The DISTINCT keyword removes duplicates after sorting the tuples. Instead, consider using a sub query with the EXISTS keyword, you can avoid having to return an entire table.
SELECT DISTINCT c.country_id, c.country_name FROM SH.countries c,
SH.customers e WHERE e.country_id = c.country_id
can be rewritten to:
SELECT c.country_id, c.country_name FROM SH.countries c WHERE EXISTS
(SELECT 'X' FROM SH.customers e WHERE e.country_id = c.country_id)