1. What is a Country?

2. 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 Canada Nation-State - when a nation and a state occupy the same territory ex. Poland, Bangladesh

3. 1) POPULATION 2) SOVEREIGNTY *freedom & power to decide on politics & actions

4. 3) CLEARLY DEFINED TERRITORY Size *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 countriesex. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. * 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.

9. 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.

10.  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.

11. 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 6 th 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