Country

The Economist wrote in 2010 that "any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies.

Taking as examples Canada, Sri Lanka, and Yugoslavia, cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz wrote in 1997 that "it is clear that the relationships between 'country' and 'nation' are so different from one [place] to the next as to be impossible to fold into a dichotomous opposition as they are into a promiscuous fusion.

Raymond Williams, a Welsh scholar, wrote in 1975:[12] 'Country' and 'city' are very powerful words, and this is not surprising when we remember how much they seem to stand for in the experience of human communities.

In the long history of human settlements, this connection between the land from which directly or indirectly we all get our living and the achievements of human society has been deeply known.The unclear definition of "country" in modern English was further commented upon by philosopher Simon Keller:[13] Often, a country is presumed to be identical with a collection of citizens.

[16][4] State practice relating to the recognition of a country typically falls somewhere between the declaratory and constitutive approaches.

[27] According to the constitutive theory a state is a legal entity of international law if, and only if, it is recognised as sovereign by at least one other country.

[33] In 1912, L. F. L. Oppenheim said the following, regarding constitutive theory: International Law does not say that a State is not in existence as long as it is not recognised, but it takes no notice of it before its recognition.

Some dependent territories are treated as a separate "country of origin" in international trade,[41][42] such as Hong Kong,[43][44][45] Greenland,[46] and Macau.

Revolutions such as those in France and America called for people to begin thinking of themselves as citizens as opposed to subjects under a king, and thus necessitated flags that represented the collective citizenry, not just the power and right of a ruling family.

[59] Flags also began fostering a sense of unity between different peoples, such as the Union Jack representing a union between England and Scotland, or began to represent unity between nations in a perceived shared struggle, for example, the Pan-Slavic colors or later Pan-Arab colors.

[62] Political change, social reform, and revolutions combined with a growing sense of nationhood among ordinary people in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the birth of new nations and flags around the globe.

After World War II, Western vexillology went through a phase of rapid development, with many research facilities and publications being established.

In these cases, there are established de facto anthems played at sporting events or diplomatic receptions.

Some sovereign states that are made up of multiple countries or constituencies have associated musical compositions for each of them (such as with the United Kingdom, Russia, and the Soviet Union).

These are sometimes referred to as national anthems even though they are not sovereign states (for example, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" is used for Wales, part of the United Kingdom).

This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, and language relating to one's homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects.

The report classifies country development based on per capita gross national income (GNI).

[71] The UN identifies subgroups within broad categories based on geographical location or ad hoc criteria.

The majority of economies in transition and developing countries are found in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

The marked territories on this global map are mostly of countries which are sovereign states with full international recognition (brackets denote the country of a marked territory that is not a sovereign state). Some territories are countries in their own right but are not recognized as such (e.g. Taiwan ), and some few marked territories are disputed about which country they belong to (e.g. Kashmir ) or if they are countries in their own right (e.g. Western Sahara (territory) or the state known by the same name ).
UN member states that at least one other UN member state does not recognise
Non-UN member states recognised by at least one UN member state
Non-UN member states recognised only by other non-UN member states
Dependent territories and their sovereign states. All territories are labeled according to ISO 3166-1 [ note 1 ] or with numbers. [ note 2 ] Colored areas without labels are integral parts of their respective countries. Antarctica is shown as a condominium instead of individual claims .
Map of Pacific Island countries identified by their two-letter ISO country codes
A number of non-sovereign entities nevertheless have country codes, such as PF ( French Polynesia ) and TK ( Tokelau )
Johnson's new chart of national emblems , published c. 1868. The large flags shown in the corners are the 37-star flag of the United States (flown 1867–1890), upper left; the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom , upper, right; the Russian Imperial Standard , lower left; and the French tricolore with inset Imperial Eagle , lower right. Various other flags flown by ships are shown. The Flag of Cuba is labelled "Cuban (so called) ". The Chinese dragon on the Flag of China was drawn mistakenly as a western dragon .
Early version of the "Wilhelmus" as preserved in a manuscript of 1617 (Brussels, Royal Library , MS 15662, fol. 37v-38r) [ 65 ]
Gross domestic product per capita of 213 "countries" (2020) ( Purchasing power parity – international dollars )
  • >50,000
  • 35,000–50,000
  • 20,000–35,000
  • 10,000–20,000
  • 5,000–10,000
  • 2,000–5,000
  • <2,000
  • Data unavailable