How many countries are there? (2020)

1. INTRODUCTION

How many countries are in the world? What are they?

In this post I leave a list with all the sovereign states of the world in alphabetical order (point 2) and a section of clarifications in which I explain why some territories are not included (point 3).

I hope you find it useful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment!

2. LIST OF ALL THE OFFICIAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD (2020)

In the world there are currently 194 sovereign countries (countries recognized by the UN with self-government and complete independence). These are:

1. Afghanistan
2. Albania
3. Algeria
4. Andorra
5. Angola
6. Antigua and Barbuda
7. Argentina
8. Armenia
9. Australia
10. Austria
11. Azerbaijan
12. Bahamas
13. Bahrain
14. Bangladesh
15. Barbados
16. Belarus
17. Belgium
18. Belize
19. Benin
20. Bhutan
21. Bolivia
22. Bosnia and Herzegovina
23. Botswana
24. Brazil
25. Brunei
26. Bulgaria
27. Burkina Faso
28. Burma / Myanmar
29. Burundi
30. Cambodia
31. Cameroon
32. Canada
33. Cape Verde
34. Central African Republic
35. Chad
36. Chile
37. China
38. Colombia
39. Comoros
40. Costa Rica
41. Croatia
42. Cuba
43. Cyprus
44. Czech Republic
45. Democratic Republic of Congo
46. Denmark
47. Djibouti
48. Dominica
49. Dominican Republic
50. East Timor
51. Ecuador
52. Egypt
53. El Salvador
54. Equatorial Guinea
55. Eritrea
56. Estonia
57. Ethiopia
58. Fiji
59. Finland
60. France
61. Gabon
62. Gambia
63. Georgia
64. Germany
65. Ghana
66. Greece
67. Grenada
68. Guatemala
69. Guinea
70. Guinea-Bissau
71. Guyana
72. Haiti
73. Honduras
74. Hungary
75. Iceland
76. India
77. Indonesia
78. Iran
79. Iraq
80. Ireland
81. Israel
82. Italy
83. Ivory Coast
84. Jamaica
85. Japan
86. Jordan
87. Kazakhstan
88. Kenya
89. Kiribati
90. Kuwait
91. Kyrgyzstan
92. Laos
93. Latvia
94. Lebanon
95. Lesotho
96. Liberia
97. Libya
98. Liechtenstein
99. Lithuania
100. Luxembourg
101. Madagascar
102. Malawi
103. Malaysia
104. Maldives
105. Mali
106. Malta
107. Marshall Islands
108. Mauricio
109. Mauritania
110. Mexico
111. Micronesia
112. Moldova
113. Monaco
114. Mongolia
115. Montenegro
116. Morocco
117. Mozambique
118. Namibia
119. Nauru
120. Nepal
121. Netherlands
122. New Zealand
123. Nicaragua
124. Niger
125. Nigeria
126. North Korea
127. Norway
128. Oman
129. Pakistan
130. Palau
131. Panama
132. Papua New Guinea
133. Paraguay
134. Peru
135. Philippines
136. Poland
137. Portugal
138. Qatar
139. Republic of Macedonia
140. Republic of the Congo
141. Romania
142. Russia
143. Rwanda
144. Saint Kitts and Nevis
145. Samoa
146. San Marino
147. Sao Tome and Principe
148. Saudi Arabia
149. Senegal
150. Serbia
151. Seychelles
152. Sierra Leone
153. Singapore
154. Slovakia
155. Slovenia
156. Solomon Islands
157. Somalia
158. South Africa
159. South Korea
160. South Sudan
161. Spain
162. Sri Lanka
163. St. Lucia
164. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
165. Sudan
166. Surinam
167. Swaziland
168. Sweden
169. Switzerland
170. Syria
171. Tajikistan
172. Tanzania
173. Thailand
174. Togo
175. Tonga
176. Trinidad and Tobago
177. Tunisia
178. Turkey
179. Turkmenistan
180. Tuvalu
181. Uganda
182. Ukraine
183. United Arab Emirates
184. United Kingdom
185. United States of America
186. Uruguay
187. Uzbekistan
188. Vanuatu
189. Vatican City
190. Venezuela
191. Vietnam
192. Yemen
193. Zambia
194. Zimbabwe

3. CLARIFICATIONS

• The United Nations is composed of 193 member states (you can reference them HERE). We must add the Vatican City, which although it is acting as an observer member in the organization, is still a fully recognized as an independent country (193 + 1 = 194).
• The State of Palestine, also an observer member, can not be included as a sovereign country because its recognition is limited and it is not a completely independent country (part of it is under Israeli occupation). More info [HERE].
• Kosovo is not a territory recognized by international unanimity (claimed by Serbia). More info [HERE].
• The Western Sahara is a territory colonized for the most part by Morocco and its sovereignty is in dispute between the Moroccan people and the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. More info [HERE].
• Taiwan and Hong Kong are not independent or internationally recognized territories (claimed by China). More info [HERE] and [HERE].
• French Guiana is an overseas territory belonging to France (it is not a sovereign country).
• England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are part of one official country: the United Kingdom.
• Greenland is not a country. It belongs to Denmark (European country).
• Holland appears on the list with its official name: Netherlands.

4. ANY DOUBT?

Leave a comment!

5. REFERENCES

• United Nations (2020). Member States. Avaliable [HERE].
• Wikipedia.org (2020). International recognition of the State of Palestine. Avaliable [HERE].
• Wikipedia.org (2020). International recognition of Kosovo. Avaliable [HERE].
• Wikipedia.org (2020). Political status of Western Sahara. Avaliable [HERE].
• Wikipedia.org (2020). Political status of Taiwan. Avaliable [HERE].
• Wikipedia.org (2020). Politics of Hong Kong. Avaliable [HERE].
• Saber es práctico (2020). ¿Cuántos países hay en el mundo? (2019). Text in spanish. Avaliable [HERE].