Hey is Team Rocket really a team?

Okay in our English dub they are always Teams of criminals but in the Japanese episodes with subs they are called gangs
i.e. The Rocket Gang
does anyone know if I am wrong because i have only seen a handful in Japanese?

In the Japanese versions, villianous teams are referred to as gangs, with the "-dan" suffix:
-Team Rocket = Rocket-dan
-Team Magma = Magma-dan
-Team Aqua = Aqua-dan
-Team Galactic = Galaxy-dan
-Team Plasma = Plasma-dan

So you're not wrong here.

Is that odd to you or are gangs not that bad (compared to other countries) in japan?

I think they are bad though? Like, we refer to them as an 'evil team', don't we? That's about the level of a gang I think. Across the languages '-dan' is translated as Army, Troops, Group, Gang, and Team. That kind of implies some structured operations. And they're certainly fairly villainous. They may not be the same type of gang you immediately picture as an American youth; they're more of a gang like you would picture... idk, the mafia or the yakuza being (disclaimer I know nothing about either). More of an organized crime syndicate than a band of urban thugs.