I was having this argument with someone else on here a while ago and she kept insisting it wasn't (probably because she's from Scotland). The fact is it is a country. It is a country made up of constituent countries:
From the Ordnance Survey (which wasn't good enough for her...)
From the Ordnance Survey (which wasn't good enough for her...)
Ordnance Survey said:The term United Kingdom (UK) refers to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
It is a political union rather than a geographical term.
In international law and international relations, a state is a geographic political entity possessing politicial sovereignty, i.e. not being subject to any higher political authority. (see Montevideo Convention 1933)
In casual language, the idea of a "state" and a "country" are usually regarded as synonymous. The United States are not made up of several 'countries' and the United Arab Emirates are made up of seven 'emirates'. They are both countries too.
