what is UK in relationship to England Scotland and N.Ireland - I need
to prove that they are countries and not regions

Hello bobbyf,

Pinkfreud has noted that England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern
Ireland are not "independent countries".  However, government entities
in the United Kingdom often describe them as four "countries" (or
"nations").

Here are the two best examples of "countries" that I found:

- "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland."

"Countries within a country"
10 Downing Street [official web site of the Prime Minister]
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page823.asp

- "The UK is made up of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland."

"Policy FAQs" ["Where can I find out more about the countries that
make up the UK?"]
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1019745064429

- justaskscott


Search terms used on Google:

"four countries" site:gov.uk
"countries of england" site:gov.uk

[One can substitute "nations" for "countries" to find additional results.]

"Are Scotland, England, Wales, or Northern Ireland independent countries?

Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are not independent
countries but are four somewhat autonomous regions which are part of
the country known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland or just United Kingdom for short."

http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzscotland.htm

http://www.wearetheenglish.com/aboutengland.html
England is a small country in the north-west corner of Europe founded
by the Anglo-Saxons, a race of warriors who came to this country and
made it their own. Small we may be, yet the English nation?s influence
spreads to the four corners of the globe. When travelling abroad it is
virtually impossible to find anywhere untouched by our influence.
Sports and games invented by the English, medicines which have saved
countless millions of lives, the industrial revolution - the spark
that changed the world forever, English television, music, theatre,
literature and culture. We have given the English language to the
world along with its greatest masters; Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton
and Tennyson.

For some purposes, especially sporting, E,W,S,NI are recognised as
separate countries outside the UK:

The United Kingdom sends four separate teams, representing the
countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to some
international sporting tournaments, including hockey, scoccer and
athletics (Commonwealth Games).
  In Football, each team is representative of a separate national
sporting association, affiliated to FIFA (Federation Internationale de
Football Association) which controls world football. Under Olympic
rules, the United Kingdom is regarded as a single country.
Consequently, no British football team has competed at the Olympic
Games since 1972.
  Similarly, Scotland, England and Wales each have their own hockey
team, and the countries compete separately at international events.
http://www.britischebotschaft.de/en/britain/ab_8.htm

Owain