Is Scotland a Country?
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Great Britain comprises three countries – England, Scotland and Wales.
However, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not formal subdivisions of the United Kingdom and various terms (including countries) are used to describe them. The sovereign entity is United Kingdom which represents all these four countries in intergovernmental organizations. UK is the representative member state within the European Union and United Nations, as well as under international law. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) list of countries.
At present there are 195 sovereign countries or States around the world. Territories of countries or individual parts of a country are not countries in their own right. Hong Kong, Bermuda, Greenland, Puerto Rico, and constituent parts of the United Kingdom. (Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England ) are the entities which are not countries. Scotland has no sovereignty and United Kingdom Parliament has power over Scotland’s territory. Scotland does not have external recognition nor does Scotland have its own embassies in other independent countries. Scotland is represented in the UK Cabinet by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
The Supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom & British Overseas territories is British parliament. In 1707 , following the ratification of the “Acts of Union” by both the Parliament of England and parliament of Scotland, the Parliament of Great Britain was formed. This act of Union of 1707 dissolved the separate English and Scottish parliaments. In 1800 the Act of Union merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom.
