Constituent Countries
Categories: British Isles | Cornwall | England | Ireland | Scotland | Geography of the United Kingdom | Wales | Political geography | Politics of the United Kingdom
Constituent Countries is an official term used to describe three of the four principal component parts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK):
All three have always had and continue to have distinctive variations in legislative and administrative status.
Scotland and Wales have some degree of self-government. Although England lacks a devolved government of its own, it is still distinctive enough to still be considered a country and a nation in its own right.
The fourth part of the UK — Northern Ireland — is considered to be neither a country nor a nation in its own right, but rather a part of a nation or a country or a state (which nation or country or state depends on political standpoint). Officially Northern Ireland is a province of the United Kingdom, but usage of the word 'province' may cause offence to supporters of a united Ireland (for further information, see British Isles (terminology)).
Cornish nationalists claim that Cornwall, which is normally considered part of England, should be considered a constituent country of the UK.
The term 'constituent countries' is used by official government bodies, such as the Office for National Statistics. When used so, it sometimes includes Northern Ireland as well as the other three parts. The overlapping, but not identical term Home Nations is sometimes used by government bodies, but is primarily used in sporting contexts.
The use of the term 'constituent country' to describe legal entities which are not states may be disputed by people who consider that as the UK itself is a country in its own right the term cannot apply to parts of it.