Countries of The United Kingdom

Countries of the United Kingdom is a term that can be used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales: the four parts of the United Kingdom. Prior to 1922, the entire island of Ireland rather than just Northern Ireland was one of the countries. The alternative term Home Nations is also used, although today this is mainly in sporting contexts and may still include all of Ireland.

The United Kingdom, a sovereign state under international law, is a member of intergovernmental organisations, the European Union and the United Nations. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) list of countries. However the ISO list of the subdivisions of the UK is supplied by British Standards and the Office for National Statistics and so uses "country" to describe England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland, in contrast, is described as a "province" in the same lists. The Parliament of the United Kingdom and Government of the United Kingdom deal with all reserved matters for Northern Ireland and Scotland and all non-transferred matters for Wales, but not in general matters that have been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales. Additionally, devolution in Northern Ireland is conditional on co-operation between the Northern Ireland Executive and the Government of Ireland (see North/South Ministerial Council). The Government of the United Kingdom also consults with the Government of Ireland to reach agreement on some non-devolved matters for Northern Ireland (see British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference). England remains the full responsibility of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which is centralised in London.

England, Scotland and Wales have separate national governing bodies for many sports, and compete separately in many international sporting competitions. Northern Ireland has a separate governing body for association football but forms joint all-Ireland sporting bodies with the Republic of Ireland for most sports.

The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are dependencies of the British Crown but not part of the UK or of the European Union. Collectively, the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are referred to in UK law as the British Islands. Similarly, the British overseas territories, remnants of the British Empire scattered around the globe, are not constitutionally part of the UK. Formerly, the whole of Ireland was a country of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland is the sovereign state formed from the portion of Ireland that seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922. Although part of the geographical British Isles, the Republic of Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom and has not been a Commonwealth realm since April 1949.