How Many Countries are there In The World?
This is a question that’s somewhat difficult to answer, as there is no reliable right answer.
Many sources offer different answers, and depending on the source, there are 189, 191, 192, 193, 194 or 195 independent countries in the world today.
As of May 1, 2008, the United Nations has 192 members (including Montenegro and Serbia – the two newest nations). That number does not include the Vatican, and it doesn’t (yet) include Kosovo.
The US State Department recognizes 194 independent countries around the world, but that list of countries reflects the political agenda of the United States of America. This is because as for example, it includes Kosovo, but does not include Taiwan, as China claims that Taiwan (the ROC) is simply a province of China.

Regarding England, Scotland and Wales, though all are widely considered individual countries, they are all still a part of the United Kingdom (UK), a European country, and therefore included within the United Kingdom on the country list below.

(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)
East Timor (Dili) (AS)
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)
Montenegro (Podgorica) (EU)
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 (Moscow) (AS)
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)
Serbia (Belgrade) (EU)
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)
Tajikistan (Dushanbe) (AS)
Tanzania (Dodoma) (AF)
Thailand (Bangkok) (AS)
Togo (Lome) (AF)
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)

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

Most of the current World Almanacs use 193 countries, which is probably the best answer, but what about Kosovo? Palestine? Greenland? Western Sahara? The political world is constantly changing and the list of independent nations maybe changing. Note that don’t say that the list above is the ONLY answer, just that it’s the answer.

Information source