How many countries are there in the world?

THERE are currently 7.8 billion people in the world, with the population having almost quadrupled in less than 100 years, from just two billion in 1930.

But have you ever wondered just how this ever-growing population is distributed – or how many countries they are spread across?

How many countries are there in the world?

There are 195 sovereign states in the world that are officially recognised by the United Nations.

Of these 195 officially-recognised countries, 193 are member states of the UN.

The other two are the Holy See – the sovereign statehood of the Vatican City – and the State of Palestine, both of which are non-member observer states.

The United Nations (UN) is a worldwide, intergovernmental organisation which aims to maintain peace and security between all nations.

This means they can participate in the work of the UN, but with limitations.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, there are seven continents in the world.

From most to least densely populated, these are Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America, Australia, and Antartica.

Here are all 193 member states of the United Nations – as well as Palestine and the Holy See – listed by continent.

ASIA (48 countries)

  • Afghanistan – capital city Kabul
  • Armenia – capital city Yerevan
  • Azerbaijan – capital city Baku
  • Bahrain – capital city Manama
  • Bangladesh – capital city Dhaka
  • Bhutan – capital city Thimphu
  • Brunei – capital city Bandar Seri Begawan

  • Cambodia – capital city Phnom Penh
  • China – capital city Beijing
  • Cyprus – capital city Nicosia
  • Georgia – capital city Tbilisi
  • India – capital city New Delhi
  • Indonesia – capital city Jakarta
  • Iran – capital city Tehran
  • Iraq – capital city Baghdad
  • Israel – capital city Jerusalem
  • Japan – capital city Tokyo
  • Jordan – capital city Amman
  • Kazakhstan – capital city Nur-Sultan
  • Kuwait – capital city Kuwait City
  • Kyrgyzstan – capital city Bishkek

  • Laos – capital city Vientiane
  • Lebanon – capital city Beirut
  • Malaysia – capital city Kuala Lumpur
  • Maldives – capital city Malé
  • Mongolia – capital city Ulaanbaatar
  • Myanmar – capital city Naypyitaw
  • Nepal – capital city Kathmandu
  • North Korea – capital city Pyongyang
  • Oman – capital city Muscat
  • Pakistan – capital city Islamabad
  • Palestine – capital city Ramallah (administrative)
  • Philippines – capital city Manila
  • Qatar – capital city Doha

  • Saudi Arabia – capital city Riyadh
  • Singapore – capital city Singapore
  • South Korea – capital city Seoul
  • Sri Lanka – capital city Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
  • Syria – capital city Damascus
  • Tajikistan – capital city Dushanbe
  • Thailand – capital city Bangkok
  • Timor-Leste – capital city Dili
  • Turkey – capital city Ankara
  • Turkmenistan – capital city Ashgabat
  • United Arab Emirates – capital city Abu Dhabi
  • Uzbekistan – capital city Tashkent
  • Vietnam – capital city Hanoi
  • Yemen – capital city Sana’a

EUROPE (44 countries)

  • Albania – capital city Tirana
  • Andorra – capital city Andorra la Vella
  • Austria – capital city Vienna
  • Belarus – capital city Minsk
  • Belgium – capital city Brussels
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina – capital city Sarajevo
  • Bulgaria – capital city Sofia
  • Croatia – capital city Zagreb
  • Czech Republic – capital city Prague
  • Denmark – capital city Copenhagen
  • Estonia – capital city Tallinn
  • Finland – capital city Helsinki
  • France – capital city Paris

  • Germany – capital city Berlin
  • Greece – capital city Athens
  • Holy See – capital city Vatican City
  • Hungary – capital city Budapest
  • Iceland – capital city Reykjavik
  • Ireland – capital city Dublin
  • Italy – capital city Rome
  • Kosovo – whilst not officially a member state, Kosovo is a partially-recognised country by 98 UN members. Its capital city is Pristina
  • Latvia – capital city Riga
  • Liechtenstein – capital city Vaduz
  • Lithuania – capital city Vilnius
  • Luxembourg – capital city Luxembourg

  • Malta – capital city Valletta
  • Moldova – capital city Chisinau
  • Monaco – capital city Monte Carlo
  • Montenegro – capital city Podgorica
  • Netherlands – capital city Amsterdam
  • North Macedonia – capital city Skopje
  • Norway – capital city Oslo
  • Poland – capital city Warsaw
  • Portugal – capital city Lisbon
  • Romania – capital city Bucharest
  • Russia – capital city Moscow

  • San Marino – capital city San Marino
  • Serbia – capital city Belgrade
  • Slovakia – capital city Bratislava
  • Slovenia – capital city Ljubljana
  • Spain – capital city Madrid
  • Sweden – capital city Stockholm
  • Switzerland – capital city Bern
  • Ukraine – capital city Kyiv
  • United Kingdom – capital city London

AFRICA (54 countries)

  • Algeria – capital city Algiers
  • Angola – capital city Luanda
  • Benin – capital city Porto-Novo
  • Botswana – capital city Gaborone
  • Burkina Faso – capital city Ouagadougou
  • Burundi – capital city Gitega
  • Cameroon – capital city Yaounde
  • Cape Verde – capital city Praia
  • Central African Republic – capital city Bangui
  • Chad – capital city N’Djamena
  • Comoros – capital city Moroni
  • Congo – capital city Kinshasa

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo – capital city Kinshasa
  • Djibouti – capital city Djibouti
  • Egypt – capital city Cairo
  • Equatorial Guinea – capital city Malabo
  • Eritrea – capital city Asmara
  • Ethiopia – capital city Addis Ababa
  • Gabon – capital city Libreville
  • Gambia – capital city Banjul
  • Ghana – capital city Accra
  • Guinea – capital city Conakry
  • Guinea-Bissau – capital city Bissau
  • Ivory Coast – capital city Yamoussoukro
  • Kenya – capital city Nairobi

  • Lesotho – capital city Maseru
  • Liberia – capital city Monrovia
  • Libya – capital city Tripoli
  • Madagascar – capital city Antananarivo
  • Malawi – capital city Lilongwe
  • Mali – capital city Bamako
  • Mauritania – capital city Nouakchott
  • Mauritius – capital city Port Louis
  • Morocco – capital city Rabat
  • Mozambique – capital city Maputo
  • Namibia – capital city Windhoek
  • Niger – capital city Niamey
  • Nigeria – capital city Abuja

  • Rwanda – capital city Kigali
  • Sao Tome and Principe – capital city Sao Tome
  • Senegal – capital city Dakar
  • Seychelles – capital city Victoria
  • Sierra Leone – capital city Freetown
  • Somalia – capital city Mogadishu
  • South Africa – capital city Cape Town
  • South Sudan – capital city Juba
  • Sudan – capital city Khartoum

  • Swaziland – capital city Mbabane (executive capital) and Lobamba (legislative capital)
  • Tanzania – capital city Dodoma
  • Togo – capital city Lome
  • Tunisia – capital city Tunis
  • Uganda – capital city Kampala
  • Zambia – capital city Lusaka
  • Zimbabwe – capital city Harare

SOUTH AMERICA (12 countries)

  • Argentina – capital city Buenos Aires
  • Bolivia – capital city La Paz
  • Brazil – capital city Brasilia
  • Chile – capital city Santiago
  • Colombia – capital city Bogota
  • Ecuador – capital city Quito
  • Guyana – capital city Georgetown
  • Paraguay – capital city Asunción
  • Peru – capital city Lima
  • Suriname – capital city Paramaribo
  • Uruguay – capital city Montevideo
  • Venezuela – capital city Caracas

NORTH AMERICA (23 countries)

The main countries of North America are the United States of America, or USA, comprising of 50 states (capital city Washington D.C.), and Canada (capital city Ottawa).

However, the following countries of Central America are also typically considered to be the southernmost region of the continent of North America…

  • Belize – capital city Belmopan
  • Costa Rica – capital city San José
  • El Salvador – capital city San Salvador
  • Guatemala – capital city Guatemala City
  • Honduras – capital city Tegucigalpa
  • Mexico – capital city Mexico City
  • Nicaragua – capital city Managua
  • Panama – capital city Panama City

And the islands of the Caribbean, otherwise knows as the West Indies, are also often considered to be a subregion of North America.

They are as follows…

  • Antigua and Barbuda – capital city Saint John’s
  • Bahamas – capital city Nassau
  • Barbados – capital city Bridgetown
  • Cuba – capital city Havana
  • Dominica – capital city Roseau
  • Dominican Republic – capital city Santo Domingo
  • Grenada – capital city Saint George’s
  • Haiti – capital city Port-au-Prince
  • Jamaica – capital city Kingston
  • Saint Kitts & Nevis – capital city Basseterre
  • Saint Lucia – capital city Castries
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – capital city Kingstown
  • Trinidad and Tobago – capital city Port of Spain

AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA (13 countries)

Australia is known as the smallest continent in the world, made up of just two countries – the country of Australia (capital city Canberra), as well as Papua New Guinea (capital city Port Moresby).

However, the continent of Australia sits within the much larger geographic region of Oceania which, whilst not a continent itself, comprises a number of UN-recognised island countries.

These are…

  • Fiji – capital city Suva
  • Kiribati – capital city Tarawa
  • Marshall Islands – capital city Majuro
  • Micronesia – capital city Palikir
  • Nauru – capital city Yaren
  • New Zealand – capital city Wellington
  • Palau – capital city Ngerulmud
  • Samoa – capital city Apia
  • Solomon Islands – capital city Honiara
  • Tuvalu – capital city Funafuti
  • Vanuatu – capital city Port Vila

Lastly, Antarctica is the least densely-populated continent, with no native human population.

However, the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1961 by 54 UN member countries, in order to regulate international relations concerning Antarctica.

Source: Read Full Article