Final answer:
Residents of a city, state, or country are referred to as citizens or the population, with citizens having legal recognition and responsibilities. Nation-states like the United States, France, and Japan have populations that identify with a common nationality. The United States' residents are commonly known as Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The residents of a city, state, or country are commonly referred to as citizens if they are legally recognized as members of that nation-state with specific rights and duties. In a broader sense, these individuals can also be considered as the population, which includes both citizens and non-citizens such as permanent residents.
In the context of the United States, we understand our country to be a nation-state, where most of the population identifies as American in terms of nationality. France and Japan are classic examples of nation-states with homogenous populations largely consisting of French and Japanese citizens, respectively. It's important to note that while the term 'American' could technically refer to anyone from the Western Hemisphere, it is more commonly used to indicate those from the United States specifically.
A state or country is characterized by having a government or system of rule, a population that gives its allegiance to that government, and usually a shared identity based on common history, religion, or ethnic background. An individual's affiliation with their state or country plays a significant part of their identity, which in the case of the United States, defines them as American.