ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Administrative geography of the United Kingdom

Administrative geography is like playing hide and seek, but instead of finding a person, we are looking for a place on the map.

In the United Kingdom, there are lots of different places, like cities, towns, and villages. All of these places are divided up into different areas, which are called administrative areas.

Think of it like a set of nesting dolls. The smallest one represents your house, and each bigger one represents your neighborhood, your town or city, your county, your region, and your country.

Each of these administrative areas has its own set of rules and people in charge, kind of like how your parents are in charge of your house and your neighbors are in charge of their houses.

The UK has four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each country has its own set of administrative areas, but they are all kind of similar.

At the smallest level, there are things called parishes in England and communities in Wales. These are the smallest areas, and they contain just a few streets or maybe a village.

The next level up is called a district or a borough. These are bigger areas, like a town or a city. Each of these places has a council, which is a group of people in charge of making decisions for the area.

The next level up is called a county, which is like a big area made up of many towns and cities. Each county also has its own council, which is responsible for making decisions for the whole area.

Finally, the biggest level is the country itself! The UK is divided into regions, with each region having its own council as well. This helps make sure everyone in the country is being looked after and that everyone is following the same rules.

So, administrative geography is basically like a giant game of hide and seek, but instead of looking for people, we're looking for places on a map. Each place has its own set of rules and people in charge, but they all work together to make sure everyone in the UK is looked after.