If you are only looking for a single row result, try this

my $sql_is = qq{ SELECT count(*) FROM files WHERE (geo="$geo" AND lob=
  +"is" AND country="$key") };
my $count = $dbh->selectrow_array($sql_is);
print "$count\n";
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No prepare or execute needed.

Update Oops!! I just realized you're looking for a count. I'm not sure if this will work.

Update Above code edited to correct method calls don't interpolate in strings

was:  print "$dbh->selectrow_array($sql_is)\n";
[download]

Thanks! chromatic