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Country
A country, a
land,
or a
state, is a
geographical area and an independent
political entity with its own
government, administration,
laws, often a
constitution,
police,
military,
tax rules, and
people.
Some countries are
nation states – for example,
France
or Israel.
In these nation states one particular
nation
is dominant. Other states, such as the
People's Republic of China,
Spain or
the
United Kingdom contain several nations (or, at least, some parts of
the population call themselves a nation), in spite of some of them
considering themselves as nation states.
Sometimes, parts of states
with a distinct history or culture are called "lands" or "countries":
England, Scotland and Wales – the three nations on the island of
Great Britain – are sometimes called countries, even though they are
administrative components of the State of the
United Kingdom.
The terms country, nation, state and land are often used as
synonyms,
but in a more strict usage they are distinguished:
- country is the geographical area
-
nation designates a
people,
however national and international both confusingly
refer as well to matters pertaining to what are strictly states,
as in national capital, international law
-
state is about
government, and an entity in
international law
- land
may be used for "a country and its people" but also thought of as
country belonging to a
nation
or a
monarch
Some countries consist of non-contiguous parts (an
exclave),
separated by land of one or more other countries.
See also
External links
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