What's it Like in Small Countries?

[GreatOak]

I thought it was just because you never got around to make it officials since English was defacto since 1776

That was the classic reason. It changed as immigrants came. They also struggled with whether or not we would still be associated with Britain.

[Deleted]

Everything is much smaller/less crowded.
I've been to NY a couple of times (~10) and tbh i like my little village in austria much more.
Just some fact: Population Austria ~8.4 million. my village ~3k

thats a bad compariosn, you're comparing a small village to one of the biggest cities in the world.

im from a small village with a population of about 1000people, doesn't mean its not crowded in the UK in the cities.

[GreatOak]

Culterally, yes, geographically I would disagree. No Jungles, deserts or arctic tundras here.

I think he was trying to imply that the commonwealth counted.

[Deleted]

I think he was trying to imply that the commonwealth counted.

If you counted the whole commonwealth, then we are definitely more geographically diverse than the USA.

[Horrid Crow]

My country is very small, but there is lots of cultural diversity. Besides, what does it matter if I can drive from north to south within 4 hours?
Europe is the most cultural diverse continent on Earth. And you can't drive through it in 10 hours, not even close.

[Deleted]

English accents are easy to understand. Understanding Scots...is sometimes..hard

If you've only visited the south of england sure. Go up north of england and honestly tell me you understand 100% what they are saying...

[Honzi]

Culturally it's more diverse than you might think. Geographically of course it can't be too diverse because of its limited space. But yeah, everything is smaller, the biggest city for example only has a population of 375k.
Also since everything is heavily populated, the wildlife is rather boring. Everything remotely dangerous is extinct.

[Deleted]

If you've only visited the south of england sure. Go up north of england and honestly tell me you understand 100% what they are saying...

Or devon and cornwall if you like trying to speak to pirates.

[Panoramixe]

Coming from one of the smallest countries in the world, Belgium, I can say it's lovely to live in a small country.

And no it isn't culturally homogeneous in the slightest, probably even less so than the US.
We have 3 official languages: Dutch, French and German, while most (younger) people will have a vast knowledge of the English language as well since we're dependent on it for export and entertainment (although some of our movies and TV series are nominated for Oscars and Emmy's and all that crap). We have quite a bit of immigrants offering even more cultural diversity and we have probably the largest amount of (good) beers in the world in our tiny country. We're also famous for our cuisine, although in the US that knowledge is limited to chocolates and waffles which we're great at but is only the top of the iceberg. And our capital is also the capital of the European Union since we're central between the UK, France, Germany and The Netherlands while being small enough so we can't really abuse power.

Geographically we have some coast, several kinds of forests and plains some which are quite unique in the world and a few small mountains. If we want to see a different form of geography we go to another country in the EU since there are no borders (Schengen Agreement). Most of our holidays are to another country anyway, which is great to broaden our view of the world.

Culturally there are major difference between the French and Dutch speaking parts of the country, partly due to different media for each language. This also has a major impact on politics which are surprisingly complicated because we aren't homogeneous at all. The French side of the country is a lot more left than the Dutch side which causes quite a bit of conflict and resentment. The Dutch part feels too much money is given to those who do not work, while we are taxed too much (which is true). But we're still more left oriented as a whole than say the US, the fact you made such a stink about healthcare is laughable from our point of view. Our socialist ways provide us with healthcare that is considered among the best in the world, something even the far right parties would not dare touch. Oh yes partieS we have about a dozen competing in federal elections, about half a dozen on each side of the country.

Now could you say again why we are more homogeneous than the US?

[Taurenburger]

I live in the Netherlands, if I want to go to family on the other side of the country, I have to drive 3 hours:P

It's nothing special really, though everything is close to eachother.

[Slummish]

What makes you think a small country guarantees same mentalities? o.O If that were true, then there wouldn't be such a thing as politics in such countries.

It's not something I "think," it's something that can be proven and witnessed with even the smallest amount of research.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...ps433e163b.png

The countries in RED still employ the death penalty.

With the exception of Australia and Brazil (and Brazil, in GREEN, still has the death penalty for extreme circumstances), all large, geographically- and culturally-diverse countries still execute their murderers. All of the small, localized countries in BLUE have totally abolished capital punishment.

This would indicate that smaller countries have populations that are easier to collect under one school of thought.

Similar maps exist for gay marriage rights, the decriminalization of drugs, firearm possession, etc. The smaller the country, the more dramatic their legal and social policies are when compared to the largest countries. Big countries with diverse populations generally experience less acceptance of niche legislation.

You're conflating political policy and population size. What's being discussed here is geographical size, population density and political disparity.

[Reeve]

Just imagine it as living in one state.

The difference is that all the states share a common language, a somewhat similar culture (though this can vary heavily in many ways), and the same basic legal framework.

[Muzjhath]

The best way would be looking at it as each US state as induvidual nations. Just add that half (or more) of the time you need to start using a different language.
If you look at it, the states ARE nations, just that they are united by a federation to form a single entity (which in turn is called the nation).
You speak of States in Europe the same way you speak of States in the US of A. We just don't belong to an above federation.

So yes, it is exactly as looking at a US state as a single nation without the overlying federation. Even more so when you're inside the Schengen Area of Europe where there's no passport check or anything for the borders. And you can work free etc (thanks to the EU). The only limit is generally the language.

You've said it yourself, culture isn't the same between states (if more homogenised than most of the EU), and culture WITHIN states are different as well.

[Deleted]

The difference is that all the states share a common language, a somewhat similar culture (though this can vary heavily in many ways), and the same basic legal framework.

The same as any single European country then.

[Deleted]

This would indicate that smaller countries have populations that are easier to collect under one school of thought.

That's a pretty bold claim, and one that could be refuted with countless examples. All I'm seeing in that map is that, with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Japan, South Korea, the US), the vast majority of developed nations have left that barbaric practice behind them.

[Muzjhath]

Sylphen, what's more barbaric. Keeping someone locked into a room for fifty years, or letting him/her die?

[GreatOak]

The same as any single European country then.

How general are we getting? That would include America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other countries too.

I mean, we all use common law, share a similar culture, have shared histories, have trade/military agreements, an speak the same language.

[Panoramixe]

The same as any single European country then.

Euhm any single European country would be wrong, Belgium is a special little snowflake! And there are a few other countries as well with more than one official language. On top of that there are a lot of foreign speaking communities in most European countries who are extremely lucky most here speak English and/or French (a lot of Afro-European, let's be PC to the max, speak French)

[Mister K]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein

Population
- 2011 estimate 36,281


Now that indeed is small, the city I live in is bigger ^^

OP: Nothing much, just less places to visit within your own country, usually fever commodities (such as adventure parks, shopping and alike).

[GreatOak]

Sylphen, what's more barbaric. Keeping someone locked into a room for fifty years, or letting him/her die?

You aren't letting them die. You're tacitly giving the state the power to execute them after a crime has been committed, and sometimes without proper evidence.