Q 01/05

Which four countries make up the United Kingdom?

A) England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

B) England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland

C) England, Scotland and Wales

D) England, Wales, Cornwall and Scotland

Answer · why

A) England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The Prime Minister's website has called it 'countries within a country'; the population passed 69 million in 2024.

Q 02/05

What are the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

A) Glasgow, Swansea and Derry

B) Edinburgh, Swansea and Belfast

C) Glasgow, Cardiff and Dublin

D) Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast

Answer · why

D) Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast

London is the capital of both England and the UK.

Q 03/05

What does 'Great Britain' strictly refer to?

A) The whole UK including Northern Ireland

B) England only, in official usage

C) The island of England, Scotland and Wales

D) England and Wales, in legal usage

Answer · why

C) The island of England, Scotland and Wales

'Britain' is used loosely for either; the BBC style guide only insists that Great Britain excludes Northern Ireland.

Q 04/05

In what year did the Kingdoms of England and Scotland unite to form Great Britain?

A) 1745

B) 1707

C) 1801

D) 1922

Answer · why

B) 1707

The crowns had been united in 1603 under James VI and I; the parliaments merged with the Acts of Union on 1 May 1707.

Q 05/05

When did the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland come into being?

A) 1707

B) 1776

C) 1801

D) 1922

Answer · why

C) 1801

Most of Ireland left as the Irish Free State in 1922 and the name became 'Great Britain and Northern Ireland' in 1927.