Sovereign state
State that has the highest authority over a territory / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A sovereign state is a state that has the highest authority over a territory.[1]
International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, a government not under another, and the capacity to interact with other states.[2]
It is commonly understood that a sovereign state is independent.[3] A sovereign state can exist without being recognized by other sovereign states such as Somaliland.[4][5] Unrecognized states often have difficulty engaging in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states due to their lack of international recognition.[6][7] When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may also refer to a constituent country, or a dependent territory.[8][9][10]