest point is about 20 miles
away from the European continent. Great Britain is part of the British
Isles, a collection of more than 6,000 islands including Ireland in the
west and smaller islands like Anglesey and Skye.
What about countries?
To start with, there's the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. The U.K., as it is called, is a sovereign state that
consists of four individual countries: England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. Within the U.K., Parliament is sovereign, but each
country has autonomy to some extent. For the most part, Scottish,
Welsh and Northern Irish parliaments defer to the U.K. Parliament in
reserved matters that deal with things like foreign policy and EU
membership, but retain authority over devolved matters that deal
with things like education and housing.
Non-Brits tweeting about #brexit: you need this.
pic.twitter.com/rlObCi5OSq
Henry Williams (@digitalhen) June 23, 2016
Though bound to the Crown and tied together in unity, the individual
countries within the U.K. retain their own local identities and even
their own regional languages. (Welsh, for example, is the official
language in Wales even though the official language in the U.K., as
a whole, is English.)
Since becoming a republic in the 1940s, the Republic of Ireland
(which shares a border with Northern Ireland) has operated as a

sovereign state of its own. Though it is physically close to the U.K.,

the Republic of Ireland has its own relationships and memberships
with the United Nations, the European Union and other international
organizations.
Other ins and outs
The word British is confusing in and of itselfit can refer to things
that relate to the United Kingdom, Great Britain or the former British
Empire. Though it used to be the worlds most powerful colonial
force, the reach of that Empire has waned. However, the present-day
U.K. does have a few remaining colonies worldwide, which are
referred to as British Overseas Territories. These territories remain
subject to British rule, though some are self-governing:
Anguilla
Bermuda
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
Montserrat

Pitcairn Island
St. Helena
St. Helena dependencies
South Georgia and the South Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
Three islands within the British Isles retain special status as Crown
Dependencies. Though the U.K. is technically responsible for them,
they are independently administered and self-governing. Instead of
having a relationship with the U.K., they have a relationship with
The Crownthe British monarchy:
Bailiwick of Jersey
Bailiwick of Guernsey
Isle of Man
Then theres the Commonwealth Realmcountries that accept the
Crown, aka Queen Elizabeth, as their constitutional monarch. As
members of the Commonwealth of Nations, each Commonwealth
Realm governs itself, makes its own decisions and foreign policy
decisions, but retains ties to the U.K. and to one another. This
streamlines diplomatic relations and fosters ongoing community
between nations that used to be part of Britains formidable empire:
Antigua and Barbuda

Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Grenada
Jamaica
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Technically, the U.K. itself is part of the Commonwealth Realm, too.
Alrightnow theres no excuse to refer to Britain when youre
talking #Brexit or to lump a country like Canada in with the U.K.s

exit from the EU. But while youre at it, watch for another gaffe:
Calling the EU the UN. (Suffice it to say that its not, and that the
U.K. has not announced any intention to sever its membership with
the United Nations.) When Fox News did so yesterday, British
onlookers were not amused.
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