United Kingdom

The Difference Between the British Isles, United Kingdom & Great Britain -  Tenon Tours

The Only Guide to United Kingdom - Fox News

Unless you are living under a rock, you likely got up today to lots of news and commentary on the choice of U.K. voters to "Brexit" the European Union. But what is the United Kingdom, anyhow? The obvious "Br" in the term seems to have actually developed some confusion as to who's truly saying bye-bye to the EUprompting well-intentioned onlookers abroad to perpetuate some misunderstandings about how to describe the political drama's players.

Here's a fast primer to assist you sort out who's who when it pertains to the U.K.: Part of the confusion could originate from the reality that much of the United Kingdom is found on a single island that is itself a part of a bigger set of islands. In strict geographic terms, Great Britain (likewise referred to as "Britain") is an island tucked in between the North Sea and the English Channel, which at its narrowest point is about 20 miles far from the European continent.

To start with, there's the UK 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 Most Complete Run-Down .K., Parliament is sovereign, but each nation has autonomy to some extent. For the many part, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish parliaments defer to the U.K.

Though bound to the Crown and looped in unity, the specific nations within the U.K. maintain their own local identities and even their own regional languages. (Welsh, for instance, is the main language in Wales despite the fact that the official language in the U.K., as a whole, is English.) Considering that ending up being a republic in the 1940s, the Republic of Ireland (which shares a border with Northern Ireland) has actually run as a sovereign state of its own.

United Kingdom - History, Population, Map, Flag, Capital, & Facts -  Britannica

Fascination About VisitBritain: The Official Tourism Website of Great Britain

The word "British" is puzzling in and of itselfit can refer to things that associate with the UK, Great Britain or the former British Empire. Though it used to be the world's most powerful colonial force, the reach of that Empire has waned. Nevertheless, the present-day U.K. does have a few remaining nests worldwide, which are described as British Overseas Territories.