Government, state and country
The nutshell
A country is a place and its people, like the United Kingdom. The state is that country run as one whole, with lasting bodies like the courts and the police. The government is the team, led by the Prime Minister, that runs it for now.
Every fact on this page comes from official guides and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like GOV — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
Three words, three meanings
Country, state and government sound alike, but each names a different thing. The country is the United Kingdom — a place and its people. The state is that country run as one whole. The government is the team in charge of the state right now.
The government
The government is the team that runs the country day to day. It is led by the Prime Minister, with the Cabinet, around 120 other ministers and the civil service that carries out the work.GOV The government is not Parliament. UK Parliament explains that the government runs the country, while Parliament makes the laws and checks the government's work.Parl
The state
The state is the lasting set of public bodies that keep the country running whoever is in charge — the courts, the police, the armed forces and the civil service. These bodies stay in place when the government changes. The civil service is permanent and politically neutral, and serves governments of every party.IfG
The country
The United Kingdom is one country made up of four nations — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under a system called devolution, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each also have a separate government for some matters, such as schools and hospitals.HoC
- A country, a state and a government are three different things. The country is the United Kingdom. The state is that country run as one whole, and the government is the team running it right now (UK Parliament)
- The government is led by the Prime Minister, with the Cabinet, around 120 other ministers and the civil service that carries out the work (GOV.UK)
- The state keeps going when the government changes. The civil service is permanent and politically neutral, and serves governments of every party (Institute for Government)
- The government is not the same as Parliament. UK Parliament states that the government runs the country, while Parliament makes laws and checks the government's work (UK Parliament)
- The United Kingdom is one country made up of four nations. Under a system called devolution, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also each have a separate government for some matters (House of Commons Library)
- A new party in power does not replace the whole state. The courts, the police, the armed forces and the civil service stay in place whoever wins the election (Institute for Government)
The deep end6 min
How the three fit together
The country is the land and the people — the United Kingdom. The state is that country run as one organised whole, through its lasting public bodies. The government is the smaller group, led by the Prime Minister, that directs the state for a time. UK Parliament sets out the split plainly — the government runs the country and develops policy and laws, while Parliament makes the laws and checks the government.Parl
Why the state outlasts the government
The government changes. The party that wins the most seats at a general election takes charge for up to five years, until the next election.Parl The state does not change with it. The Institute for Government describes the civil service as a permanent, politically impartial body that serves governments of different political persuasions equally well.IfG The courts, the police and the armed forces stay in place too, so a new party inherits the machinery of the state rather than rebuilding it.
One country, four nations
The United Kingdom is a single country, but it is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The House of Commons Library explains that devolution has passed some powers from the UK Parliament at Westminster to separate governments and law-making bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.HoC The UK government still governs the whole country on matters such as defence, and governs England directly on many things that are devolved elsewhere.
The words map onto the topics next door. What Is Politics? looks at how decisions get made in the first place, and What Is Democracy? looks at how the people choose the government that runs the state.