Sovereign state

A sovereign state is a state that has sovereignty, that is, the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may also refer to a constituent country, or a dependent territory.

A sovereign state is required to have a permanent population, defined territory, a government not under the control of another, and the capacity to interact with other sovereign states. In actual practice, recognition or non-recognition by other states plays an important role in determining the status of a country. Although the political existence of the sovereign state is independent of recognition by the other states, unrecognized states often have difficulty engaging in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states.