Sovereignty Status
See also: List of sovereign statesThe term "country" is commonly used to refer to sovereign states. There is no universal agreement on the number of "countries" in the world, since a number of states have disputed sovereignty status. There are 204 total states, with 193 states participating in the United Nations and 13 states whose sovereignty status are disputed. The newest state is South Sudan.
Although not sovereign states, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (in the United Kingdom) are examples of entities that are regarded and referred to as countries. Former states such as Bavaria (now part of Germany) and Piedmont (now part of Italy) would not normally be referred to as "countries" in contemporary English.
The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely. Some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas dependencies (such as the British Virgin Islands (GBR) and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FRA)), with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own. Such dependent territories are sometimes listed together with sovereign states on lists of countries, and may be treated as a "country of origin" in international trade, as Hong Kong is.
Read more about this topic: Country
Famous quotes containing the words sovereignty and/or status:
“A family on the throne is an interesting idea.... It brings down the pride of sovereignty to the level of petty life.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“What is clear is that Christianity directed increased attention to childhood. For the first time in history it seemed important to decide what the moral status of children was. In the midst of this sometimes excessive concern, a new sympathy for children was promoted. Sometimes this meant criticizing adults. . . . So far as parents were put on the defensive in this way, the beginning of the Christian era marks a revolution in the child’s status.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)