Lesson 1 of 4

Four countries in one state

England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. The UK is the state formed by these countries; the Republic of Ireland, which occupies the rest of the island of Ireland, is a separate country.

The lesson

The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These are four countries within one sovereign state; the Republic of Ireland, which covers the rest of the island of Ireland, is a separate country.

Recognise the flags

Northern Ireland has no separate current official national flag. The Union Flag is used officially. Neither the Ulster Banner nor St Patrick’s saltire is shown here as a current Northern Ireland national flag.

Union Flag: red and white upright and diagonal crosses on a blue field.

United Kingdom — the Union Flag. Its crosses are associated with St George, St Andrew and St Patrick; Wales has no separate cross in this design.

Union Flag · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
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Flag of England: a red upright cross on white.

England — St George’s Cross.

Nicholas Shanks · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
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Flag of Scotland: a white diagonal cross on blue.

Scotland — St Andrew’s Cross, also called the Saltire.

Scottish Saltire · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
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Flag of Wales: a red dragon on white and green horizontal bands.

Wales — the Red Dragon (Y Ddraig Goch).

Tobias Jakobs / Open Clip Art Library · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have devolved institutions for some domestic matters. The UK Parliament remains the parliament for the whole state.

Locate the UK and its neighbours

Map showing Great Britain east of Ireland; Scotland, England and Wales on Great Britain, Northern Ireland on Ireland, and the separate Republic of Ireland. Isle of Man and Channel Islands are marked as Crown dependencies.

Great Britain is the island containing England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is on the island of Ireland; together the four countries form the UK (teal). The Republic of Ireland is a separate state (grey). The Isle of Man and Channel Islands are Crown dependencies outside the UK. Dots locate islands and are enlarged; internal UK country boundaries are not drawn.

Natural Earth · public domain · educational labels/layout CC0
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More on this topic

The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast respectively. London is also the capital of the UK. Each country has a distinct history and identity; being part of the UK does not make Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland part of England.

England, Scotland, and Wales lie on the island of Great Britain. Northern Ireland lies on the island of Ireland and shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. The Republic is a separate independent country and is not part of the UK.