How Many Countries & Territories Are There In The World Today (Updated in 2023)
How Many Countries Are There In South America |
How Many Countries Are There In Asia: Facts, Figures and Population |
The Full List of Countries in the world 2023 |
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The issue is that various organizations take different positions on what exactly constitutes a country. There is no universal agreement on the total number of countries, which can vary significantly depending on the source.
Full List of World's Countries 2023 by United Nations
Nevertheless, the de facto authority on nationhood is generally regarded as the United Nations. The United Nations currently counts 193 nations as member states. Additionally, it recognizes the Holy See/Vatican City and Palestine as "observers states"—self-governing territories rather than independent nations.
Even the U.N. list, though, is not without controversy. The self-governing territory of Taiwan (Republic of China), which was a member of the U.N. from 1945 to 1971 but is now regarded as a territory of mainland China, is not currently recognized by the organization. In a similar vein, as of 2020, about half of U.N. members continued to view Kosovo as an extension of Serbia rather than a separate country.
Full List of World's Countries 2023 by FIFA
Simply put, the FIFA list was incorrect. The fact that football has more national teams than any other sport is also a great place to start.Although the United Kingdom only has one country, FIFA treated Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales as four separate "countries." Therefore, the FIFA list isn't exactly accurate without getting political (and coming from Northern Ireland, that's quite difficult).
Full List of World's Countries 2023 byWorldometer
Elaboration of data by United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division etc. This list includes both countries and dependent territories for a total of 235.
Full List of World's Countries 2023 by Britannica, Wikipedia
In contrast, the list of nations published by Britannica includes 196 nations, giving Kosovo, Taiwan, and Vatican City full nation-hood rights. Then there is Wikipedia's list of sovereign states, which adds an additional eleven sovereign states for a total of 206, mirroring the U.N.'s list of 193 countries and two observer states. These additional states include Taiwan, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, the Cook Islands, and others.
The largest island between the north Atlantic and Arctic oceans, Greenland certainly appears to be a separate country, just like its tiny neighbor, Iceland, and is perhaps the most perplexing non-country. Although it has many domestic affairs under its control, Greenland is not a member of the United Nations and is ultimately governed by Denmark, a European nation even smaller than Iceland that is thousands of miles away.
Full List of World's Countries 2023 by CIA Factbook
Other sources use a less rigid definition of country and give dependent and disputed territories such as Greenland and the Gaza Strip their own separate listings. This is the reason the United States' CIA Factbook lists 237 countries.
All of this demonstrates that it is not so simple to determine the exact number of countries there are in the world. Moreover, and the constantly changing nature of politics means that issues around sovereignty are unlikely to ever be fully resolved.
If you want to know about how many countries in each of the 7 continents:
*How Many Countries Are There In Europe Today: List, Population, Facts and Figures
*How Many Countries Are There In Asia: Full List, Population, Facts and Figures
*What are the Caribbean Countries?
*How Many Countries Are There In Oceania?
*How Many Countries Are There In The Middle East Today: List, Population, Facts and Figure?
*How Many Countries Are There In South America Today?
*How Many Countries Are There in Africa Today: List, Population, Richest and Smallest
*For the ultimate list of not just countries, but also territories and regions that have some degree of self-governance but are not universally considered fully-fledged countries, check the table below:
Country | 2023 Population | Area | Region | Subregion |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vatican City | 799 | 1 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Tokelau | 1,378 | 12 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Niue | 1,622 | 260 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Falkland Islands | 3,539 | 12,173 km² | Americas | South America |
Montserrat | 4,965 | 102 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Saint Pierre And Miquelon | 5,759 | 242 km² | Americas | Northern America |
Saint Barthelemy | 9,945 | 21 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Nauru | 10,903 | 21 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
Wallis And Futuna | 10,982 | 142 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Tuvalu | 12,066 | 26 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Anguilla | 15,230 | 91 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Cook Islands | 17,571 | 236 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Palau | 18,233 | 459 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
British Virgin Islands | 30,596 | 151 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Gibraltar | 33,704 | 6 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
San Marino | 34,085 | 61 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Liechtenstein | 38,387 | 160 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Saint Martin | 39,730 | 53 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Turks And Caicos Islands | 39,741 | 948 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Monaco | 39,783 | 2 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Sint Maarten | 43,966 | 34 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Faroe Islands | 49,233 | 1,393 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Saint Kitts And Nevis | 53,871 | 261 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
American Samoa | 55,030 | 199 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Greenland | 56,973 | 2,166,086 km² | Americas | Northern America |
Northern Mariana Islands | 58,269 | 464 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
Marshall Islands | 60,057 | 181 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
Bermuda | 61,939 | 54 km² | Americas | Northern America |
Cayman Islands | 67,277 | 264 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Dominica | 72,344 | 751 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Andorra | 77,463 | 468 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Isle of Man | 85,732 | 572 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Seychelles | 99,426 | 452 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Antigua And Barbuda | 99,509 | 442 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
United States Virgin Islands | 103,971 | 347 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Aruba | 107,609 | 180 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Tonga | 107,749 | 747 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Saint Vincent And the Grenadines | 111,551 | 389 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Grenada | 113,475 | 344 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Micronesia | 117,489 | 702 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
Kiribati | 123,419 | 811 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
Curacao | 165,529 | 444 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Guam | 171,519 | 549 km² | Oceania | Micronesia |
Saint Lucia | 185,113 | 616 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Samoa | 202,239 | 2,842 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Sao Tome And Principe | 227,679 | 964 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
French Polynesia | 284,164 | 4,167 km² | Oceania | Polynesia |
Mayotte | 286,259 | 374 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Barbados | 288,023 | 430 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
New Caledonia | 290,915 | 18,575 km² | Oceania | Melanesia |
French Guiana | 314,169 | 83,534 km² | Americas | South America |
Vanuatu | 321,832 | 12,189 km² | Oceania | Melanesia |
Iceland | 345,393 | 103,000 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Martinique | 374,087 | 1,128 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Guadeloupe | 399,794 | 1,628 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Bahamas | 400,516 | 13,943 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Belize | 412,190 | 22,966 km² | Americas | Central America |
Malta | 444,033 | 316 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Brunei | 445,431 | 5,765 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Maldives | 540,985 | 300 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Cape Verde | 567,678 | 4,033 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Suriname | 596,831 | 163,820 km² | Americas | South America |
Western Sahara | 626,161 | 266,000 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Montenegro | 627,950 | 13,812 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Luxembourg | 642,371 | 2,586 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Macau | 667,490 | 30 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
Solomon Islands | 721,159 | 28,896 km² | Oceania | Melanesia |
Bhutan | 787,941 | 38,394 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Guyana | 794,045 | 214,969 km² | Americas | South America |
Comoros | 907,419 | 1,862 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Reunion | 908,061 | 2,511 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Fiji | 909,466 | 18,272 km² | Oceania | Melanesia |
Djibouti | 1,016,097 | 23,200 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Eswatini | 1,184,817 | 17,364 km² | Africa | Southern Africa |
Cyprus | 1,223,387 | 9,251 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Mauritius | 1,274,727 | 2,040 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Estonia | 1,321,910 | 45,227 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Timor Leste | 1,369,429 | 14,874 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Trinidad And Tobago | 1,406,585 | 5,130 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Equatorial Guinea | 1,496,662 | 28,051 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Bahrain | 1,783,983 | 765 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Latvia | 1,848,837 | 64,559 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Guinea Bissau | 2,063,367 | 36,125 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Slovenia | 2,078,034 | 20,273 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
North Macedonia | 2,081,304 | 25,713 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Lesotho | 2,175,699 | 30,355 km² | Africa | Southern Africa |
Gabon | 2,331,533 | 267,668 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Botswana | 2,441,162 | 582,000 km² | Africa | Southern Africa |
Gambia | 2,558,482 | 10,689 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Namibia | 2,633,874 | 825,615 km² | Africa | Southern Africa |
Lithuania | 2,661,708 | 65,300 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Puerto Rico | 2,829,812 | 8,870 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Albania | 2,866,374 | 28,748 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Armenia | 2,971,966 | 29,743 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Qatar | 2,979,915 | 11,586 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Jamaica | 2,985,094 | 10,991 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Bosnia And Herzegovina | 3,249,317 | 51,209 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Mongolia | 3,378,078 | 1,564,110 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
Uruguay | 3,496,016 | 181,034 km² | Americas | South America |
Eritrea | 3,662,244 | 117,600 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Georgia | 3,968,738 | 69,700 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Moldova | 4,013,171 | 33,846 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Croatia | 4,059,286 | 56,594 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Kuwait | 4,380,326 | 17,818 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Panama | 4,446,964 | 75,417 km² | Americas | Central America |
New Zealand | 4,898,203 | 270,467 km² | Oceania | Australia and New Zealand |
Mauritania | 4,901,981 | 1,030,700 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Central African Republic | 5,016,678 | 622,984 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Ireland | 5,020,199 | 70,273 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Costa Rica | 5,182,354 | 51,100 km² | Americas | Central America |
Liberia | 5,305,117 | 111,369 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Oman | 5,323,993 | 309,500 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Palestine | 5,345,541 | 6,220 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Slovakia | 5,460,193 | 49,037 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Norway | 5,511,370 | 323,802 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Finland | 5,554,960 | 338,424 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Republic of the Congo | 5,797,805 | 342,000 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Denmark | 5,834,950 | 43,094 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Singapore | 5,943,546 | 710 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Turkmenistan | 6,201,943 | 488,100 km² | Asia | Central Asia |
El Salvador | 6,550,389 | 21,041 km² | Americas | Central America |
Lebanon | 6,684,849 | 10,452 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Kyrgyzstan | 6,728,271 | 199,951 km² | Asia | Central Asia |
Nicaragua | 6,779,100 | 130,373 km² | Americas | Central America |
Bulgaria | 6,844,597 | 110,879 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Libya | 7,040,745 | 1,759,540 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Paraguay | 7,305,843 | 406,752 km² | Americas | South America |
Laos | 7,481,023 | 236,800 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Hong Kong | 7,604,299 | 1,104 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
Sierra Leone | 8,306,436 | 71,740 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Serbia | 8,653,016 | 88,361 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Togo | 8,680,837 | 56,785 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Switzerland | 8,773,637 | 41,284 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Israel | 8,922,892 | 20,770 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Austria | 9,066,710 | 83,871 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Papua New Guinea | 9,292,169 | 462,840 km² | Oceania | Melanesia |
Belarus | 9,432,800 | 207,600 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Hungary | 9,606,259 | 93,028 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Tajikistan | 9,957,464 | 143,100 km² | Asia | Central Asia |
United Arab Emirates | 10,081,785 | 83,600 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Portugal | 10,140,570 | 92,090 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Sweden | 10,218,971 | 450,295 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Honduras | 10,221,247 | 112,492 km² | Americas | Central America |
Azerbaijan | 10,300,205 | 86,600 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Jordan | 10,300,869 | 89,342 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Greece | 10,316,637 | 131,990 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Czech Republic | 10,736,784 | 78,865 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Dominican Republic | 11,056,370 | 48,671 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Cuba | 11,305,652 | 109,884 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
South Sudan | 11,618,511 | 619,745 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Belgium | 11,668,278 | 30,528 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Haiti | 11,680,283 | 27,750 km² | Americas | Caribbean |
Bolivia | 11,992,656 | 1,098,581 km² | Americas | South America |
Tunisia | 12,046,656 | 163,610 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Burundi | 12,624,840 | 27,834 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Benin | 12,784,726 | 112,622 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Rwanda | 13,600,464 | 26,338 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Guinea | 13,865,691 | 245,857 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Zimbabwe | 15,331,428 | 390,757 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Somalia | 16,841,795 | 637,657 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Cambodia | 17,168,639 | 181,035 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Netherlands | 17,211,447 | 41,850 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Chad | 17,413,580 | 1,284,000 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Senegal | 17,653,671 | 196,722 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Ecuador | 18,113,361 | 276,841 km² | Americas | South America |
Guatemala | 18,584,039 | 108,889 km² | Americas | Central America |
Romania | 19,031,335 | 238,391 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Kazakhstan | 19,205,043 | 2,724,900 km² | Asia | Central Asia |
Chile | 19,250,195 | 756,102 km² | Americas | South America |
Syria | 19,364,809 | 185,180 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Zambia | 19,470,234 | 752,612 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Malawi | 20,180,839 | 118,484 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Mali | 21,473,764 | 1,240,192 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Sri Lanka | 21,575,842 | 65,610 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Burkina Faso | 22,102,838 | 272,967 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Taiwan | 23,888,595 | 36,193 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
North Korea | 25,990,679 | 120,538 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
Australia | 26,068,792 | 7,692,024 km² | Oceania | Australia and New Zealand |
Niger | 26,083,660 | 1,267,000 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Ivory Coast | 27,742,298 | 322,463 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Cameroon | 27,911,548 | 475,442 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Madagascar | 29,178,077 | 587,041 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Venezuela | 29,266,991 | 916,445 km² | Americas | South America |
Nepal | 30,225,582 | 147,181 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Yemen | 31,154,867 | 527,968 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Ghana | 32,395,450 | 238,533 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Mozambique | 33,089,461 | 801,590 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Malaysia | 33,181,072 | 330,803 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Peru | 33,684,208 | 1,285,216 km² | Americas | South America |
Uzbekistan | 34,382,084 | 447,400 km² | Asia | Central Asia |
Angola | 35,027,343 | 1,246,700 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Saudi Arabia | 35,844,909 | 2,149,690 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Poland | 37,739,785 | 312,679 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Morocco | 37,772,756 | 446,550 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Canada | 38,388,419 | 9,984,670 km² | Americas | Northern America |
Afghanistan | 40,754,388 | 652,230 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Iraq | 42,164,965 | 438,317 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Ukraine | 43,192,122 | 603,500 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Algeria | 45,350,148 | 2,381,741 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Sudan | 45,992,020 | 1,886,068 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Argentina | 46,010,234 | 2,780,400 km² | Americas | South America |
Spain | 46,719,142 | 505,992 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
Uganda | 48,432,863 | 241,550 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
South Korea | 51,329,899 | 100,210 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
Colombia | 51,512,762 | 1,141,748 km² | Americas | South America |
Myanmar | 55,227,143 | 676,578 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Kenya | 56,215,221 | 580,367 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Italy | 60,262,770 | 301,336 km² | Europe | Southern Europe |
South Africa | 60,756,135 | 1,221,037 km² | Africa | Southern Africa |
Tanzania | 63,298,550 | 945,087 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
France | 65,584,518 | 551,695 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
United Kingdom | 68,497,907 | 242,900 km² | Europe | Northern Europe |
Thailand | 70,078,203 | 513,120 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Germany | 83,883,596 | 357,114 km² | Europe | Western Europe |
Turkey | 85,561,976 | 783,562 km² | Asia | Western Asia |
Iran | 86,022,837 | 1,648,195 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
DR Congo | 95,240,792 | 2,344,858 km² | Africa | Middle Africa |
Vietnam | 98,953,541 | 331,212 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Egypt | 106,156,692 | 1,002,450 km² | Africa | Northern Africa |
Philippines | 112,508,994 | 342,353 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
Ethiopia | 120,812,698 | 1,104,300 km² | Africa | Eastern Africa |
Japan | 125,584,838 | 377,930 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
Mexico | 131,562,772 | 1,964,375 km² | Americas | Central America |
Russia | 145,805,947 | 17,098,242 km² | Europe | Eastern Europe |
Bangladesh | 167,885,689 | 147,570 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Brazil | 215,353,593 | 8,515,767 km² | Americas | South America |
Nigeria | 216,746,934 | 923,768 km² | Africa | Western Africa |
Pakistan | 229,488,994 | 881,912 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
Indonesia | 279,134,505 | 1,904,569 km² | Asia | South-Eastern Asia |
United States | 334,805,269 | 9,372,610 km² | Americas | Northern America |
India | 1,406,631,776 | 3,287,590 km² | Asia | Southern Asia |
China | 1,448,471,400 | 9,706,961 km² | Asia | Eastern Asia |
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