I have written the following PHP/MySQL code, which does work:

$sql = "SELECT country_id FROM countries WHERE country = '$country_chosen';";
$result1 = mysql_query($sql);
$result = mysql_fetch_row($result1);
$result = $result[zero];

(I had to use the word 'zero' in this post. If I use the number 0, as it appears in the code, I get an emoticon.)

I do not understand why the result I get is an array, hence the need to use the last two lines. The result should logically be the entry in a single field. If I run the MySql command directly in MySql, it works.

Is there a way I can get PHP to see the value as a single item rather than an array and that I can cut one or two lines from the code?