National vs International
The world is divided geographically into close to 200 countries or nations. These boundaries or divisions are not natural, but man made on the basis of perceived similarities between peoples, cultures, languages and religions. When we are talking about an event taking place inside the boundaries of a country, the event is termed as national and people taking part in the event are also citizens of that country, but another event held inside that country becomes international as it involves participation of people from some other countries of the world. There are some more differences between the terms national and international that will be highlighted in this article.
National
We all know about national flags and national anthems. All countries of the world have their own distinct and unique national flags and anthems signifying their unique cultural and geographical identity in the comity of nations. When the contingent of a particular country marches with the flag of that country in hand, people belonging to that country get up and cheer their participants in any international event.
National items such as flags, anthems, flowers, birds, origin, trait, language etc produce feelings of oneness and uniqueness from the rest of the world. People of a particular country take pride in the fact that they are a part of a particular country, its people and shared cultural heritage.
A person who deeply loves his country of origin is called a nationalist. A nation or a country may be divided into divisions like regions or provinces, but there is a national government at the centre to bind the people of the country together.
International
Anything involving two or more nations or relating to several countries is termed as international. We know that every country has its own laws, but there are also international conventions and treaties that are applying or binding on the signatories. The conditions of these treaties are called international in nature.
There are also companies operating in several countries or having business interests in more than a single country. These are international companies though these companies work according to the laws of the land where they operate.
To help maintain peace and order all over the world, there are international bodies like the United Nations having representatives from all countries working together.
National vs International
• National pertains to a single country and involves people from that country only. International means involvement of two or more countries of the world.
• If there is sports meet in a country where participants come from that country only, it is called a national meet. But when there are participants from several other countries, the meet becomes international
• There are national flags and national anthems filling citizens of that country with pride while there are international bodies and associations with members and representatives from several countries
• There are celebrities with international fame and terrorists notorious in many countries. These are international personalities.