Jump to AP Human Geography 2025 Summer Sessions: July 16 and 17, 2025.

Unit 4.2: Political Geography

Unit 4.2 Resources

Thank you, Yakko! Political geography is the study of how the earth is divided into geographic regions. If a cartoon figure can know where all the countries of the world are, then so can you! Granted, this video is a bit dated. If it were redone today, there would be 34 new countries Yakko would have to squeeze in. Now that we know where most of the states in the world are located, the next thing we have to consider in the study of political geography are the questions of "What makes a country a country?" and "What are the different types of countries?". Within our lifetime, the number of countries has grown considerably. Seventy years ago, there were only about 50 sovereign states in the world. Today we have approximately 200(ish) states or countries in the world with South Sudan (2011) being the most recent addition. Of these, 193 are members of the United Nations (Switzerland, the most recent addition, finally joined in May, 2002).

Country, State, and Nation

By Matt Rosenberg at About.com

Defining an Independent Country

While the terms country, state, and nation are often used interchangeably, there is a difference.

A State (note the capital "S") is a self-governing political entity. The term State can be used interchangeably with country.

A nation, however, is a tightly-knit group of people which share a common culture. A nation-state is a nation which has the same borders as a State.

States and Independent Countries

Let's start with what defines a State or an independent country. An independent State:

Has space or territory which has internationally recognized boundaries (boundary disputes are OK).
Has people who live there on an ongoing basis.
Has economic activity and an organized economy. A country regulates foreign and domestic trade and issues money.
Has the power of social engineering, such as education.
Has a transportation system for moving goods and people.
Has a government which provides public services and police power.
Has sovereignty. No other State should have power over the country's territory.
Has external recognition. A country has been "voted into the club" by other countries.

There are currently 196 independent countries or States around the world. Territories of countries or individual parts of a country are not countries in their own right.

Examples of entities that are not countries include: Hong Kong, Bermuda, Greenland, Puerto Rico, and most notably the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. (Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England are not countries.)

A "state" (with a lower-case "s") is usually a division of a federal State (such as the states of the United States of America).

Nations and Nation-States

Nations are culturally homogeneous groups of people, larger than a single tribe or community, which share a common language, institutions, religion, and historical experience.

When a nation of people have a State or country of their own, it is called a nation-state. Places like France, Egypt, Germany, and Japan are excellent examples of nation-states. There are some States which have two nations, such as Canada and Belgium. Even with its multicultural society, the United States is referred to as a nation-state because of the shared American "culture."

There are nations without States. For example, the Kurds are stateless people.

One thing not covered in the last reading was "Where does a nation's sovereignty end when it is bordered by a body of water?". For that answers please read this short article on the Exclusive Economic Zones by Matt Rosenberg of About .com.