Constituent country

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Constituent countries is a phrase sometimes used, usually by official institutions, in contexts in which a number of countries make up a larger entity or grouping; thus the OECD has used the phrase in reference to the former Yugoslavia ([example] here) and European institutions such as the Council of Europe frequently use it in reference to the European Union ([example] here). It is not a term of art and has no defined legal meaning; 'constituent' is simply an adjective, and the phrase has no clear meaning outside a context from which the entity or grouping of which the countries in question are constituents or components can be understood.

United Kingdom

The term is perhaps most frequently found in practice in reference to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK): the word country does not necessarily connote political independence (thus 'Basque country'), so that it may, according to context, be used to refer either to the UK or one of its constituents. Thus, for example, the [website of the British Prime Minister] refers to "Countries within a country", stating "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland". This article discusses the use of the phrase 'constituent countries' within that context, but it should be remembered that the phrase necessarily takes its meaning from its surrounding context which may be different. Term used by [British] and [Irish Governments] and [British media].

The constituent countries of the United Kingdom are:

The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom, although their sovereignty is owned by the British Crown.

All four have always had and continue to have distinctive variations in legislative and administrative status and England and Scotland were originally independent states. All four are still generally regarded as possessing distinct nationalities (an attribute of civil society), although they have no distinct citizenships (an attribute of the state). To varying degrees, their inhabitants may view themselves, for example, as English/Northern Irish/Scottish/Welsh or as British by nationality, or frequently indeed as both.

Northern Ireland was the first part of the UK to have a devolved government, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended in 1972. Subsequent attempts at reinstating a form of devolved government in Northern Ireland have stalled, and the area is currently governed directly by the UK government. Scotland and Wales adopted devolved govenments in the 1990s, but have long been described as countries in their own right. Although England lacks a devolved government of its own, it also is generally considered a country and a nation in its own right.

All four constituent countries of the United Kingdom have political parties campaigning for further self-government or independence. In the case of Northern Ireland, both the desire for union with the Republic of Ireland and a small movement for independence from both the Republic and the UK have existed. There is a movement for self-government in Cornwall which has campaigned for Cornwall to be recognised as a constituent country of the UK, rather than its current status as an English county.

Although the term 'constituent countries' is sometimes used by official government bodies in the UK, such as the Office for National Statistics, it is rarely used otherwise. Far more frequently, they are simply referred to as 'countries'; thus the UK Government's [2001 Census] asked residents of the UK their 'country of birth' with tick box options of: England; Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland; Republic of Ireland and Elsewhere; and the Office for National Statistics states authoritatively in its [Glossary] that "In the context of the UK, each of the 4 main subdivisions (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) is referred to as a country". The phrase 'component countries' is also occasionally used. The overlapping, but not identical term Home Nations is also occasionally used by government bodies, but is almost exclusively used in sporting contexts, particularly rugby football; this term more frequently means England, Scotland, Ireland (as a whole), and Wales.

The official name of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom as a whole is 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' and all citizens of the United Kingdom, from whichever constituent country or region, are British (or, more formally since the British Nationality Act 1948, 'Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies', abbreviated sometimes to 'CUKC') and also citizens of the European Union.

Confusingly, due the four are sometimes labelled 'constituent parts' [link], [link]. This is because the Northern Ireland is sometimes described as a province and Wales a principality, rather than a country.

Constituent country

United Kingdom

References

See also