What is a Country?

From continents to countries, states and provinces, cities, and neighbourhoods, the world we live in is divided into several categories. We all know our country's name, but have you ever considered what defines a country? A country is defined as a place with its borders and complete sovereignty. In recent times, this concept has evolved to the point where the term can now refer to various places that frequently fail to meet the definition's qualifications.

Despite their tiny size, some small sections in England, such as the West Country, the Constable Country, and the Black Country, are classified as countries. The United Kingdom, which is made up of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, is another suitable example. A person may refer to the United Kingdom as a country or its component states as countries, depending on the context. The Kingdom of Denmark, which consists of Mainland Denmark and two smaller states, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is in the same boat.

The Three Distinctions: State, Country, Nation.

The terms "state" and "country" are interchangeable. On the other hand, a state can be described in political terms as a political unit that has sovereignty (legitimate and total political power) over a region and all of the people who live there. On the other hand, a nation does not require a physical border because it consists of people who share comparable cultures, languages, and beliefs. Palestine is an excellent example of a nation, with many individuals identifying as Palestinians despite the country's limited recognition.

Nations are linguistically, institutionally, religiously, and historically homogeneous groupings of people who share the same language, institution, religion, or historical experience. Some countries are sovereign, but the majority are not. A nation-state is defined as a group of people who have their sovereign state. Nation-state populations share a common history, language, ethnicity, and culture. Iceland and Japan are great examples of nation-states since most of their citizens have the same ancestry and culture.

Sovereignty

There is no consensus on the precise number of countries globally because of the confusion over the sovereignty status of states around the world. There are 206 sovereign states in the world today. 193 of these states are members of the United Nations, while two (Vatican City and Palestine) are UN observers. Eleven more countries are neither members nor observers of the United Nations. After its proclamation in 2011, South Sudan is the newest country in the world.

A sovereign state has the following qualities:

1. Space or territory that has internationally recognized boundaries
2. People who live there on an ongoing basis
3. Regulations governing foreign and domestic trade
4. The ability to issue legal tender that is recognized across boundaries
5. An internationally recognized government that provides public services and police power and has the right to make treaties, wage war, and take other actions on behalf of its people
6. Sovereignty, meaning that no other state should have power over the country's territory

Non-Sovereign States

There are also non-sovereign states. Although they are usually the property of other sovereign governments, these regions have varied levels of political control. The British Virgin Islands and French Polynesia, for example, belong to the British, while the British Virgin Islands and French Polynesia belonging to the French. These areas don't have to be close to their owners. The British Virgin Islands, for instance, is located in the Caribbean on the eastern side of Puerto Rico. Some of these areas have practically complete power over their governments, while others have limited control. Furthermore, the issue of citizenship might be complex. People who live in a territory are sometimes citizens of that territory, and sometimes they are citizens of the country that owns the territory.

I think it is easy to fall into the trap of becoming used to the world being how it is. Why do countries even exist if we all live on the same planet? If we look deeper into why our world order is programmed to be how it is, more questions arise than get answered. I believe that we are heading to a significant global social shift – due to the establishment of the cyber world and the havoc caused by the pandemic. Luckily, we as a species are great at adapting to new environments. So, whatever the world may look like in the future, I believe that we will find a way to be one with our new surroundings.

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