Again, not being a programmer, and obviously there's a bit of cost-benefit involved here, is it possible to put the default under the pre-set non-alpha list? Usually I can type in the first few letters to have it skip to the country I'm searching for if they're listed in alpha order. I tend to type the first few letters to see if this works first but then if I use the drop down I see the unordered select few countries above this default.
thaumaturgy also suggested a great alternative. Though in doing the autocomplete/alpha list, I would list each of Great Britain, Britain, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so as to avoid the problem you describe.
thaumaturgy also suggested a great alternative. Though in doing the autocomplete/alpha list, I would list each of Great Britain, Britain, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland so as to avoid the problem you describe.