Britain and Ireland

The islands of Britain and Ireland are part of an archipelago off the west coast of Europe (121,674 square miles), and the term "Great Britain and Ireland" is sometimes used, somewhat loosely, to refer to that entire archipelago (i.e., the two countries that occupy those islands). The entire archipelago consists of these islands:

• Great Britain
• Ireland
• The Isle of Man
• The Isle of Wight
• The Channel Isles
• The Orkney Isles
• The Shetland Isles
• The Hebrides
• Anglesey
• Arran?

and many other smaller islands.

The term British Isles is sometimes used for this geographical entity; some people believe one should avoid using it because it has the rather politically loaded implication that Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Isles are British.

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