Difference between state and government


In general sense, state refers to the country or a governed entity, such as a province, and government is the agency through which authority is exercised by political units. State can be defined as a nation or territory considered as political community under one government. There are different types of states, for example, federal state, nation state or sovereign state. Note that a state, in general, occupies a particular geographic area. A state is an independent entity which has certain tasks to carry out. Government, on the contrary, means the civil government of a sovereign state. Just like in the case of states, governments can have different forms too: demography, dictatorship, communism, monarchy and so on. It is the government which has the power to make and enforce laws for its territory.