The "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (UK) off the north-west coast of Europe with its capital London is the largest European island state at 243,610 km². It consists of the four parts of England (130,395 km²), Wales (20,735 km²), Scotland (77,910 km²) and Northern Ireland (13,843 km²). The states of England, Scotland and Wales on the main island together form Great Britain. The independent Republic of Ireland is not included.
There are around 800 smaller islands around the main island, which also belong to the United Kingdom. The most important and largest island groups are Shetland and Orkney in the North Sea north of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides and the Inner Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean west of Scotland, Anglesey in the Irish Sea north of the Welsh coast, the Isles of Scilly in the Celtic Sea south-west of England and the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.
The five flags from top to bottom are: the "Union Jack" of the United Kingdom (representing the Union), England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (former flag; officially Northern Ireland no longer has its own).
Military bases
The British armed forces maintain a number of military bases abroad. These include several bases in Germany as well as the two British territories of Akrotiri and Dekelia within the Greek Republic of Cyprus, covering 254 square kilometres.
British Overseas Territories
The 14 British Overseas Territories are not part of the United Kingdom, but are under its sovereignty. Most of them are located outside Europe. They used to be known as colonies or crown colonies. The Channel Islands (including Jersey and Guernsey) and the Isle of Man (572 km²) are not part of the British Overseas Territories, but have the status of Crown Dependencies and the British monarch as head, but are not subject to the United Kingdom. Most of the remaining Overseas Territories are legacies of the Old British Empire. Most are located in the New World or in the Atlantic. These include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and Montserrat.
Commonwealth of Nations
In the 1980s, the United Kingdom lost its last mainland colonies. After the Second World War, the British Empire gradually transformed itself into the Commonwealth of Nations and most British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean became independent. Some colonies became "Commonwealth Realms" (with the British crown in personal union) with the British monarch as head of state, others became republics but recognised the British monarch as head of state of the Commonwealth. These include Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Canada and New Zealand. The British monarch is represented by a governor.
Map: © Goruma
Flags: Wikipedia United Kingdom
Source 1st chapter: WIKIPEDIA British Overseas Territories and United Kingdom
