Kosovo is also often included but is only recognized by 97 UN members. This is a list of lists of countries and territories by various criteria. Nope, Scotland is not a country; it is part of the United Kingdom. Taiwan, which has the world's 29th-largest economy, continues to press for full recognition by others. Soccer — or "football" as it's known in many countries — is the world's most popular sport, and most international matches all the way up to the World Cup are regulated by an organization called FIFA. Today, there are 197 countries in the world: 193 UN members + 2 UN observers + Taiwan + Kosovo. The political reasons for this date back to the late 1940s, when the Republic of China was ousted from mainland China by Mao Tse Tung's communist rebels and ROC leaders fled to Taiwan. Not sure about the geography of the middle east? 4. Each country profile provides links to official web sites of a nation/territory, information on geography, maps, the national flag, history, culture, tourist destinations, its population and languages, the capital and the largest cities, education, economy, newspapers, and much more. See our Guide to New Nations. Venezuela. Dozens of territories and colonies are sometimes erroneously called countries but don't count because they're governed by other countries. India, ranked No. Even so, the United Kingdom includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. However, all but a handful of nations refuse to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation. Here are a list of other continents and their respective country count: 1. Here at Worldatlas, we state 194 countries based on the 193 that belong to the United Nations (UN) plus the Holy See (Vatican), which is a non-member observer state. Unless you don't count Taiwan… Taiwan is not considered an official country by many, which would bring the count down to 195 countries. Although Taiwan operates as an independent country, many countries (including the U.S.) do not officially recognize it as one. All You Need To Know About The Gobi Desert, What Is The Difference Between Ocean And Sea. Countries and dependencies of the world in alphabetical order from A to Z and by letter, showing current population estimates for 2016, density, and land area See Territories, Colonies, and Dependencies for a list of the world's colonies and what countries administrate them, p. 663. Kosovo is not yet a member. The United Kingdom plays a substantial part on the global economic front and is a permanent UN Security Council member. How many countries are there in the world? A country or territory is a geographical area, either in the sense of nation (a cultural entity) or state (a political entity). They count Holy See and Palestine as UN observers but also consider Taiwan and Kosovo to be self-governed territories that both have substantial economic resources of their own. Denmark is also a lot smaller than Greenland! Global Political, Economic, and Social Facts, Top Ten Closest U.S. Presidential Elections, State Abbreviations and State Postal Codes, This List of Favorite Islands will Make You Remember Why You Loved Poptropica So Much. What's the Difference Between an Embassy and a Consulate? The characteristics of the human population: The production, distribution and consumption of goods and services: The value of goods and services produced within a country: The physical, chemical, and biotic factors that act upon an ecosystem: The process by which groups, often governments, make decisions: List of countries and dependencies by population, List of countries by population (United Nations), List of countries and dependencies by population density, List of countries by past and future population density, List of countries by real population density, List of countries by past and future population, List of countries by population growth rate, List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty, List of countries and territories by fertility rate, List of countries by foreign-born population, List of countries by HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate, List of countries by infant mortality rate, List of countries by past life expectancy, List of countries by maternal mortality rate, List of countries by percentage of population suffering from undernourishment, List of countries by Human Development Index, List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI, List of countries by Christian population, List of countries by Ahmadiyya population, List of countries by irreligious population, List of countries by English-speaking population, List of countries where Arabic is an official language, List of territorial entities where English is an official language, List of territorial entities where French is an official language, List of territorial entities where Portuguese is an official language, List of territorial entities where Russian is an official language, List of countries where Spanish is an official language, List of countries by central bank interest rates, List of countries by current account balance, List of countries by foreign-exchange reserves, List of countries by gross fixed investment as percentage of GDP, List of countries by gross national savings, List of countries by household final consumption expenditure per capita, List of countries by male to female income ratio, List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions, List of countries by number of Internet hosts, List of countries by number of Internet users, List of countries by number of scientific and technical journal articles, List of countries by Official Development Assistance received, List of countries by research and development spending, List of countries by tax revenue to GDP ratio, List of top international rankings by country, List of countries by motor vehicle production, International wheat production statistics, List of countries by dietary calorie intake, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita, List of countries by energy consumption per capita, List of countries by electrification rate, List of countries by electricity consumption, List of countries by electricity production from renewable sources, List of countries by energy consumption and production, List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita, List of countries with the most hydro-electric capacity, List of countries by installed wind power capacity, List of countries and dependencies by area, List of countries by total renewable water resources, List of countries and territories by continent, List of sovereign states and dependent territories by continent (data file), List of countries by Exclusive Economic Zone, List of countries that border only one other country, List of countries and territories by land borders, List of countries by United Nations geoscheme, List of countries by military expenditures, List of United Nations peacekeeping missions, List of countries and capitals in native languages, List of country names in various languages, List of countries by date of transition to republican system of government, List of countries by system of government, List of countries without political parties, List of countries by number of diplomatic missions, List of current heads of state and government, List of parties to international copyright agreements, List of sovereign states by formation date, List of administrative divisions by country, List of countries by date of current flag adoption, List of countries by proportions of national flags, List of countries by rail transport network size, List of countries by beer consumption per capita, List of countries by mains electricity voltages, frequencies, and plug type, List of countries by right- and left-hand traffic, List of countries with Burger King franchises, List of countries with McDonald's franchises, List of international vehicle registration codes, List of country codes on British diplomatic vehicle registration plates, List of countries whose capital is not their largest city, "Military expenditure (% of GDP). Generally, the UN seems to be a reliable source for the total number of countries. North America has 23 countries. Also, there are a total of 39 regions that are dependent on other territories: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Macao, Western Sahara, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Mayotte, Channel Islands, Guam, Curaçao, Aruba, U.S. Virgin Islands, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Northern Mariana Islands, Greenland, American Samoa, Faeroe Islands, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos, Gibraltar, British Virgin Islands, Caribbean, Netherlands, Cook Islands, Anguilla Wallis & Futuna, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Pierre & Miquelon, Montserrat, Falkland Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. Greenland, on its own, is not a UN member country and operates much of its domestic affairs. dependent areas, and several disputed territories, Korea, Democratic People's Rep. (North Korea), World Unlike the United Nations, the United States maintains full diplomatic relations with Kosovo and the Vatican. How many countries belong to the United Nations? All the 193 UN members are independent countries recognized worldwide. Formal recognition from the rest of the world is yet to come, though. At the same time, China claims that Taiwan is a part of its internal territory, and Serbia does the same by insisting that Kosovo is its autonomous province. There are 193 member states in the United Nations. This total is often cited inaccurately as the actual number of countries in the world; it's inaccurate because there are two other members with limited status. The latter fact is because Taiwan is considered as part of the Chinese territory; the same is correct for Kosovo being part of Serbia. Today, there are 197 countries in the world: 193 UN members + 2 UN observers + Taiwan + Kosovo. First of all, the Security Council is voting and the consent of all 5 permanent members of the Council (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China) is needed for the adoption of the new candidate. South America has 12 countries. Montenegro became a country in June 2006, after splitting off from Serbia. Become a part of the United Nations is not so easy. Here's why. The list may go on, but there are two exceptions: Such wide recognition of these two entities could be a basis to include Taiwan and Kosovo in the list of independent states. When dependent territories are included, the United Nations recognizes a total of 241 countries and territories. French country names, pays du monde, local country name. The United Nations, as the most influential international organization, is often considered the start point for the correct counting the total number. Countries of the World The list below is divided into two groups, each ranked by population: … All other self-proclaimed entities are considered as "partially recognized countries". Before that, the newest country was Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. But China, with its growing economic, military, and political clout, has largely been able to shape the dialogue on this issue. This is because Libya has often been in turmoil, because of extremists there fighting for control and different governments trying to take over since Gaddafi was overthrown. Nowadays there is no consensus on the issue of the total quantity of countries because still there is no universally agreed definition of "country" and there is no one single competent international body, which could correctly answer the question, "How many are there in the world?".