First, let's read Revelation chapter 13:1-2.

1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.

To interpret this animal, it is helpful to look at Daniel chapter seven. Here we encounter the animals as individual animals. In Daniel chapter 7:2-7 we read:

Dan.7:2 Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.

The meaning of the animals is explained to Daniel by an angel, as we read further in Daniel chapter 7:17

Da.7:17  ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.

There are many parallels between the beasts in Daniel chapter 7 and the beast in Revelation chapter 7.

1. The animals come from the sea.

Rev.13:1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.
Daniel 7:3 And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

Rev. 13:7: Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation,
Dan.7:21: As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them,

5. Both animals are burned:

Rev.19:20  And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Dan.7:11 ...And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.

Dan 2:41  And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,[3] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,

The beast from Revelation thirteen is the last world power. It is a world government made up of several states.
This world power will rule for three and a half years and then be destroyed by Jesus Christ.

These parallels indicate that the beast in Revelation 13 is a confederation of states. These are the beasts from Daniel chapter 7. This view is consistent with the prophecy in Daniel chapter 2:41-44.