I read that a country is a distinct national entity in political geography
Did you? That sounds about right. There are many countries in the world.
Yes, it can be an indepent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state as a non-sovereign state
Do you know what the most advanced countries in the world are?
No I don't do you?  regardless of where a country is a resident of that country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction
Well of course. You have to follow the laws, no matter what country you live in. Norway is actually the most advanced.
Norway
Norway (Norwegian: (Bokmål) or (Nynorsk); ; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe whose territory comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula; the remote island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard are also part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen
Country
A country is a region that is identified as a distinct entity in political geography. 
A country may be an independent sovereign state or part of a larger state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country