What is a Country?

State/Country - an independent unit that occupies a specific territory and has full control of its internal and external affairs

Nation - group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity

ex. the Cherokee Nation, the Kurds, Inuit of CanadaNation-State - when a nation and a state occupy the same territory

ex. Poland, Bangladesh

1) POPULATION

2) SOVEREIGNTY

*freedom & power to decide on politics & actions

3) CLEARLY DEFINED TERRITORYSize

*historically size was a measure of a country’s pride,

*microstate - a country so small you can walk across it in a day ex. Vatican City

Shape

*compact nation - land areas are not separated by

large bodies of water or by the territory of other countries ex. Nigeria, Poland

*fragmented nation - nation that has land areas that are geographically separated from other parts of the country ex. U.S.A., New Zealand

Location - relative location is important

* landlocked - surrounded by land with no sea/ocean coastline, hostile neighboring countries can limit economic potential

* coastline - brings trade, cultural ideas

Boundaries - sets the limit of the territory

*natural boundaries - borders based on a physical features such as a river, lake, or mountain chain

*artificial boundaries - a fixed line generally following a line of latitude or longitude - border can be the result of a war or treaty agreement

4) A Government

* Democracy - rule by the people

* Monarchy - monarch has the power, position is usually inherited

constitutional monarchy - very limited power and role is symbolic

* Dictatorship - one person or group has control

* Communism - government and economic system in which the government owns and controls everything in the name of the people

5) ECONOMY - where the money comes from, the production & exchange of goods and services

* market economy (capitalism, free-enterprise system) individuals and private corporations own most of the businesses, government has some regulations

* command economy (communism, planned economy) government owns almost all the businesses and controls

* mixed economy (socialism) government owns some or

the entire economy

parts of businesses for the benefit of the people and individuals maintain basic right as consumers

* Traditional Economy (barter) - customs, habits, laws, & religion form the basis of economic activity; goods and services still produced the same way for centuries; agriculture is the main activity; trade is primary means of getting goods and services

6) RECOGNITION

A country must be officially recognized to be considered a country. Usually it is the United Nations.

4 levels of Economic Activity

1. Primary - gathering the raw materials for the making of finished products

2. Secondary - using the raw materials to make finished products

3. Tertiary - service industries

4. Quaternary - providing information, management, and research services

A large developed country will have all 4 levels of activities. A smaller developed country will not have much (if any) primary activities.

renewable - replaceable resources in a reasonable amount of time such as trees, soil, water, or seafood

non-renewable - resources that cannot be replaced such as gold, iron, gemstones, oil, or natural gas

inexhaustible energy sources - unlimited quantity such as wind, sunlight, or geothermal heat.

Per capita income - average amount of money earned by each person, the higher the income the better off the country is.

highest - Qatar $98,000

6th place - US $ 53,101

lowest – Malawi $273

GNP (gross national product) - total value of all goods and services produced by a country over a year

GDP (gross domestic product) - total value of all goods and services produced WITHIN a country in a year

highest – US $ 17,000,000,000,000

lowest – Tuvalu $38,000,000