how is the uk divided up?

Question

ok, i am an american and we have 50 states in the US. i was wondering in the UK do you have states or provinces. or is it simply england, scotland, wales, and ireland?

when i said Ireland i meant Northern Ireland, because i know about the "issues" in Ireland and the majority of Ireland being a separate nation.

Answer 1

The UK consists of four countries -
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland (NOT Southern Ireland aka Eire)

Each country is split up into counties such as Wiltshire, Somerset (NOT Somersetshire), Devon (NOT Devonshire), Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Lancashire, Cornwall, Essex, Suffolk, Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk, Kent and so on. These all have a local council which governs that county. Some cities are called "the City and County of ______" such as Bristol (which is NOT part of Somerset or Gloucestershire)

Not all counties have to have the word "shire" tacked on the end of the name.

In London it is a bit different, because they have boroughs which are governed in the same way as counties, but there are many boroughs within London.

Within each county, there are different areas that elect different MPs (member of parliament) that sits on both the local council and the house of commons, up in London.

We also have health authorities, police forces, and fire departments. These generally cover large areas than just one county, but often their boundaries aren't the same as anyone elses.

Answer 2

For a start Ireland or Eire is not the UK but a totally different European country in its own right. Northern Ireland is part of the UK (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) although this has long been in dispute.

As to how the UK is divided up, this gets complex.
At the level of the UK as a European Member State, it is one entity represented in Europe as such.
Within the UK you have the separate countries of Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland plus a lot of small individual bits like the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Falkland Islands. There are actually a number of "governments" with Westminster being the most recognised, Scotland has its own parliament and Wales has the Welsh assembly. Places like Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands have their own governors or goverments subsidiary to Westminster. Within England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland you get county adminstrations, then city administrations and some regional adminstrations depending on their purpose. You therefore get local elections for mayor of town or city, town councillors, county councillors etc etc.

Nothing is simple but it is very British.

Have a nice day.

Answer 3

The UK consists of four countries England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland is entirely separate and is not part of the UK. Each of these countries is divided into counties, just like your states are. To complicate things there are also some offshore islands which are part of the British Isles and come under the British Crown, but are separate legal entities. These are The Isle of Man and The Channel Islands; Jersey, Guernsey, Herm and Sark.

Answer 4

If you ever visit the Republic of ireland (not called southern ireland).
Please go to the following areas, Dublin, ask for a place called darndale, and ask a local tour guide (generally dressed in a burberry baseball cap, and track suit,) "Are we still in the UK."
You are guaranteed the swiftest and most effected geography lesson you have ever experienced.
Also while in scotland why not savour the delights of glasgow, sample the delightfull "glasgow kiss", I would suggest you buy a rangers shirt and head for celtic park.

Answer 5

Its quite a compex system which varies according to the area

Overall the UK is a member of the European Union which has a population of almost 500million

At the top level there is the division between Engalnd, Scotland and Wales.

Scotland has a population of just over 5 million and is for most things virtually independent of England and Wales - it has its own parliament, has different (but interchangeable) currency, different educational system etc etc. Scotland is divided into different counties (predominantly for countryside areas although two city councils in Glasgow and Edinburgh) which are responsible for administering things like education, providing transport, housing etc following the national policies introduced by the Scottish parliament

Northern Ireland with 1.7million population similarly has a distinctive system, influenced in part by it proximity to Ireland and different historical traditions

England (50million pop) and Wales (2million pop) have until recently been regarded as one in terms of government. The Welsh Assembly government is now beginning to develop its own policies and break away but it does not have the powers of the Scottish parliament and so is limited in its scope.

Local government wise England and Wales is divided into metropolitan and non metropolitans areas. The metropolitan areas are the major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester etc. There is no all-England parliament but in effect as England is so dominant in the UK the UK parliament is predominantly adminsitering England.

In England in non metropolitan (countryside) areas there are counties which are generally around 400-500,000 population - for example Wiltshire, Yorkshire, Somerset, Kent etc.

There are in addition central government divisions of the country - so in England you have the North West, the South East etc based on the geographical area - these are used for things like transport and house building targets where it is appropriate to look on a regional level

London with a population of 7million is different - there are in effect 32 different administrative areas as there are 32 boroughs each with around 200-300,000 population. In addition London has a London wide authority in charge of things like transport

There is a guide on the direct government website at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Gtgl1/GuideToGovernment/index.htm

Answer 6

If you look at a geographical map of England (rather than a road map) you should be able to pick out the Counties (or Shires) - hopefully they are marked.
Start at the bottom where the foot is, and you have Cornwall.
Heading North you run into Devonshire, above that is Somerset (famous for its Cider). North of Somersetshire (aka just Somerset) is Gloucestershire (where there is bad flooding at the moment) - principal City Gloucester and above that is Worcestershire (where I live). Our principal City is Worcester, is home to our local Governing Body with local tax collection (as opposed to Income Tax) and administering local Civic functions.
There is an oddity re Bristol which sits within Somerset and Gloucestershire - it was granted County Status in Perpetuity, so it is The City and County of Bristol.
The County system continues up the Country and to the East Coast.

Answer 7

England, Scotland, N. Ireland, Wales and 14 overseas territories.

Answer 8

Divided up into countys, each county has a county council taking the local decisions.
some examples
Hertfordshire
Kent
Cardiff
Essex

This model is used in England and wales but unsure about elsewhere in UK

Answer 9

Scotland, Ireland, wales and Engand only these greedy English like to select all of these places and call them Great Britain! Great for what I may ask?
I'm Scottish not British all of the above places are seperate countries.

Answer 10

england scotland wales and ireland are separate countries but like england is divided into different regions and counties, i hope that helped....=]