What is the definition of a "country" and would the Norwegian territory Svalbard qualify as a country according to this definition?

arctic_wolves

Excellent question! A country is basically defined as a nation with its own government. Norway took over administration of Svalbard in 1925. Svalbard is part of Norway: Svalbard is completely controlled and part of the Kingdom of Norway. However Norway's power over Svalbard is restricted. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Svalbard Sep 16 06, 7:45 AM

bloomsby

The term 'country' is very vague. To equate 'country' with 'nation' (or with 'nation-state') is misleading. Sep 16 06, 8:33 AM

arctic_wolves

Agreed. Despite this, Svalbard remains under the control of Norway and does not possess an independent governmental system, which is the general rule of thumb. Sep 16 06, 9:26 AM

davejacobs

I doubt there is one all-embracing definition. It depends on who is doing the defining. In the Olympics for example, the United Kingdom is a country (but confusingly abbreviated as GBR), while to FIFA (Association football's governing body), England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are each individual countries. To the Commonwealth Games governing body, even small islands like Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are countries. All these places have differing amounts of self-government, so that definition too is vague. Sep 17 06, 6:16 PM