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The British Isles is a term sometimes used to describe the geographic area consisting of the islands of Britain, Ireland and other related islands. Many people in Ireland do not like the term "British Isles" because it implies that Ireland is British. They prefer "Britain and Ireland".

The term British Isles defines a purely geographic area - not a political area (although the inclusion of the Channel Islands is essentially for political reasons).

The British Isles are an archipelago off the west coast of Europe (121,674 square miles), consisting of:

• Great Britain

• Ireland

• The Isle of Man

• The Isle of Wight

• The Channel Isles

• The Orkney Isles

• The Shetland Isles

• The Hebrides

• Anglesey

• Arran

and many other smaller islands.