If 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' is the official title of the 'nation' and Wales is a principality, are England, Scotland & Northern Ireland 'countries'? And, if so, what's the official difference between a 'country' and a 'na (2024)

If 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' is the official title of the 'nation' and Wales is a principality, are England, Scotland & Northern Ireland 'countries'? And, if so, what's the official difference between a 'country' and a 'nation'?

JFH, London

• Scotland is a kingdom. After Queen Elizabeth I of England died, there was no direct heir, so they had to find a suitable monarch, preferably protestant. They chose King James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. Thus, the Kingdoms of Scotland and England were united.

  L Smith, Edinburgh, Scotland

• A country is the land occupied by a people under one jurisdiction; a nation is the people of a land under one government.

  Jim Dewar, Gosford, NSW, Australia

  See Also

  Which countries make up the United Kingdom?Partition: how and why Ireland was dividedWhat’s the Difference Between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?

• Let us look at this from a sporting perspective. The Six Nations Rugby Tournament includes Wales, England Ireland and Scotland as seperate nations.Hmmm.I appreciate your bewilderment.

  J. Waghorn, Loughborough, Leicester

• A nation shares a common culture.A country shares a common border.Many of Europe's problems during the past two centuries were caused by German desire to unite the German nation into a German country.

  Peter Brooke, Kinmuck, Scotland

• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official title of the state. Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England are often called the Home Nations. All of them can be described as countries, or nations, as can the UK in its entirety. None of them are independent states, however. As you say, Wales is a principality, but that doesn't stop it being a country, a nation (and perhaps a region) at the same time. In this context, country is quite a vague word. There's no official difference between country and nation in the way there is between kingdom and prinicipality. The main semantic difference is that nation is applied to a people with no overt reference to their land. A country is primarily geographical.

  Gareth Roberts, Edinburgh, Scotland

• Scotland and England are kingdoms. Wales was never a kingdom, but a people, ultimately conquered and assimilated into Great Britain and thereafter ruled or reigned over by a prince: so the home of the Welsh became a principality. Northern Ireland is, I believe, a 'province', which means that it is nearby and it's ours (though since it's on their island, the Irish might have something to say about that). 'Country' to me sounds more geographic in nature than 'Nation', which is more of a philosophical and political concept. 'One Nation Under A Groove' is not about land.

  Simon Gilman, Edmonton, UK

• You Brits really sound confused - or confusing?

  Marlene, Hamilton, Canada

• Two incorrect answers above. Firstly: Scotland and England remained separate in 1603 when James became King of Scotland AND of England. Secondly: They have NOT been separate kingdoms since the first act of Union under Queen Anne in 1707 when it became a single kingdom of Great Britain. The pricipality of Wales had already become a constiuent part alongside England in the "Kingdom of England" through Acts of the 1530s and 40s. Following the 1707 Union The Wales and Berwick Act 1756 meant that "England" referred to England, Wales and Berwick. This was repealed in 1967. The term "England and Wales" (recognising a shared legal system) may now be used to decribe a single constituent part of the United Kingdom or it can be divided into England and Wales as two parts. However there is only ONE kingdom now derived from the 1801 Act which included all the British Isles (minus Isle of Man and Channel Islands) until the formatiion of the Irish Free State, later the Republic of Ireland. Hence it is the one kingdom of GB and NI.

  David co*ckling, Newport, Isle of Wight UK

• In his seminal treatise "What is a nation?" the French philosopher and writer Ernest Renan winningly suggested that a nation is "a group of people united by a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbours".

  Martin Jones, By Brixton UK

• Scotland is not a kingdom, nor is England. The Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) were dissolved by the 18th Century "Acts of Union" which ceated the Kingdom of Great Britain. This later became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. When the Republic of Ireland became a sovereign country in the 20th Century, the UK became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.For political (but not geographical) purposes, "Britain" and "British" are used almost interchangeably with "UK" (mainly because otherwise we would have to say "UK-ish") ie. The British Government, British Army, etc, British Prime Minister etc all refer to things which strictly should be called "UK-ish".Under the Union, Scotland retained separate laws and cultural identity from England and has always regarded itself as a separate Country or Nation, regardless of legal or political niceties.Until recently, most English people thought of Britain and England as being the same thing (waving Union Jacks at the English matches in the Football World Cup, for instance). Devolution of power to the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Ireland, assemblies/parliaments (and a recent realisation that the English flag is in fact the red-crossed St George's flag) has raised awareness of the difference between England and the UK - and of the fact that England has no parliament of its own. Even purely English matters are dealt with by the UK parliament - where non-English politicians are allowed to vote.

  Chris Jones, Sheffield, Yorkshire

• Just to correct an assertion made above. Strictly speaking, Northern Ireland is not a province, though it is commonly referred to as such. Rather, Ulster is one of the four provinces of the island of Ireland, the boundary of which approximately 30 percent larger than the country of Northern Ireland.

  Fintan Coffey, Westmeath Ireland

• Aside from the historic descriptions mentioned earlier, the confusion also lies in the multiple definitions of country in English. There is country as in nation, referring to the cultural ties, and country as in state, the political entity (usually on the world stage - such as the 193 countries that comprise the UN). So England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are the 4 constituent countries (nations) of the country (state) known as the United Kingdom. As to the word state, the US, Australia, and others referring to their federal parts as states adds another layer of confusion.

  David, London, UK

• Northern Ireland is known as a province and a country within the UK. As a nation its people from ancient times until now, associated themselves with Northern Britain as opposed to south of the island. As a nation its DNA & cultural identity is more in tune with people of the island of Britain than with what is now the Republic. Irish Republicans claiming northern Ireland and its people is like English claiming the Scots. The Scots originating from Ulster for eg. Reality is even those who brand themselves uniquely " Irish" are infact simply part of the British peoples, alongside other tribes that populated & conquered the entire British islands which Ireland as a whole is part.

  Mark , Belfast Northern Ireland

• I'm a New Zealander, having resided in South West London since 1980. I'm extremely ambivalent as to whether any Countries peoples, anywhere, are actually more confused as to who they are than those here.Absolutely no Brit's pause to consider, why there were no separate English, Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish Team at their own Olympic Games in London 2012: or why a Passport, Drivers licence, etc,is impossible to obtain under any of those 'spurious' 'Countries' they are so indignant about. I have asked 'English people' in their 30's and 70's, with each and every one saying "I'm not British, I'm English" (many over the years)I saw more Union Jacks flying during the Queens Jubilee, followed by the Olympics last year than I've ever seen in my previous 31 years? Where are they now? Virtually all vanished! In the USA, whether you are in San Diego, Maine,Oregon or Key West, they all identify as Americans! Just look at their flags flying out front of their homes: those people know who they are!Richard Osman on your own BBC1 each weekdays at around 5.15pm (A quiz programme called Pointless) where any questions relevant to a Country appear frequently, identifies as follows; A SOVEREIGN STATE THAT'S A MEMBER OF THE UNITED NATIONS!Very simply people, England etc, does not qualify!From one completely amused Kiwi, who will always happily remain so.

  Ron Barnett, Auckland New Zealand