I am pretty sure it's the country where the competitor "SAYS" he or she is from. I doubt the NPC checks any paperwork formally other than mailing address on NPC or IFBB card (unless something seems really off). They might contact their local representatives for verbal confirmations or when there may be concern about visas but I do not know any of this for sure. I think it is just like TV quiz shows which announce the city the competitor says he or she wants announced. After all, the IFBB and the NPC are way more like entertainment companies than world sports organizations. An example: no competitor in USA is asked to show anything other than a mailing address and, of course, the very expensive NPC or IFBB cards. Qualifying competitions (for example, in Europe or Middle East or Asia) have competitors from various countries; thus the qualifying competition does not say much about the competitor's country which he chooses to have announced.
