Unions and Relationships in the British Isles Explained

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The map below created by Anna Debenham shows the difference between England, Great Britain, British Isles, and the United Kingdom. While the names are often used conversely, they have different meanings.

The British Isles is the most familiar name for the archipelago. Still, it is not used in the Republic of Ireland, which preferably refers to them as the British-Irish Isles.

The British Isles include the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, and more than 6,000 smaller isles, including the Isle of Man, the Bailiwicks of Jersey, and Guernsey. They comprise 315,159 sq km or 121,684 sq mi and collectively have almost 72 million people.

The map below created by Reddit user Aeromidd shows unions and relationships in the British Isles proportional to Populations.

Great Britain is the larger of the two main islands in the British Isles, accounting for 73 percent of the land area (229,848 sq km or 88,744 sq mi) and 90 percent of the population (61 million). It is separated into 3 nations, all of which are part of the United Kingdom.

England is the largest nation in Great Britain, estimating for 57 percent of the area (130,279 sq km or 50,301 sq mi) and 86 percent of the population (56 million).

Scotland is the second-largest nation in Great Britain, considering 34 percent of the area (77,933 sq km or 30,090 sq mi) and 9 percent of the population (5.5 million).

Wales is the smallest nation in Great Britain, estimating for 9 percent of the area (20,779 sq km or 8,022 sq mi) and 5 percent of the population (3.1 million).

Ireland is the smaller of the two large islands in the archipelago, considering 27 percent of the land area (84,421 sq km or 32,595 sq mi) but just under 10 percent of the total population (6.4 million). It is split within the wholly self-governing sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, one of the four nations of the United Kingdom.

The Republic of Ireland estimates 83 percent of the area of Ireland (70,273 sq km or 27,133 sq mi) and 72 percent of the population (4.9 million). At the same time, Northern Ireland considers just 17 percent of the area (14,130 sq km or 5,456 sq mi) and 28 percent of the population (1.9 million) of the island of Ireland.

The United Kingdom is a wholly sovereign country made up of the three nations of Great Britain plus Northern Ireland.