Introduction

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, a State (or country) is an autonomous, independent and self-governing political entity, while a nation is a closely-bound community, connected via a shared culture. A Nation State encompasses both these elements by being a nation or shared culture, encased by its status as a sovereign State. Meanwhile, a State need not be a unitary or discrete nation, and a unitary and discrete nation may not necessarily hold sovereign State status. Still, there are such things as "Nation States" which are entail both characteristics.


States 

For the most part, the following criteria are used to determine whether or not a place, space or territory is a State:

• Place, space or territory must hold internationally recognized boundaries (boundary disputes are OK)
• Place, space or territory must command its own sovereignty so that no other independent State has power over its own territory et al
• Place, space or territory must be recognized externally by being acknowledged or accepted by other sovereign States (i.e. external legitimization of sovereign status)
• Place, space or territory must entail an organized economy, economic activities, such as foreign and domestic trade, and it must issue money (currency)
• Place, space or territory must contain people who live there continually
• Place, space or territory should possess a transportation system for transfer goods, services and people
• Place, space or territory must provide both public services as well as law enforcement and regulation (police, judiciary et al)
• Place, space or territory may influence social engineering (education, health care, civil rights et al)

Note that a State (or country) in the sovereign sense is to be distinguished from states within federated unions, such as the United States of America. Also, a State (or country) is distinct from territories and dependencies, such as Puerto Rico, which is a dependency of the United States. Note also that not all States necessarily subscribe to the notion of representative government; types of governments across the world vary quite widely.

For more information about international designations of States, see the section titled "How Many Countries Are There In the World? " in "Interesting Facts " located along the menu of featured items. 


Nations and Nation States 

Nations are actually homogenous groups or communities of people, connected by shared cultural attributes, such as ethnicity, language, religion or history (or some combination of these features).

Many of the indigenous peoples of North America refer to themselves as "first nations" because of their shared culture and historical experience, while at the same time, the political jurisdiction of these people exists under the aegis of States like the United States and Canada.

The Kurdish people are also a nation of sorts, but because they live within a variety of States, such as Iraq and Turkey, they are considered to be "Stateless people."

In contrast, homogenous countries, such as Japan or (North and South) Korea, can be considered Nation States because each is composed of a nation of people living within their own State. Israel, which is often referred to as "The Jewish State," is illustrative of another Nation State. Israel is also home to another significant nation – the Palestinians – and as such, the State of Israel also contains "Stateless people."

Because Canada is an officially bilingual country, and the Province of Quebec has a distinct French culture, Canada's biculturalism and bilingualism is a good example of how two nations can exist within a unitary State.

Finally, countries with highly varied populations, such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil, are interesting examples of States that are also Nation States. This is because despite their diverse citizenries, the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil each possess a shared and distinctive national culture of sorts.

For more information about the countries of the world, see www.countrywatch.com


-- Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman
    Editor-in-Chief and Executive Vice President
    June, 2007