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Reference.org
Multinational state
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<p>A multinational state or a multinational <a href="/facts/Political_union/MCtasozk">union</a> is a <a href="/facts/Sovereignty/QnYhTTem">sovereign entity</a> that comprises two or more <a href="/facts/Nation/ed3XkH6y">nations</a> or <a href="/facts/State_(polity)/7ggBzTSk">states</a>. This contrasts with a <a href="/facts/Nation_state/1T5FVEJP">nation state</a>, where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the population. Depending on the definition of "nation" (which touches on <a href="/facts/Ethnicity/XSp5l24t">ethnicity</a>, language, and political identity), a multinational state is usually <a href="/facts/Multiculturalism/jDbm9eo5">multicultural</a> or <a href="/facts/Multilingualism/WgzhSW6h">multilingual</a>, and is geographically composed of more than one country, such as the <a href="/facts/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom/4tMbqgXp">countries of the United Kingdom</a>. </p><p>Historical multinational states that have since split into multiple states include the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>, <a href="/facts/British_Raj/hBe6wvPS">British India</a>, <a href="/facts/Qing_dynasty/5j6r4p5m">Qing Empire</a>, <a href="/facts/Czechoslovakia/9A6Kzmr0">Czechoslovakia</a>, the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a>, <a href="/facts/Yugoslavia/rK14hYmb">Yugoslavia</a>, the <a href="/facts/United_Arab_Republic/4R55TmFu">United Arab Republic</a> and <a href="/facts/Austria-Hungary/9WPUPj0W">Austria-Hungary</a> (a dual monarchy of two multinational states). Some analysts have described the <a href="/facts/European_Union/6GYcR8qM">European Union</a> as a multinational state or a potential one. </p>