Is Inglaterra its own country?

Question

England is not a country, it's part of the UK, and that is what should appear in a list of countries. In Spanish it's called 'Reino Unido'.

I do not understand this. I thought the UK was a country that contained the countries England, Scotland, Wales as well as Northern Ireland. Am I incorrect in thinking that Scotland is a country?

Please explain, everywhere I google says that Inglaterra is its own country and would be fine in a list of other countries.

I am not poking; I just want to understand.

Answer 1

England is the largest of the four countries of the United Kingdom.

Who said England wasn't a country?

Answer 2

As far as I know England is a country that belongs to the United Kingdom.

Answer 3

I think what the person was getting at was the difference between country and nation. England is a nation while UK is the country (or state). Nation refers to a group of people, usually from a specific place, that have a shared culture which in turn provides unity. Country refers to the soverign political entity and government.

I had a list of countries and included Inglaterra in it, he said this was incorrect. - theredqueen, Nov 16, 2010

People sometimes use "country" and "nation" interchangeably but technically they're different. Nation refers more to the people and country (or state) refers to the government entity. - benweck, Nov 16, 2010

Therefore, England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, etc would be nations within the United Kingdom. Spanish for nation is "la nación" while country is "el país." - benweck, Nov 16, 2010

Its confusing yes, but England, Wales, Scotland are different countries. In football we play each other, there is no team GB. However, in athletics, GB incorporates everyone?! - jonski, May 15, 2011

I think you're missing the concept, Jonski. Country and Nation are often interchanged incorrectly. Idk how else to describe it other than how I already have. Check out this article http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalgeog/a/statenation.htm - benweck, Jun 23, 2011

Answer 4

Who said Englands not a country lol. May we remind whoever said this that the language you're speaking is English. People from England are english, what cheek!

Answer 5

England, Scotland and Wales are all countries within the United Kingdom and all have their own translations and are listed as such in spanish. Inglaterra, Escocia y El país Gales. And Irlanda del Norte, Northern Ireland.