What is the difference between Great Britain, the United Kingdom and England?

These three European territories, which partly overlap, are often confused with each other.

The British Isles are a group of islands that form an archipelago located in the northwest of Europe, consisting of two large main islands and a group of smaller islands around them. They are home to one of the most powerful powers in Europe historically: the United Kingdom.

But we often refer to the inhabitants of these islands as English, or else we fail to distinguish correctly between Great Britain, United Kingdom and England. And although deeply associated they are not synonymous: they do not imply exactly the same thing. An inhabitant of the United Kingdom, for example, does not necessarily have to be English, or even properly British.

So what are the differences between England, United Kingdom and Great Britain?? In this article we will delve into them.

Main differences between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England.

Although nowadays a large part of the population knows the differences by general culture or because they have traveled to the United Kingdom at some point, it is not uncommon for there to be doubts and confusion about what exactly is Great Britain, the United Kingdom and England. This can lead to awkward situations in which an inhabitant of one of these regions is offended by being confused or identified with another: for example, identifying a Scotsman with an Englishman.. For this reason, we will now look at some of the main differences that exist.

Type of unit: political or physical

One of the elements that differentiates Great Britain from the other two entities mentioned above is the fact that at present only what is meant by Great Britain is only the largest of the islands of the British Isles archipelago. England and the United Kingdom refer to political, not merely territorial, units.. However, in the past the Kingdom of Great Britain was a political entity and not merely a physical one.

Differences at the political entity level.

One of the biggest differences between the aforementioned territories is that they include different political entities. United Kingdom is a country that is made up of four different nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Thus, although England is part of the United Kingdom, it does not represent the entire country.The term "Great Britain" refers to one of its parts (specifically, the most populated and economically and politically important part).

As far as Great Britain is concerned, it is understood as such the island on which three of these nations are located, namely Scotland, Wales and England. In fact, they formerly formed the Kingdom of Great Britain, which was created by the political union of the kingdoms of Scotland and England. The United Kingdom (technically the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) did not exist as such until the incorporation of the territory of Northern Ireland into the political unity of the country in 1800.

Political system

The set of territories that form part of the United Kingdom (including Great Britain which in turn includes England) share nationality, monarch, prime minister and the parliament of the United Kingdom.. However, there are differences at the political system level: while England does not have its own political system in addition to the aforementioned, the rest of the territories that are part of Great Britain and the United Kingdom have their own ministers and parliaments in addition to the central one.

Territory occupied by each

Another of the main differences is at the level of physical terrain. England is a country located on the island of Great Britain, but it does not occupy the entire island. but does not occupy it in its entirety but shares it with other countries.. Specifically with Scotland and Wales.

As far as the United Kingdom is concerned, it includes all the countries located on the island of Great Britain, but it also includes a part of the island of also includes a part of the island of Ireland (specifically, Northern Ireland) and various smaller islands around them. Thus, there are territorial differences between Great Britain, England and the United Kingdom.

Language

One of the most frequent causes of confusion lies in the fact that the official language of the United Kingdom is English, which is the native language of England. However, this does not mean that there are no other languages in the country, as each of the nations that make up the United Kingdom has its own language, which is co-official with English in their respective territories: Scots, Welsh and Irish. In fact, the differences are greater than one might think, since while English is based on the Germanic and Latin languages, the rest of the languages of the United Kingdom are co-official with English. the other languages of the United Kingdom are mainly of Celtic origin..