State vs. Nation: What's the Difference?
Edited by Aimie Carlson || By Janet White || Published on November 15, 2023
A state refers to a political entity with defined borders and governance, while a nation denotes a group of people sharing common culture, history, or descent.
Key Differences
A state is fundamentally a political and geographic unit that possesses sovereignty. It has definite territorial boundaries, a government, and often a formal constitution. In contrast, a nation refers to a large body of people, often unified by a shared language, culture, heritage, or history. Essentially, it encapsulates a shared identity irrespective of political or territorial considerations.
While every state aims to have the legitimacy of governance over its territory and maintain order within its borders, a nation is bound by ties of unity, often emotional and cultural. This means that while states focus on governance and legal systems, nations are more about the shared experiences, memories, and values of its people.
It's entirely possible for a nation to exist without having a state of its own. For instance, the Kurds are an ethnic group with their own language and traditions, representing a nation but without a sovereign state. Conversely, a state like the United States encompasses multiple nations, given its diverse ethnic and cultural groups.
A state has the power to enter into international agreements, enact laws, and exercise power through its governing bodies. On the other hand, a nation might lack these political powers but can significantly influence cultural and societal norms within or even outside state boundaries. The concept of "nationhood" often evokes sentiments of pride, belonging, and shared history.
In many instances, the terms state and nation combine to form "nation-state," where the geographical boundaries of a state align with a single predominant nation. Japan, where the majority of residents share a common cultural and ethnic identity, is an example of a nation-state.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A political entity with governance and borders.
A group sharing common culture, history, or descent.
Focus
Territorial and political.
Cultural and social.
Legal Standing
Can possess sovereignty.
Lacks political sovereignty.
Constituents
Citizens, regardless of cultural or ethnic background.
People unified by shared traits, often cultural.
Example
USA, France, Brazil.
Kurds, Native Americans, Maori.
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State and Nation Definitions
State
A governing authority with sovereignty.
The state has the power to impose taxes on its citizens.
Nation
A tribal or indigenous group with shared heritage.
The Navajo nation has a rich cultural history.
State
A specific condition or manner of existing.
The water's state changed from liquid to gas.
Nation
People of a particular country or territory.
The nation celebrated its Independence Day with joy.
State
To express something in specific terms.
He will state his opinion at the meeting.
Nation
A territory or country regarded as a political entity.
The United Nation has member countries from around the world.
State
A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances
The office was in a state of confusion.
Nation
A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country.
State
A condition of being in a stage or form, as of structure, growth, or development
The fetal state.
Nation
The territory occupied by such a group of people
All across the nation, people are voting their representatives out.
State
A mental or emotional condition
In a manic state.
Nation
The government of a sovereign state.
State
(Informal) A condition of excitement or distress
Was in a state over going to the prom.
Nation
A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality
"Historically the Ukrainians are an ancient nation which has persisted and survived through terrible calamity" (Robert Conquest).
State
Social position or rank.
Nation
A federation or tribe, especially one composed of Native Americans.
State
(Physics) The condition of a physical system with regard to phase, form, composition, or structure
Ice is the solid state of water.
Nation
The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe.
State
Ceremony; pomp
Foreign leaders dining in state at the White House.
Nation
A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
The Roma are a nation without a country.
State
The supreme public power within a sovereign political entity
The state intervening in the economy.
Nation
A sovereign state.
Though legally single nations, many states comprise several distinct cultural or ethnic groups.
State
The sphere of supreme civil power within a given polity
Matters of state.
Nation
An association of students based on its members' birthplace or ethnicity.
Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, nations are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland.
State
A specific kind of government
The socialist state.
Nation
(obsolete) A great number; a great deal.
State
A body politic, especially one constituting a nation
The states of Eastern Europe.
Nation
(rare) Damnation.
State
One of the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government
The 48 contiguous states of the Union.
Nation
Extremely, very.
State
Of or relating to a body politic or to an internally autonomous territorial or political unit constituting a federation under one government
A monarch dealing with state matters.
The department that handles state security.
Nation
A part, or division, of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by common descent, language, or institutions; a race; a stock.
All nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.
State
Owned and operated by a state
State universities.
Nation
The body of inhabitants of a country, united under an independent government of their own.
A nation is the unity of a people.
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
State
To set forth in words; declare.
Nation
Family; lineage.
State
A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.
A state of being
A state of emergency
Nation
One of the divisions of university students in a classification according to nativity, formerly common in Europe.
State
(physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
Nation
A great number; a great deal; - by way of emphasis; as, a nation of herbs.
State
A mess; disorder.
Absolute state
In a state
Nation
A politically organized body of people under a single government;
The state has elected a new president
African nations
Students who had come to the nation's capitol
The country's largest manufacturer
An industrialized land
State
(computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.
In the fetch state, the address of the next instruction is placed on the address bus.
Nation
The people who live in a nation or country;
A statement that sums up the nation's mood
The news was announced to the nation
The whole country worshipped him
State
(computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.
The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far.
Nation
A federation of tribes (especially native American tribes);
The Shawnee nation
State
(computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.
A debugger can show the state of a program at any breakpoint.
Nation
United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911)
State
(sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
Nation
A large group of people united by common descent, history, or culture.
The Maori are the indigenous nation of New Zealand.
State
(obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
Nation
A community of people composed of one or more nationalities.
The American nation is known for its cultural diversity.
State
High social standing or circumstance.
State
Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.
In state
The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol.
State
Rank; condition; quality.
State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
State
(obsolete) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince.
State
(obsolete) Estate, possession.
State
A polity.
State
Any sovereign polity; a national or city-state government.
State
A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, or India.
State
(obsolete) A form of government other than a monarchy.
State
(anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
State
An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
State
The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.
State
(transitive) To declare to be a fact.
He stated that he was willing to help.
State
(transitive) To make known.
State your intentions.
State
(obsolete) Stately.
State
The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time.
State is a term nearly synonymous with "mode," but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent.
Declare the past and present state of things.
Keep the state of the question in your eye.
State
Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor.
Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me.
State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes.
Can this imperious lord forget to reign,Quit all his state, descend, and serve again?
State
Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp.
Where least of state there most of love is shown.
State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
His high throne, . . . under stateOf richest texture spread.
When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl.
State
Estate; possession.
Your state, my lord, again is yours.
State
A person of high rank.
State
The principal persons in a government.
The bold designPleased highly those infernal states.
State
The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.
State
A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic.
Well monarchies may own religion's name,But states are atheists in their very fame.
State
A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation.
Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state.
The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop.
State
In the United States, one of the commonwealths, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stand in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealths, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited.
State
Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
I do not, brother,Infer as if I thought my sister's stateSecure without all doubt or controversy.
We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life.
And, O, what man's condition can be worseThan his whom plenty starves and blessings curse?
State
A statement; also, a document containing a statement.
State
Stately.
State
Belonging to the state, or body politic; public.
State
To set; to settle; to establish.
I myself, though meanest stated,And in court now almost hated.
Who calls the council, states the certain day.
State
To express the particulars of; to set down in detail or in gross; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite; as, to state the facts of a case, one's opinion, etc.
State
The group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state;
The state has lowered its income tax
State
The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation;
His state is in the deep south
State
A politically organized body of people under a single government;
The state has elected a new president
African nations
Students who had come to the nation's capitol
The country's largest manufacturer
An industrialized land
State
The way something is with respect to its main attributes;
The current state of knowledge
His state of health
In a weak financial state
State
The federal department in the UnitedStates that sets and maintains foreign policies;
The Department of State was created in 1789
State
The territory occupied by a nation;
He returned to the land of his birth
He visited several European countries
State
A state of depression or agitation;
He was in such a state you just couldn't reason with him
State
(chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container);
The solid state of water is called ice
State
Express in words;
He said that he wanted to marry her
Tell me what is bothering you
State your opinion
State your name
State
Put before;
I submit to you that the accused is guilty
State
Indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.;
Can you express this distance in kilometers?
State
A political entity with defined territorial boundaries.
The state of California is known for its diverse landscapes.
State
A division within a federation.
Texas is the largest state in the contiguous USA.
FAQs
Is every state also a nation?
No, not every state corresponds directly to a single nation.
Can nations influence political decisions in a state?
Yes, nations can influence politics, especially if they represent a significant portion of the population.
Is every country a state?
Generally, yes. Most countries are recognized states with defined territories and governance.
Are city-states actual states?
Yes, city-states like Singapore are sovereign entities, combining urban areas with state governance.
Can a nation exist without a state?
Yes, a nation can exist without having its own sovereign state.
What differentiates nation from ethnicity?
While closely related, ethnicity emphasizes shared genetic traits, while nation focuses on cultural, historical, or descent ties.
Can nations cross state borders?
Yes, a nation can span multiple states. For example, the Kurdish nation exists across several Middle Eastern states.
Can a state exist without a nation?
Yes, a state can exist with multiple nations within its borders.
Can a state have multiple official languages?
Yes, a state can recognize multiple languages due to the diverse nations within it.
What's a "nation-state"?
A nation-state is a state wherein the political and national identity largely coincide.
Can a nation seek its own state?
Yes, nations can and have sought statehood, sometimes leading to the creation of new states.
Is the term nation always related to ethnicity?
No, while often tied to ethnicity, a nation can also be defined by shared culture, language, or history.
Are the United Nations and nation the same?
No, the United Nations is an international organization, while a nation represents people with shared attributes.
Why do nations matter in modern states?
Nations influence culture, politics, and societal norms, playing a vital role in state identity and cohesion.
Can states merge or split?
Yes, throughout history, states have merged (unification) or split (secession) based on various reasons.
Why are some states called "federal"?
States are termed federal when they have a system of governance with divided powers between central and regional entities.
How are nations preserved within a state?
Through cultural preservation, education, laws, and sometimes autonomous regions.
How does a state manage multiple nations within it?
Through inclusive governance, representation, and recognizing cultural or regional autonomies.
How does a state gain international recognition?
Recognition typically comes from other states, often influenced by diplomatic, economic, and geopolitical factors.
Can states change over time?
Yes, states can undergo territorial, political, or governance changes.
About Author
Written by
Janet WhiteJanet White has been an esteemed writer and blogger for Difference Wiki. Holding a Master's degree in Science and Medical Journalism from the prestigious Boston University, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise and passion for her field. When she's not immersed in her work, Janet relishes her time exercising, delving into a good book, and cherishing moments with friends and family.
Edited by
Aimie CarlsonAimie Carlson, holding a master's degree in English literature, is a fervent English language enthusiast. She lends her writing talents to Difference Wiki, a prominent website that specializes in comparisons, offering readers insightful analyses that both captivate and inform.
