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How Many Countries Are There in the World?

There are 195 countries in the world today: the 193 member states of the United Nations plus 2 observer states — the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.

This is the standard definition of a “country” — a sovereign state recognised by the UN.

UN member states — un.org ↗
Source United NationsMethod 193 members + 2 observersSovereign states

It depends how you count

Ask “how many countries”, and the honest answer is a range — because different bodies count for different purposes. Here they all are, in one place.

CountWhat it countsSource
193UN member statesun.org
195+2 observer states (Holy See, State of Palestine) — the standard answerun.org
197+ widely recognised de-facto states (Taiwan, Kosovo)—
217“economies” — the World Bank list our rankings use (adds territories like Hong Kong, Puerto Rico)data.worldbank.org
237countries and territories in the CIA World Factbook—
249ISO 3166-1 country codes (a technical standard, not “countries”)iso.org

The 195, by continent

The 195 sovereign states, grouped by continent. The totals add up to 195.

54Africa48Asia44Europe23North America12South America14Oceania
195Total

Continents use the common six-continent grouping (transcontinental states like Russia and Turkey are assigned to one side — see each continent page). Our population rankings list the World Bank’s 217 economies, so a few territories there are counted separately from their sovereign state.

Why our rankings say 217, not 195

World Bank statistics (used in our population rankings) count 217 “economies” for data purposes — including territories like Hong Kong SAR and Puerto Rico. This page uses the UN’s list of 195 sovereign states — the standard definition of “country”.

See all 217 in the population ranking →

FAQ

How many members does the United Nations have?
The United Nations has 193 member states. Two more — the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine — are permanent observer states, which brings the widely used count to 195.
Is Taiwan a country?
Taiwan governs itself with its own government, currency and military, but it is not a UN member and is recognised by only a small number of states. Counts that include de-facto states put the total nearer 197; the UN-based standard of 195 does not include it.
Is Kosovo a country?
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and is recognised by roughly 100 UN members, but not by all, and it is not a UN member state. Like Taiwan, it is counted in the “197” figure but not in the standard 195.
Is Vatican City a country?
Yes — the Holy See (Vatican City) is a sovereign state and a UN permanent observer. It is one of the two observer states that take the count from 193 to 195. It is the smallest country in the world by both area and population.
How many countries are there on each continent?
Africa has 54, Asia 48, Europe 44, North America 23, Oceania 14 and South America 12 — 195 sovereign states in total. Antarctica has none. (193 UN members plus 2 observer states.)
What is the difference between a country and a sovereign state?
In everyday use they mean the same thing: a sovereign state is a territory with a permanent population, defined borders, a government and the capacity to enter relations with other states. “Country” is the common word for it. Territories and dependencies (like Puerto Rico or Hong Kong) are not sovereign states.
Why do some sources say 249 countries?
249 is the number of codes in ISO 3166-1 — a technical standard for coding countries, territories and areas of special interest. It is not a count of sovereign states; it includes dependencies and areas that are not countries.

More, by numbers

World population right now

The live counter, with its formula

Population by country

All 217 countries, ranked

Us, by Numbers

Humanity in numbers

Sources

Every number here traces to an official body.