nation

nation na‧tion [ˈneɪʆn] noun [countable]

a country, considered especially in relation to its people and its social or economic structure:

• The treaty was signed by 22 nations.

• Developing nations want to be sure they're not locked into low standards of living.

• Annual exports of coffee-producing nations fell to $6.5 billion.

• the nation's largest bank

ˈcreditor ˌnation ECONOMICS

in international trade, a country that is owed more by other countries than it owes to them:

• It had record net overseas assets of $293.2 billion last year, making it the world's largest creditor nation.

most-ˌfavored ˈnation abbreviation MFN ECONOMICS

in international trade, a country that is given the same advantages, such as reduced import taxes and higher quota S (= numbers of goods it is allowed to export), as the best ones given to other countries, putting it on the same level as these other countries:

• The US will continue its most-favored nation treatment for imports of Chinese-made goods.

* * *

nation UK US /ˈneɪʃ^ən/ noun [C]

► a country, especially when considered as a society with its own government, economy, etc.: developing/emerging/industrialized nations »

The local community within a typical developing nation can expect to reap only around 15% of the total spent there.

»

African/Asian/European nations

→ See also CREDITOR NATION(Cf. ↑creditor nation), MOST-FAVOURED NATION(Cf. ↑most-favoured nation)