United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (Multipower Earth)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is a nation in the northwest of Europe. It consists of the nations of Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. Each nation has a Protestant majority and speaks English as its official language, with numerous other languages as protected minority languages.

Territory
The United Kingdom has an area of 120,761 mi2 (312,768 km2).

Ireland
Ireland consists of 4 provinces and 32 counties.

England
England has 39 counties, largely keeping the same boundaries as the counties have for centuries.

Scotland
Scotland has 33 counties, based on a reform made in 1890, removing enclaves and exclaves that had developed over the centuries.

Wales
There are 13 counties in Wales, sometimes represented on the unofficial Welsh flag as 13 stars circling the red Welsh dragon.

Religion
The official religion in the United Kingdom is Protestant Christianity, and it is forbidden for the monarch to marry a Catholic and retain the throne. In Ireland, the population is about 89% Protestant; England 95%; Scotland 92%; Wales 94%.

Ireland converted to Protestantism in the early 16th century with the availability of the Irish translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, bringing the Irish sharply into the Protestant Reformation.

Language
The official language of each nation in the United Kingdom is English. In Ireland, around 58% speak Irish as a first language. In Wales, 53% speak Welsh as a first language. In Scotland, Scots Gaelic is spoken by 35% and Scots by 27%.

In the UK, each country determines which languages to recognize, and in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, each have devolved the linguistic question to the county level, allowing each county to determine their official language for government, while also requiring that all business must be available in English as well. In Ireland, 28 counties have Irish as their official language, with Ulster Scots as the official language of 4 and second language of another 4 counties.

International Organizations
The United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the successor to the British Empire.

Members of the Commonwealth of Nations:
 * Australia
 * Canada
 * Kenya
 * New Zealand
 * Patagonia
 * Rhodesia
 * South Africa
 * United Kingdom