Five Great Shinobi Countries

The Five Great Shinobi Countries is and has always been a collective term to refer to the countries which have large populations and are large enough and rich enough to support a sizable population of ninja. The Five Great Shinobi Countries are the places which traditionally were the homes of the 'Five Kage', representing each element, typically the element which the country itself was named after.

The Country of Fire was considered one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries because of it's hidden village, Konohagakure no Sato and the power and grace that said village had, as well as the money which the country had and made (perhaps the most out of all the great countries).

The Country of Wind was considered to be one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries because of it's hidden village, Sunagakure no Sato, and the power and knowledge said village had, even though the country and it's village at times came to terms, and the country itself was not excessively rich.

The Country of Water was considered to be one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries because of it's hidden village, Kirigakure no Sato, and the power and resilience said ninja were proposed to have. Though a smaller country, and an island country not directly connected to the main land, the power and fierceness of the Kirigakuran shinboi-nin made them favorable choices for mercenaries, and as such the power and money the country at times had.

The Country of Lightning was considered to be one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries because of it's hidden village, Kumogakure no Sato, and the prestige said village brought to Rai no Kuni.

The Country of Earth was considered to be one of the great shinobi countries because of it's hidden village, Iwagakure no Sato.

In modern times, there are a number of countries which could perhaps, rival the five great shinobi countries, these minor countries (Such is the proper term to refer to them as, Geo-Politically), are Ame no Kuni (Home of Amegakure no Sato), Hara no Kuni (Home of Kusagakure no Sato), Yuki no Kuni (Home of Yukigakure no Sato) and Denchi no Kuni (Home of Otogakure no Sato).