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:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burma / Myanmar
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- East Timor
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Ivory Coast
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauricio
- Mauritania
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Qatar
- Republic of Macedonia
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sudan
- Surinam
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
- Zambia
- 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?
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].
