Constituent country

Constituent country is a term sometimes used in contexts in which a country makes up a part of a larger political entity, such as a sovereign state. The term constituent country does not have any defined legal meaning, and is used simply to refer to a country which is a constituent part of something else.

In unitary states

Denmark

The Danish Realm consists of three constituent parts, each part often referred to as a country:

However, this terminology is not consistent. The Faroes are also referred to as a "self-governing territory" or similar by (e.g.) the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands and the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the Danish/Faroese act of 2005 (Act on the Faroese authorities acquisition of affairs and fields / (Danish) Lov om de færøske myndigheders overtagelse af sager og sagsområder) the Faroese government is referred to as an equal partner to the Danish government.

France

In 2004, the French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia was legally designated as a pays d'outre-mer au sein de la République, translated as an "overseas country inside the Republic". The Constitutional Council of France ruled that this was merely a change of appellation and did not represent a constitutional change in legal status.