The difference between UK, GBR, and Britain

The various terms used to describe the different (and sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding islands are often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity between some of the actual words used, but also because they are often used loosely. The purpose of this article is to explain the meanings of and inter-relationships among those terms.

In brief, the main terms and their simple explanations are as follows.

• Geographical terms
  • The British Isles is an archipelago consisting of the two large islands of Great Britain and Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands.
  • Great Britain is the largest island of the archipelago^[1][2][3] and lies directly north of France.
  • Ireland is the second largest island of the archipelago and lies directly to the west of Great Britain.
  • The full list of islands in the British Isles includes over 1,000 islands,^[4] of which 51 have an area larger than 20 km².

• Political terms
  • The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the constitutional monarchy occupying the island of Great Britain, the small nearby islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Usually, it is shortened to United Kingdom, the UK, Great Britain or Britain.^[5][6] The abbreviation GB is generally used for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in international agreements e.g. Universal Postal Union and Road Traffic Convention, as well as in the ISO 3166 country codes (GB and GBR).
  • Ireland is the sovereign republic occupying the larger portion of the island of Ireland. However, to distinguish the state from the island it occupies the majority of, or to distinguish either of these from Northern Ireland, it is also called "the Republic of Ireland" or simply "the Republic". Periodically, its Irish-language name, Éire, will be used in an English-language context to distinguish it from "Northern Ireland", even though the word "Éire" directly translates as "Ireland".
  • England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are sometimes referred to as the constituent countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Alternatively, they are referred to as the countries of the United Kingdom.
  • England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom.
  • Great Britain means the countries of England, Wales and Scotland considered as a unit.^[7][6]
  • British Islands consists of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. These are the states within the British Isles that have the British monarch as head of state.

• Linguistic terms
  • The United Kingdom and the (Republic of) Ireland are sometimes referred to as nations and countries in formal documents while England, Wales, Scotland and (to a lesser extent) Northern Ireland are also referred to as nations and countries. In everyday language the terms nation and country are used almost interchangeably.
  • British is an adjective pertaining to the United Kingdom; for example, a citizen of the UK is called a British citizen.
  • Wales is sometimes erroneously referred to as the 'Principality of Wales', or just 'the Principality', although this has no modern geographical or constitutional basis.
  • Northern Ireland can also be referred to, by those of a unionist persuasion, as the Province, in relation to its locality within the Province of Ulster.
• Sport
  • The constituent countries of the United Kingdom often compete separately in international competition as nations (and can be described as "the home nations"). For example in association football, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England play as nations and are officially referred to as nations. An additional complication is that in some sports, such as rugby union, players from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland play as one team, Ireland, in international competitions.
  • Rugby union players from both Ireland and Great Britain play for British and Irish Lions representing the four "Home Unions" of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
  • Great Britain is often used to mean United Kingdom. Usually this is simply sloppy language, but it is sometimes used as an official shortening of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For example, at the Olympic Games, the team officially called "Great Britain" represents the political entity the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland. The "Ireland" Olympic team represents the whole island of Ireland, a geographical entity. Athletes from Northern Ireland have the choice of participating in either the "Great Britain" team or the "Ireland" team.^[8]
  • In the majority of individual sports (e.g. tennis and athletics), at international level competitors are identified as GB if they are from Great Britain or Northern Ireland. A small number of sports (e.g. golf) identify participants as representing their constituent country. In the Commonwealth Games, different parts of the United Kingdom compete as separate nations.