To the west and off the European Continent, there are several thousands of islands on the continental shelf. They are generally called the British Isles. Of all these isles, the largest one is called Great Britain. For convenience's sake, it is often shortened to Britain. Still further the west of Great Britain is the second largest island known as Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (U.K.) is made up of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and a number of smaller islands around them. The total area of the country is some 240,000 square kilometers with a population of about 57 million.
Great Britain runs nearly 1,000 kilometers from south to north and extends, at the widest part, about 500 kilometers from west to east. Its area is some 230,000 square kilometers. Great Britain is traditionally divided into three parts, or countries: England in the south, Scotland in the north, and Wales in the southwest. There are discernible(可辨别的) differences between them even now.
England is the largest and most developed of all the three. Its area, about 130,000 square kilometers, takes up nearly 60% of the whole island. Its population is more than 46 million which makes up 85% of the country's whole population. The importance of England is so great in Britain that some foreigners just say "England" when they mean Britain. The same is true of the custom of speaking of the British people as the English who are the majority in the United Kingdom.
Scotland is the second largest both in area and population. It has an area of about 78,760 square kilometers, less than 30% of the whole island and with a population of 5 million, less than one-tenth of the whole population.
Wales is the smallest of the three both in area and population. In area, 20,700 square kilometers, it makes up less than 9% of the total area while its population, 2.7 million, does not exceed 5% of the whole.

在欧洲大陆西面隔海相望，有几千个岛屿散布在大陆架上。它们被统称为不列颠群岛。其中最大的名为大不列颠。它也被简称为不列颠。在大不列颠更西面，是第二大岛爱尔兰。大不列颠和北爱尔兰联合王国（U.K.）由大不列颠，北爱尔兰和周围一些小岛组成。这个国家总面积为240，000平方公里，人口约为5千7百万。
大不列颠从南到北有近1000公里长，东西方向最宽处越500公里。它的面积是230，000平方公里。传统上，大不列颠分为三个部分：南部的英格兰，北部的苏格兰和西南部的威尔斯。直到现在这些地区还是有明显的区别。
在这三个地区中，英格兰是最大，最发达的地区。它的面积有130，000平方公里，约为整个岛屿的60%。它的人口为4千6百万，为全国人口的85%。英格兰对于不列颠是如此重要，外国人常称不列颠为“英格兰”。同样，占联合王国人口大多数的“英格兰人”也被用为不列颠人的代称。
苏格兰是人口和面积第二的地区。它的面积为78，760平方公里，不到整个岛屿的30%。它的人口为5百万，不到整个人口的10%。
威尔斯从人口和面积来说都是最小的地区。它的面积为20，700平方公里（不到总面积9%）， 人口为2百70万（不到总人口的5%）。