British Isles British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe that consists of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and over six thousand smaller isles. They have a total area of about 315,159 km and a combined population of just under 70 million, and include two sovereign states, the Republic of Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of the island of Ireland) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The islands of Alderney, Jersey, Guernsey and Sark, and their neighbouring smaller islands, are sometimes
Politics in the British Isles merely a formality. There have been discussions within some of the Crown dependencies about greater independence from the Crown, but they have not yet gained strong popular or governmental support. The following is a summary of the intergovernmental bodies and collaboration platforms in the British Isles (note: this list does not include bodies that exist solely in the United Kingdom such as the Joint Ministerial Committee) The main body for multilateral international relations in the islands, since 1998, is the British–Irish Council. The British-Irish Council (BIC) is an international organisation established under the Belfast Agreement in 1998. Its membership comprises