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Worldly | How many countries does the world count? List of countries + population

How many countries does the world have? And why can't you find a conclusive answer anywhere on the internet about exactly how many countries there are in the world? Counting all the countries in the world, isn't that difficult at all? Unfortunately, the answer to those questions is a lot more complicated than you might expect. In this article, we will explain what a country is exactly and what the difference is between recognized and unrecognized countries.

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What is a country?

countrystayed of nation is a territory with a population and a government, which makes the rules and can use force if necessary. Each country must be recognized by other countries. This means that they (the other countries) agree that the country exists. If that happens, it could be part of the United Nations (UN), the collection of all countries. Not always all countries recognize a country, as is the case with Taiwan.

Disagreements about countries

It's actually kind of the same story as with the number of continents or continents that the world counts: there is quite a bit of disagreement about it.. The number of countries in the world is also often subject to change, for example due to wars or conflicts. Because countries often do not (want to) recognize each other or because 'dependent states' are included in one list and the other list does not, there is another difference.

So there is a difference between the number of countries in the world that are actually recognized by the United Nations and the number of countries that have declared themselves as countries. Therefore, in this article we have three different lists made in which you can see exactly which countries are or are not (in)dependent, which are recognized or not and also a total list of all countries in the worldregardless of their official or unofficial status.

Countries Recognized by United Nations

if you all Worldwide adding countries accepted and countries 'recognised' by the United Nations, you arrive at 195 countries† At least that is at the time of update. I am mentioning this specifically because even at the time of writing in 2021 and updating now in February 2022, the number has been reduced from 196 to 195 countries. It is not entirely clear to me which country has been removed from the list, because there is nothing news or information about it. When I know more I will add this to the article.

United Nations Building | All countries in the world
United Nations Building | All countries in the world

Below you will find the list of countries recognized by the United Nations, ordered by the number of inhabitants. At the moment (May 2021) there are 195.

Wereldreizigers.nl

List | all 195 countries recognized by the UN

The list is sorted by population / number of inhabitants. The breakdown by world is as follows:

#CountryPopulation (2021)World share
1China1.439.323.77618,5%
2India1.380.004.38517,7%
3USA331.002.6514,2%
4Indonesia273.523.6153,5%
5Pakistan220.892.3402,8%
6Brazil212.559.4172,7%
7Nigeria206.139.5892,6%
8Bangladesh164.689.3832,1%
9Russia145.934.4621,9%
10Mexico128.932.7531,7%
11Japan126.476.4611,6%
12Ethiopia114.963.5881,5%
13Philippines109.581.0781,4%
14Egypt102.334.4041,3%
15Vietnam 97.338.5791,2%
16DR Congo89.561.4031,1%
17Turkey84.339.0671,1%
18Iran83.992.9491,1%
19Germany83.783.9421,1%
20Thailand69.799.9780,9%
21United Kingdom67.886.0110,9%
22France65.273.5110,8%
23Italy60.461.8260,8%
24Tanzania59.734.2180,8%
25South Africa59.308.6900,8%
26Myanmar54.409.8000,7%
27Kenya53.771.2960,7%
28South Korea51.269.1850,7%
29Colombia50.882.8910,7%
30Spain46.754.7780,6%
31Uganda45.741.0070,6%
32Argentina45.195.7740,6%
33Algeria43.851.0440,6%
34Sudan43.849.2600,6%
35Ukraine43.733.7620,6%
36Iraq40.222.4930,5%
37Afghanistan. 38.928.3460,5%
38Poland37.846.6110,5%
39Canada37.742.1540,5%
40Morocco36.910.5600,5%
41Saudi Arabia34.813.8710,4%
42Uzbekistan33.469.2030,4%
43Peru32.971.8540,4%
44Angola32.866.2720,4%
45Malaysia32.365.9990,4%
46Mozambique31.255.4350,4%
47Ghana31.072.9400,4%
48Yemen29.825.9640,4%
49Nepal29.136.8080,4%
50Venezuela28.435.9400,4%
51Madagascar27.691.0180,4%
52Cameroon26.545.8630,3%
53Ivory Coast26.378.2740,3%
54North Korea25.778.8160,3%
55Australië25.499.8840,3%
56Niger24.206.6440,3%
57Sri Lanka21.413.2490,3%
58Burkina Faso20.903.2730,3%
59Mali20.250.8330,3%
60Romania19.237.6910,2%
61Malawi19.129.9520,2%
62Chile19.116.2010,2%
63Kazakhstan18.776.7070,2%
64Zambia18.383.9550,2%
65Guatemala17.915.5680,2%
66Ecuador17.643.0540,2%
67Syrie17.500.6580,2%
68The Netherlands17.134.8720,2%
69Senegal16.743.9270,2%
70Cambodia16.718.9650,2%
71Chad16.425.8640,2%
72Somalia15.893.2220,2%
73Zimbabwe14.862.9240,2%
74Guinea13.132.7950,2%
75Rwanda12.952.2180,2%
76Benin12.123.2000,2%
77Burundi11.890.7840,2%
78Tunisia11.818.6190,2%
79Bolivia11.673.0210,1%
80Belgium11.589.6230,1%
81Haiti11.402.5280,1%
82Cuba11.326.6160,1%
83Southern Sudan11.193.7250,1%
84Dominican Republic10.847.9100,1%
85Czech Republic (Czech Republic)10.708.9810,1%
86Greece10.423.0540,1%
87Jordan10.203.1340,1%
88Portugal10.196.7090,1%
89Azerbaijan10.139.1770,1%
90Sweden10.099.2650,1%
91Honduras9.904.6070,1%
92United Arab Emirates9.890.4020,1%
93Hungary9.660.3510,1%
94Tadjikistan9.537.6450,1%
95Byelorussia9.449.3230,1%
96Austria9.006.3980,1%
97Papua New Guinea8.947.0240,1%
98Serbia8.737.3710,1%
99Israel8.655.5350,1%
100Switzerland8.654.6220,1%
101To go8.278.7240,1%
102Sierra Leone7.976.9830,1%
103Laos. 7.275.5600,1%
104Paraguay7.132.5380,1%
105Bulgaria6.948.4450,1%
106Libya6.871.2920,1%
107Lebanon6.825.4450,1%
108Nicaragua6.624.5540,1%
109Kyrgyzstan6.524.1950,1%
110El Salvador6.486.2050,1%
111Turkmenistan6.031.2000,1%
112Singapore5.850.3420,1%
113Denmark5.792.2020,1%
114Finland5.540.7200,1%
115Congo5.518.0870,1%
116Slovakia5.459.6420,1%
117Norway5.421.2410,1%
118Oman5.106.6260,1%
119State of Palestine5.101.4140,1%
120Costa Rica5.094.1180,1%
121Liberia5.057.6810,1%
122Ireland4.937.7860,1%
123Central-African Republic4.829.7670,1%
124New Zealand4.822.2330,1%
125Mauritania4.649.6580,1%
126Panama4.314.7670,1%
127Kuwait4.270.5710,1%
128Croatia4.105.2670,1%
129Moldavia4.033.9630,1%
130Georgia3.989.1670,1%
131eritrea3.546.421<0,1%
132Uruguay3.473.730<0,1%
133Bosnia and Herzegovina3.280.819<0,1%
134Mongolia3.278.290<0,1%
135Armenia2.963.243<0,1%
136Jamaica2.961.167<0,1%
137Qatar2.881.053<0,1%
138Albania2.877.797<0,1%
139Lithuania2.722.289<0,1%
140Namibia2.540.905<0,1%
141Gambia2.416.668<0,1%
142Botswana2.351.627<0,1%
143Gabon2.225.734<0,1%
144Lesotho2.142.249<0,1%
145Northern Macedonia2.083.374<0,1%
146Slovenia2.078.938<0,1%
147Guinea-Bissau1.968.001<0,1%
148Latvia1.886.198<0,1%
149Bahrain1.701.575<0,1%
150Equatorial Guinea1.402.985<0,1%
151Trinidad and Tobago1.399.488<0,1%
152Estonia1.326.535<0,1%
153East Timor1.318.445<0,1%
154Mauritius1.271.768<0,1%
155Cyprus1.207.359<0,1%
156Eswatini1.160.164<0,1%
157Djibouti988.778<0,1%
158Fiji896.445<0,1%
159Comoros869.601<0,1%
160Guyana786.552<0,1%
161Bhutan771.608<0,1%
162Solomon Islands686.884<0,1%
163Montenegro628.066<0,1%
164Luxembourg625.978<0,1%
165Suriname586.632<0,1%
166Cape Verde555.987<0,1%
167Maldives540.544<0,1%
168Malta441.543<0,1%
169Brunei437.479<0,1%
170Belize397.628<0,1%
171Bahamas393.244<0,1%
172Iceland341.243<0,1%
173Vanuatu307.145<0,1%
174Barbados287.375<0,1%
175Sao Tome and Principe219.159<0,1%
176Samoa198.414<0,1%
177Saint Lucia183.627<0,1%
178Kiribati119.449<0,1%
179Micronesia115.023<0,1%
180Grenada112.523<0,1%
181St Vincent and Grenadines110.94<0,1%
182Tonga105.695<0,1%
183Seychelles98.347<0,1%
184Antigua and Barbuda97.929<0,1%
185Andorra77.265<0,1%
186Dominica71.986<0,1%
187Marshall Islands59.19<0,1%
188Saint Kitts and Nevis53.199<0,1%
189Monaco39.242<0,1%
190Liechtenstein38.128<0,1%
191San Marino33.931<0,1%
192palau18.094<0,1%
193Tuvalu11.792<0,1%
194Nauru10.824<0,1%
195Heilige stoel801<0,1%

Tip: Do you want to get started with the data yourself? That's possible, for that I made an online excel file that you here can view or download.

Chris | Wereldreizigers.nl

Unrecognized or dependent countries

You may think that the unrecognized countries in the world are mainly rogue states that are therefore not recognized by the UN (United Nations). Unfortunately that is not the case.

Disagreement about recognition

Taiwan is a good example of that. Taiwan is a country we all know, but it is not officially recognized as a country. In 1945, Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China† Taiwan is not recognized as an independent country by the Communist People's Republic of China and the Communist government sees Taiwan as a province of the People's Republic of China. China still claims the country in 2021. Taiwan also claims to be independent in 2021.

In October 2021, China once again flexed its muscles with its many fighter jets. Taiwan fears war with China. †source).

For example, there are more examples of countries that are actually independent, but are not recognized. These countries actually all live in uncertainty.

Invasion of Russia in Ukraine

Then there is Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is currently a recognized country, but it seems that Ukraine as we know it is coming to an end. Putin has said several times live on TV that he plans to completely demilitarize Ukraine and overthrow the government. In effect, this means that Ukraine will no longer exist in its current form and that its borders may be revised. Perhaps the country as a whole will even become part of Russia after this war and we will have to cross another country off the country list. Time will tell.

All we can do now is hope that the war will be over soon, without too many casualties.

Taipei, the capital of Taiwan
Taipei, the capital of Taiwan

Dependent countries

In addition, there are also a number of dependent countries or territories that do not officially have their own country status because they are still highly dependent on another country. The Dutch Antilles is a good example of this. Similar dependencies can also be found in the list below.

Countries with * on dependency are claimed by another country without mutual agreement.

Wereldreizigers.nl

List | 40 dependent or unrecognized countries

The list of 40 dependent or unrecognized countries is listed below by population / number of inhabitants.

#territoryPopulation (2021)Depending on
1Taiwan23.816.775china (*)
2Hong Kong7.496.981china (*)
3Puerto Rico2.860.853USA
4Meeting895.312France
5Macau649.335China
6Western Sahara597.339debatable
7Guadeloupe400.124France
8Martinique375.265France
9French Guyana298.682France
10New Caledonia285.498France
11French Polynesia280.908France
12Mayotte272.815France
13Channel Islands173.863VK
14Guam168.775USA
15Curacao164.093The Netherlands
16Aruba106.766The Netherlands
17U.S. Virgin Islands104.425USA
18Isle of Man85.033VK
19Cayman Islands65.722VK
20Bermuda62.278VK
21Northern Mariana Islands57.559USA
22Greenland56.771Denmark
23American Samoa55.191USA
24Faroe Islands48.863Denmark
25Sint Maarten42.876The Netherlands
26Turks and Caicos Islands38.717VK
27Gibraltar33.691VK
28British Virgin Islands30.231VK
29Caribbean Netherlands26.223The Netherlands
30Cook Islands17.564New Zealand
31Anguilla15.003VK
32Wallis and Futuna11.239France
33St. Barthelemy9.877France
34St. Helena6.077VK
35Saint Pierre and Miquelon5.794France
36Montserrat4.992VK
37Falkland Islands3.481VK
38Niue1.626New Zealand
39Tokelau1.357New Zealand
Would you like to get started with the data below? That's possible, for that I made an online excel file that you here can view or download.

All countries of the world

Leaving aside the disagreement or recognition of countries, we arrive at a total of 235 countries. The entire list of all countries in the world sorted by population / number of inhabitants can be seen below.

List | All 235 countries of the world

#CountryPopulation (2021)World share
1China1.439.323.77618,47%
2India1.380.004.38517,70%
3USA331.002.6514,25%
4Indonesia273.523.6153,51%
5Pakistan220.892.3402,83%
6Brazil212.559.4172,73%
7Nigeria206.139.5892,64%
8Bangladesh164.689.3832,11%
9Russia145.934.4621,87%
10Mexico128.932.7531,65%
11Japan126.476.4611,62%
12Ethiopia114.963.5881,47%
13Philippines109.581.0781,41%
14Egypt102.334.4041,31%
15Vietnam 97.338.5791,25%
16DR Congo89.561.4031,15%
17Turkey84.339.0671,08%
18Iran83.992.9491,08%
19Germany83.783.9421,07%
20Thailand69.799.9780,90%
21United Kingdom67.886.0110,87%
22France65.273.5110,84%
23Italy60.461.8260,78%
24Tanzania59.734.2180,77%
25South Africa59.308.6900,76%
26Myanmar54.409.8000,70%
27Kenya53.771.2960,69%
28South Korea51.269.1850,66%
29Colombia50.882.8910,65%
30Spain46.754.7780,60%
31Uganda45.741.0070,59%
32Argentina45.195.7740,58%
33Algeria43.851.0440,56%
34Sudan43.849.2600,56%
35Ukraine43.733.7620,56%
36Iraq40.222.4930,52%
37Afghanistan. 38.928.3460,50%
38Poland37.846.6110,49%
39Canada37.742.1540,48%
40Morocco36.910.5600,47%
41Saudi Arabia34.813.8710,45%
42Uzbekistan33.469.2030,43%
43Peru32.971.8540,42%
44Angola32.866.2720,42%
45Malaysia32.365.9990,42%
46Mozambique31.255.4350,40%
47Ghana31.072.9400,40%
48Yemen29.825.9640,38%
49Nepal29.136.8080,37%
50Venezuela28.435.9400,36%
51Madagascar27.691.0180,36%
52Cameroon26.545.8630,34%
53Ivory Coast26.378.2740,34%
54North Korea25.778.8160,33%
55Australië25.499.8840,33%
56Niger24.206.6440,31%
57Taiwan23.816.7750,31%
58Sri Lanka21.413.2490,27%
59Burkina Faso20.903.2730,27%
60Mali20.250.8330,26%
61Romania19.237.6910,25%
62Malawi19.129.9520,25%
63Chile19.116.2010,25%
64Kazakhstan18.776.7070,24%
65Zambia18.383.9550,24%
66Guatemala17.915.5680,23%
67Ecuador17.643.0540,23%
68Syrie17.500.6580,22%
69The Netherlands17.134.8720,22%
70Senegal16.743.9270,21%
71Cambodia16.718.9650,21%
72Chad16.425.8640,21%
73Somalia15.893.2220,20%
74Zimbabwe14.862.9240,19%
75Guinea13.132.7950,17%
76Rwanda12.952.2180,17%
77Benin12.123.2000,16%
78Burundi11.890.7840,15%
79Tunisia11.818.6190,15%
80Bolivia11.673.0210,15%
81Belgium11.589.6230,15%
82Haiti11.402.5280,15%
83Cuba11.326.6160,15%
84Southern Sudan11.193.7250,14%
85Dominican Republic10.847.9100,14%
86Czech Republic (Czech Republic)10.708.9810,14%
87Greece10.423.0540,13%
88Jordan10.203.1340,13%
89Portugal10.196.7090,13%
90Azerbaijan10.139.1770,13%
91Sweden10.099.2650,13%
92Honduras9.904.6070,13%
93United Arab Emirates9.890.4020,13%
94Hungary9.660.3510,12%
95Tadjikistan9.537.6450,12%
96Byelorussia9.449.3230,12%
97Austria9.006.3980,12%
98Papua New Guinea8.947.0240,11%
99Serbia8.737.3710,11%
100Israel8.655.5350,11%
101Switzerland8.654.6220,11%
102To go8.278.7240,11%
103Sierra Leone7.976.9830,10%
104Hong Kong7.496.9810,10%
105Laos. 7.275.5600,09%
106Paraguay7.132.5380,09%
107Bulgaria6.948.4450,09%
108Libya6.871.2920,09%
109Lebanon6.825.4450,09%
110Nicaragua6.624.5540,08%
111Kyrgyzstan6.524.1950,08%
112El Salvador6.486.2050,08%
113Turkmenistan6.031.2000,08%
114Singapore5.850.3420,08%
115Denmark5.792.2020,07%
116Finland5.540.7200,07%
117Congo5.518.0870,07%
118Slovakia5.459.6420,07%
119Norway5.421.2410,07%
120Oman5.106.6260,07%
121State of Palestine5.101.4140,07%
122Costa Rica5.094.1180,07%
123Liberia5.057.6810,06%
124Ireland4.937.7860,06%
125Central-African Republic4.829.7670,06%
126New Zealand4.822.2330,06%
127Mauritania4.649.6580,06%
128Panama4.314.7670,06%
129Kuwait4.270.5710,05%
130Croatia4.105.2670,05%
131Moldavia4.033.9630,05%
132Georgia3.989.1670,05%
133eritrea3.546.4210,05%
134Uruguay3.473.7300,04%
135Bosnia and Herzegovina3.280.8190,04%
136Mongolia3.278.2900,04%
137Armenia2.963.2430,04%
138Jamaica2.961.1670,04%
139Qatar2.881.0530,04%
140Albania2.877.7970,04%
141Puerto Rico2.860.8530,04%
142Lithuania2.722.2890,03%
143Namibia2.540.9050,03%
144Gambia2.416.6680,03%
145Botswana2.351.6270,03%
146Gabon2.225.7340,03%
147Lesotho2.142.2490,03%
148Northern Macedonia2.083.3740,03%
149Slovenia2.078.9380,03%
150Guinea-Bissau1.968.0010,03%
151Latvia1.886.1980,02%
152Bahrain1.701.5750,02%
153Equatorial Guinea1.402.9850,02%
154Trinidad and Tobago1.399.4880,02%
155Estonia1.326.5350,02%
156East Timor1.318.4450,02%
157Mauritius1.271.7680,02%
158Cyprus1.207.3590,02%
159Eswatini1.160.1640,01%
160Djibouti988.7480,01%
161Fiji896.4450,01%
162Reunion Island895.3120,01%
163Comoros869.6010,01%
164Guyana786.5520,01%
165Bhutan771.6080,01%
166Solomon Islands686.8840,01%
167Macau649.3350,01%
168Montenegro628.0660,01%
169Luxembourg625.9780,01%
170Western Sahara597.3390,01%
171Suriname586.6320,01%
172Cape Verde555.9870,01%
173Maldives540.5440,01%
174Malta441.5430,01%
175Brunei437.4790,01%
176Guadeloupe400.1240,01%
177Belize397.6280,01%
178Bahamas393.2440,01%
179Martinique375.265<0,01%
180Iceland341.243<0,01%
181Vanuatu307.145<0,01%
182French Guyana298.682<0,01%
183Barbados287.375<0,01%
184New Caledonia285.498<0,01%
185French Polynesia280.908<0,01%
186Mayotte272.815<0,01%
187Sao Tome and Principe219.159<0,01%
188Samoa198.414<0,01%
189Saint Lucia183.627<0,01%
190Channel Islands173.863<0,01%
191Guam168.775<0,01%
192Curacao164.093<0,01%
193Kiribati119.449<0,01%
194Micronesia115.023<0,01%
195Grenada112.523<0,01%
196St Vincent and Grenadines110.941<0,01%
197Aruba106.766<0,01%
198Tonga105.695<0,01%
199U.S. Virgin Islands104.425<0,01%
200Seychelles98.347<0,01%
201Antigua and Barbuda97.929<0,01%
202Isle of Man85.033<0,01%
203Andorra77.265<0,01%
204Dominica71.986<0,01%
205Cayman Islands65.722<0,01%
206Bermuda62.278<0,01%
207Marshall Islands59.194<0,01%
208Northern Mariana Islands57.559<0,01%
209Greenland56.778<0,01%
210American Samoa55.191<0,01%
211Saint Kitts and Nevis53.199<0,01%
212Faroe Islands48.863<0,01%
213Sint Maarten42.876<0,01%
214Monaco39.242<0,01%
215Turks and Caicos Islands38.717<0,01%
216Saint Martin38.666<0,01%
217Liechtenstein38.128<0,01%
218San Marino33.931<0,01%
219Gibraltar33.691<0,01%
220British Virgin Islands30.231<0,01%
221Caribbean Netherlands26.223<0,01%
222palau18.094<0,01%
223Cook Islands17.564<0,01%
224Anguilla15.003<0,01%
225Tuvalu11.792<0,01%
226Wallis and Futuna11.239<0,01%
227Nauru10.824<0,01%
228St. Barthelemy9.877<0,01%
229St. Helena6.077<0,01%
230Saint Pierre and Miquelon5.794<0,01%
231Montserrat4.992<0,01%
232Falkland Islands3.481<0,01%
233Niue1.626<0,01%
234Tokelau1.357<0,01%
235Heilige stoel801<0,01%
Would you like to get started with the data below? That's possible, for that I made an online excel file that you here can view or download.
Globe | All countries in the world
Globe | All countries in the world

Closing comments

Now that you know exactly what all countries in the world mean, you may have become curious about other fun facts and trivia about the world. Do you want to know more about the world and everything that goes with it? Then take a look at our Globally page† Below are a number of relevant links to articles that might be of interest to you.

Did you find a mistake in this article or do you have something to add? Then let us know in the comments! We will try to answer your question as soon as possible.

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Wereldreizigers.nl (World Travelers dot NL)

Wereldreizigers.nl | Everything about long-distance travel, world travel, travel news, travel photography, backpacking, travel tips and more.

Would you like to receive great travel tips and extra benefits every month? And did you know that we give away a monthly world map to our subscribers? All you have to do is leave your email address below and you will have a chance to win every month!

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