Great Britain or United Kingdom (GB or UK)?

I was signing up for an online service. One of the stages was to select my country from a drop-down list. That should be easy, I thought, but the UK was not listed. Neither was England. A further hunt and I spotted ‘GB – United Kingdom.’

Now, let’s be clear: Great Britain is not the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is comprised of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland. It is all very confusing, I know, but here it is explained in map form:

And if you prefer charts, the one below gives you the details:

This complex structure is borne out of the colourful history of the British Isles. The map clearly hints at the friction that continues today within Ireland.

Kevin Harrington Partner

Kevin Harrington is a Partner at Exit Factor UK, helping SME owners increase business value & build a rewarding, well-planned exit. Former CMO at BBC Worldwide.

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