State vs. Nation: What's the Difference?
Edited by Huma Saeed || By Sawaira Riaz || 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.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
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.
Harlon Moss
Nov 15, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A political entity with governance and borders.
A group sharing common culture, history, or descent.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
Constituents
Citizens, regardless of cultural or ethnic background.
People unified by shared traits, often cultural.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
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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.
Sara Rehman
Oct 26, 2023
Nation
A tribal or indigenous group with shared heritage.
The Navajo nation has a rich cultural history.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 26, 2023
State
A specific condition or manner of existing.
The water's state changed from liquid to gas.
Sara Rehman
Oct 26, 2023
Nation
People of a particular country or territory.
The nation celebrated its Independence Day with joy.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 26, 2023
State
To express something in specific terms.
He will state his opinion at the meeting.
Harlon Moss
Oct 26, 2023
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Nation
A territory or country regarded as a political entity.
The United Nation has member countries from around the world.
Janet White
Oct 26, 2023
State
A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances
The office was in a state of confusion.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A condition of being in a stage or form, as of structure, growth, or development
The fetal state.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
The territory occupied by such a group of people
All across the nation, people are voting their representatives out.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(Informal) A condition of excitement or distress
Was in a state over going to the prom.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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).
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(Physics) The condition of a physical system with regard to phase, form, composition, or structure
Ice is the solid state of water.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The supreme public power within a sovereign political entity
The state intervening in the economy.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
A sovereign state.
Though legally single nations, many states comprise several distinct cultural or ethnic groups.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The sphere of supreme civil power within a given polity
Matters of state.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A body politic, especially one constituting a nation
The states of Eastern Europe.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.
A state of being
A state of emergency
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
One of the divisions of university students in a classification according to nativity, formerly common in Europe.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
A great number; a great deal; - by way of emphasis; as, a nation of herbs.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.
The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
A federation of tribes (especially native American tribes);
The Shawnee nation
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911)
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
A large group of people united by common descent, history, or culture.
The Maori are the indigenous nation of New Zealand.
Harlon Moss
Oct 26, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
Nation
A community of people composed of one or more nationalities.
The American nation is known for its cultural diversity.
Sara Rehman
Oct 26, 2023
State
Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.
In state
The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, or India.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
(transitive) To declare to be a fact.
He stated that he was willing to help.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor.
Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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?
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp.
Where least of state there most of love is shown.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The principal persons in a government.
The bold designPleased highly those infernal states.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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?
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state;
The state has lowered its income tax
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation;
His state is in the deep south
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The federal department in the UnitedStates that sets and maintains foreign policies;
The Department of State was created in 1789
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
The territory occupied by a nation;
He returned to the land of his birth
He visited several European countries
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A state of depression or agitation;
He was in such a state you just couldn't reason with him
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
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
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
Express in words;
He said that he wanted to marry her
Tell me what is bothering you
State your opinion
State your name
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
Indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.;
Can you express this distance in kilometers?
Sawaira Riaz
Oct 13, 2023
State
A political entity with defined territorial boundaries.
The state of California is known for its diverse landscapes.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 26, 2023
State
A division within a federation.
Texas is the largest state in the contiguous USA.
Aimie Carlson
Oct 26, 2023
FAQs
Is every state also a nation?
No, not every state corresponds directly to a single nation.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
Can nations influence political decisions in a state?
Yes, nations can influence politics, especially if they represent a significant portion of the population.
Harlon Moss
Nov 15, 2023
Is every country a state?
Generally, yes. Most countries are recognized states with defined territories and governance.
Janet White
Nov 15, 2023
Are city-states actual states?
Yes, city-states like Singapore are sovereign entities, combining urban areas with state governance.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
Can a nation exist without a state?
Yes, a nation can exist without having its own sovereign state.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
What differentiates nation from ethnicity?
While closely related, ethnicity emphasizes shared genetic traits, while nation focuses on cultural, historical, or descent ties.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
Can nations cross state borders?
Yes, a nation can span multiple states. For example, the Kurdish nation exists across several Middle Eastern states.
Harlon Moss
Nov 15, 2023
Can a state exist without a nation?
Yes, a state can exist with multiple nations within its borders.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
Can a state have multiple official languages?
Yes, a state can recognize multiple languages due to the diverse nations within it.
Aimie Carlson
Nov 15, 2023
What's a "nation-state"?
A nation-state is a state wherein the political and national identity largely coincide.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
Can a nation seek its own state?
Yes, nations can and have sought statehood, sometimes leading to the creation of new states.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
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.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
Are the United Nations and nation the same?
No, the United Nations is an international organization, while a nation represents people with shared attributes.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
Why do nations matter in modern states?
Nations influence culture, politics, and societal norms, playing a vital role in state identity and cohesion.
Aimie Carlson
Nov 15, 2023
Can states merge or split?
Yes, throughout history, states have merged (unification) or split (secession) based on various reasons.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
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.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
How are nations preserved within a state?
Through cultural preservation, education, laws, and sometimes autonomous regions.
Harlon Moss
Nov 15, 2023
How does a state manage multiple nations within it?
Through inclusive governance, representation, and recognizing cultural or regional autonomies.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
How does a state gain international recognition?
Recognition typically comes from other states, often influenced by diplomatic, economic, and geopolitical factors.
Sawaira Riaz
Nov 15, 2023
Can states change over time?
Yes, states can undergo territorial, political, or governance changes.
Sara Rehman
Nov 15, 2023
About Author
Written by
Sawaira RiazSawaira is a dedicated content editor at difference.wiki, where she meticulously refines articles to ensure clarity and accuracy. With a keen eye for detail, she upholds the site's commitment to delivering insightful and precise content.
Edited by
Huma SaeedHuma is a renowned researcher acclaimed for her innovative work in Difference Wiki. Her dedication has led to key breakthroughs, establishing her prominence in academia. Her contributions continually inspire and guide her field.
