Great Britain,[note 1] also known as Britain /ˈbrɪ.tən/, is an island in the North Atlantic off the north-west coast of continental Europe. It is the largest island of the British Isles, the largest island in Europe and the ninth-largest island in the world. With a population of about 61 million people in 2011, it is the third-most populous island in the world, after Java (Indonesia) and Honshū (Japan). It is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands. Politically, Great Britain refers to the island together with a number of surrounding islands, which constitute the territory of England, Scotland and Wales. The island of Ireland lies to its west.[8][9][10][11][12]
Great Britain is part of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constituting most of its territory: most of England, Scotland and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, with their respective capital cities, London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.