Is England an island?
England is not an island by itself. It shares the island of Great Britain with Scotland and Wales. However, Great Britain is an island, the largest in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world.
England occupies the southern and central part of Great Britain. Its land border with Scotland runs for about 96 miles, and its border with Wales for about 160 miles.
England also includes many smaller islands, such as the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, Lindisfarne and Lundy.
Island nation
Because Great Britain is an island, people often describe Britain as an island nation. The sea has shaped its history, trade, defense and culture.
Britain became an island around 8,000 years ago, when rising sea levels after the last ice age flooded Doggerland, the land bridge that connected it to mainland Europe.
The United Kingdom also includes Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland, which shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland.
The Channel Tunnel provides a fixed rail link between Britain and mainland Europe.
About 62 percent of the land area of Great Britain is in England, and most of the island's population lives there.