Wonderclub's World Atlas Countries of the World

Countries of the World

"How many countries are in the world," is a very good question and one that is somewhat difficult to answer, as there appears to be no one right answer.

Many sources offer different answers, and depending on the source, there are 189, 191, 192, 193 or 194 independent countries in the world today.

The United Nations has 189 members but that number doesn't include independent nations like Switzerland and the Vatican. The US State Department recognizes 191 independent countries around the world. but that list of countries reflects the political agenda of the United States of America. As an example, it doesn't include Taiwan as China claims that Taiwan is simply a province of China.

Many World Almanacs use 192 countries, which is probably the best answer, but what about East Timor? Palestine? Greenland? Western Sahara? The political world is constantly changing and our list of independent nations is shown below. Note that we don't say that our list is the ONLY answer, just that it's our answer.

A complete list of Dependencies and Territories of the world here!

All are listed in alphabetical order with capital city and continent reference.

COUNTRY/CAPITAL CITY/CONTINENT

(A)
Afghanistan (Kabul) (AS)
Albania (Tirane) (EU)
Algeria (Algers) (AF)
Andorra (Andorra la Vella) (EU)
Angola (Luanda) (AF)
Antigua and Barbuda (St. John's) (NA)
Argentina (Buenos Aires) (SA)
Armenia (Yerevan) (EU)
Australia (Canberra) (AU)
Austria (Vienna) (EU)
Azerbaijan (Baku) (AS)

(B)
Bahamas (Nassau) (NA)
Bahrain (Manama) (AS)
Bangladesh (Dhaka) (AS)
Barbados (Bridgetown) (NA)
Belarus (Minsk) (EU)
Belgium (Brussels) (EU)
Belize (Belmopan) (NA)
Benin (Port-Novo) (AF)
Bhutan (Thimphu) (AS)
Bolivia (Sucre) (SA)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) (EU)
Botswana (Gaborone) (AF)
Brazil (Brasilia) (SA)
Brunei (Bander Seri Begawan) (AS)
Bulgaria (Sofia) (EU)
Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou) (AF)
Burma/Myanmar (Yangon) (AS)
Burundi (Bujumbura) (AF)

(C)
Cambodia (Phnom Penh) (AS)
Cameroon (Yaounde) (AF)
Canada (Ottawa) (NA)
Cape Verde (Praia) (EU - Portugal)
Central African Republic (Bangui) (AF)
Chad (N'Djamena) (AF)
Chile (Santiago) (SA)
China (Beijing) (AS)
Colombia (Bogota) (SA)
Comoros (Moroni) (AF)
Congo (Brazzaville) (AF)
Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa) (AF)
Costa Rica (San Jose) (NA)
Cote d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast (Yamoussoukro) (AF)
Croatia (Zagreb) (EU)
Cuba (Havana) (NA)
Cyprus (Nicosia) (AS) and/or (EU)
Czech Republic (Prague) (EU)

(D)
Denmark (Copenhagen) (EU)
Djibouti (Djibouti) (AF)
Dominica (Roseau) (NA)
Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) (NA)

(E)
Ecuador (Quito) (SA)
Egypt (Cairo) (AF)
El Salvador (San Salvador) (NA)
Equatorial Guinea (Malabo) (AF)
Eritrea (Asmara) (AF)
Estonia (Tallinn) (EU)
Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) (AF)

(F)
Fiji (Suva) (AU - Oceania)
Finland (Helsinki) (EU)
France (Paris) (EU)

(G)
Gabon (Liberville) (AF)
Gambia (Banjul) (AF)
Georgia (Tbilisi) (EU)
Germany (Berlin) (EU)
Ghana (Accra) (AF)
Greece (Athens) (EU)
Grenada (St. George's) (NA)
Guatemala (Guatemala City) (NA)
Guinea (Conakry) (AF)
Guinea-Bissau (Bissau) (AF)
Guyana (Georgetown) (SA)

(H)
Haiti (Port-au-Prince) (NA)
Honduras (Tegucigalpa) (NA)
Hungary (Budapest) (EU)

(I)
Iceland (Reykjavik) (EU)
India (New Delhi) (AS)
Indonesia (Jakarta) (AS)
Iran (Tehran) (AS)
Iraq (Baghdad) (AS)
Ireland (Dublin) (EU)
Israel (Jerusalem) (AS)
Italy (Rome) (EU)

(J)
Jamaica (Kingston) (NA)
Japan (Tokyo) (AS)
Jordan (Amman) (AS)

(K)
Kazakstan (Astana) (AS)
Kenya (Nairobi) (AF)
Kiribati (Bairiki) (AU - Oceania)
Korea, North (Pyongyang) (AS)
Korea, South (Seoul) (AS)
Kuwait (Kuwait City) (AS)
Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) (AS)

(L)
Laos (Vientiane) (AS)
Latvia (Riga) (EU)
Lebanon (Beirut) (AS)
Lesotho (Maseru) (AF)
Liberia (Monrovia) (AF)
Libya (Tripoli) (AF)
Liechtenstein (Vaduz) (EU)
Lithuania (Vilnius) (EU)
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) (EU)

(M)
Macedonia (Skopje) (EU)
Madagascar (Antananarivo) (AF)
Malawi (Lilongwe) (AF)
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) (AS)
Maldives (Male) (AS)
Mali (Bamako) (AF)
Malta (Valletta) (EU)
Marshall Islands (Majuro) (AU - Oceania)
Mauritania (Nouakchott) (AF)
Mauritius (Port Louis) (AF)
Mexico (Mexico City) (NA)
Micronesia (Palikir) (AU - Oceania)
Moldova (Chisinau) (EU)
Monaco (Monaco) (EU)
Mongolia (Ulan Bator) (AS)
Morocco (Rabat) (AF) (including Western Sahara)
Mozambique (Maputo) (AF)

(N)
Namibia (Windhoek) (AF)
Nauru (no official capital) (AU - Oceania)
Nepal (Kathmandu) (AS)
Netherlands (Amsterdam, The Hague) (EU)
New Zealand (Wellington) (AU)
Nicaragua (Managua) (NA)
Niger (Niamey) (AF)
Nigeria (Abuja) (AF)
Norway (Oslo) (EU)

(O)
Oman (Muscat) (AS)

(P)
Pakistan (Islamabad) (AS)
Palau (Koror) (AU - Oceania)
Panama (Panama City) (NA)
Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby) (AU)
Paraguay (Asuncion) (SA)
Peru (Lima) (SA)
Philippines (Manila) (AS)
Poland (Warsaw) (EU)
Portugal (Lisbon) (EU)

(Q)
Qatar (Doha) (AS)

(R)
Romania (Bucharest) (EU)
Russian Federation
(east) of the Ural Mountains (AS)
Russian Federation (Moscow)
(west) of the Ural Mountains (EU)
Rwanda (Kigali) (AF)

(S)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (Basseterre) (NA)
Saint Lucia (Castries) (NA)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Kingstown) (NA)
Samoa (Apia) (AU - Oceania)
San Marino (San Marino) (EU)
Sao Tome and Principe (Sao Tome) (AF)
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) (AS)
Senegal (Dakar) (AF)
Seychelles (Victoria) (AF)
Sierra Leone (Freetown) (AF)
Singapore (Singapore City) (AS)
Slovakia (Bratislava) (EU)
Slovenia (Ljubljana) (EU)
Solomon Islands (Honiara) (AU - Oceania)
Somalia (Mogadishu) (AF)
South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein) (AF)
Spain (Madrid) (EU)
Sri Lanka (Colombo) (AS)
Sudan (Khartoum) (AF)
Suriname (Paramaribo) (SA)
Swaziland (Mbabane) (AF)
Sweden (Stockholm) (EU)
Switzerland (Bern) (EU)
Syria (Damascus) (AS)

(T)
Taiwan (Taipei) (AS)
Tajikistan (Dushanbe) (AS)
Tanzania (Dodoma) (AF)
Thailand (Bangkok) (AS)
Togo (Lome) (AU - Oceania)
Tonga (Nuku'alofa) (AU - Oceania)
Trinidad and Tobago (Port-of-Spain) (NA)
Tunisia (Tunis) (AF)
Turkey (Ankara) (AS) & (EU)
Turkmenistan (Ashgabat) (AS)
Tuvalu (Funafuti) (AU - Oceania)

(U)
Uganda (Kampala) (AF)
Ukraine (Kiev) (EU)
United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) (AS)
United Kingdom (London) (EU)
United States (Washington D.C.) (NA)
Uruguay (Montevideo) (SA)
Uzbekistan (Tashkent) (AS)

(V)
Vanuatu (Port-Vila) (AU - Oceania)
Vatican City (na) (EU)
Venezuela (Caracas) (SA)
Vietnam (Hanoi) (AS)

(Y)
Yemen (Sana) (AS)
Yugoslavia (now Serbia & Montenegro) (Belgrade) (EU)

(Z)
Zambia (Lusaka) (AF)
Zimbabwe (Harare) (AF)