Great Britain, the United Kingdom and the British Isles do not mean the same thing, but the two former are included in the latter. The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain - the main island made up of England, Scotland and Wales - and Northern Ireland, while the British Isles also includes islands such as Ireland and the Channel Islands. The United Kingdom was established on 1 January 1801.
The Channel Islands, Principly Jersey and Guernsey are self governing islands that are out with the European Union.
