---
title: "Countries & Zones"
---

**Countries** are where you define the list of countries which are relevant to your operations. This does not only include those countries you ship to, but also those countries which may appear on a billing address.

By default, Vendure includes all countries in the list, but you are free to remove or disable any that you don't need.

**Zones** provide a way to group countries. Zones are used mainly for defining [tax rates](/user-guide/settings/taxes) and can also be used in shipping calculations.

