List of countries

2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography

This list of countries, arranged alphabetically, gives an overview of countries of the world. It includes territories that are independent states (both those that are internationally recognized and generally unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special sovereignty.

Such inclusion criteria means the list does not treat the word "country" as synonymous with "sovereign state," as one may often find in colloquial usage. Note, that in certain circumstances and in certain languages the term country is understood in the most restrictive sense, thus including only the 193 entities mentioned under the first item below.

The list covers all areas under the jurisdiction of the listed countries, namely territory, territorial waters (including internal waters and contiguous zones), exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, and airspace.

The names of countries in the list are given in English and include both an English version of the short official or normative names (e.g. Afghanistan) and an English version of the (longer) official names (e.g. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan). The listing of any name in this article is not meant to imply an official position in any naming dispute.

Types of political entities included

On this list are 245 entities of the following types:

• 193 states with general international recognition:
  • 192 member states of the United Nations (UN).
  • 1 state with general international recognition but not UN membership, governed by the Holy See (a UN permanent observer): Vatican City.
• 9 states lacking general international recognition, none of which are UN members, that may be defined as states in the body of customary international law, drawing on the precedent of the Montevideo Convention:
  • 1 state, no longer a UN member since late 1971, recognized by 22 UN member states and the Holy See (Vatican City), and currently with de facto international relations with many others, the Republic of China (commonly referred to as Taiwan).
  • 1 state, recognized by 46 UN member states but never admitted to the UN itself, with most of its claimed territory under Moroccan de facto administration, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Western Sahara.
  • 1 state, recognized by 43 UN member states and the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Republic of Kosovo.
  • 1 state, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states except Turkey, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
  • 5 de facto independent states, namely Abkhazia (Georgia), Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan), Transnistria (Moldova), Somaliland (Somalia), and South Ossetia (Georgia), none recognized by any UN member states.
• 38 inhabited dependent territories:
  • 3 external territories of Australia (Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island).
  • 2 overseas countries in the United Kingdom of Denmark (Faroe Islands and Greenland).
  • 7 overseas territories of France:
    • 1 sui generis (unique) community (New Caledonia).
    • 6 overseas collectivities:
      • 1 overseas country (French Polynesia)
      • 1 departmental collectivity ( Mayotte)
      • 1 territorial collectivity ( Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
      • 2 collectivities ( Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin)
      • 1 territory (Wallis and Futuna)
  • 2 overseas countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba and Netherlands Antilles).
  • 3 dependent territories of New Zealand:
    • 2 states in free association with New Zealand (Cook Islands and Niue).
    • 1 overseas territory (Tokelau).
  • 16 dependent territories of the United Kingdom:
    • 13 British overseas territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena (and its dependencies Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia).
    • 3 Crown dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).
  • 5 unincorporated territories of the United States:
    • 2 commonwealths (Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico).
    • 2 organized territories (Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands).
    • 1 de facto organized territory lacking an Organic Act (American Samoa).
• 5 special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement (Åland in Finland; Svalbard in Norway; the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and the 2 special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau).

In the 'Entities not included', an outline is given on the entities not included in this list. This includes distinct political and legal entities which are known as countries, but are integral parts of a sovereign state - notably the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and the Länder of Germany.

Key of country names

• Afghanistan (bold) - States with general international recognition
• Abkhazia (bold and italic) - States lacking general international recognition
• Akrotiri and Dhekelia (unbold) - Other non-state countries

List of countries

A

•  Abkhazia – Republic of Abkhazia
•  Afghanistan – Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
• Akrotiri and Dhekelia – Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK overseas territory)
•  Åland – Åland Islands (Autonomous province of Finland)
•  Albania – Republic of Albania
•  Algeria – People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
•  American Samoa – Territory of American Samoa (US territory)
•  Andorra – Principality of Andorra
•  Angola – Republic of Angola
•  Anguilla (UK overseas territory)
•  Antigua and Barbuda
•  Argentina – Argentine Republic
•  Armenia – Republic of Armenia
•  Aruba (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Ascension Island (Dependency of the UK overseas territory of Saint Helena)
•  Australia – Commonwealth of Australia
•  Austria – Republic of Austria
•  Azerbaijan – Republic of Azerbaijan

B

•  Bahamas, The – Commonwealth of The Bahamas
•  Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain
•  Bangladesh – People's Republic of Bangladesh
•  Barbados
•  Belarus – Republic of Belarus
•  Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium
•  Belize
•  Benin – Republic of Benin
•  Bermuda (UK overseas territory)
•  Bhutan – Kingdom of Bhutan
•  Bolivia – Republic of Bolivia
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina
•  Botswana – Republic of Botswana
•  Brazil – Federative Republic of Brazil
•  Brunei – Negara Brunei Darussalam
•  Bulgaria – Republic of Bulgaria
•  Burkina Faso
•  Burma – Union of Myanmar
•  Burundi – Republic of Burundi

C

•  Cambodia – Kingdom of Cambodia
•  Cameroon – Republic of Cameroon
•  Canada
•  Cape Verde – Republic of Cape Verde
•  Cayman Islands (UK overseas territory)
•  Central African Republic
•  Chad – Republic of Chad
•  Chile – Republic of Chile
•  China – People's Republic of China
• For "China, Republic of", see Taiwan
•  Christmas Island – Territory of Christmas Island (Australian overseas territory)
•  Cocos (Keeling) Islands – Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australian overseas territory)
•  Colombia – Republic of Colombia
•  Comoros – Union of the Comoros
•  Congo – Democratic Republic of the Congo
•  Congo – Republic of the Congo
•  Cook Islands (Associated state of New Zealand)
•  Costa Rica – Republic of Costa Rica
•  Côte d'Ivoire – Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
•  Croatia – Republic of Croatia
•  Cuba – Republic of Cuba
•  Cyprus – Republic of Cyprus
•  Czech Republic

D

•  Denmark – Kingdom of Denmark
• For "Dhekelia", see Akrotiri and Dhekelia
•  Djibouti – Republic of Djibouti
•  Dominica – Commonwealth of Dominica
•  Dominican Republic

E

•  East Timor – Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
•  Ecuador – Republic of Ecuador
•  Egypt – Arab Republic of Egypt
•  El Salvador – Republic of El Salvador
•  Equatorial Guinea – Republic of Equatorial Guinea
•  Eritrea – State of Eritrea
•  Estonia – Republic of Estonia
•  Ethiopia – Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

F

•  Falkland Islands (UK overseas territory)
•  Faroe Islands (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark)
•  Fiji – Republic of the Fiji Islands
•  Finland – Republic of Finland
•  France – French Republic
•  French Polynesia (French overseas collectivity)

G

•  Gabon – Gabonese Republic
•  Gambia, The – Republic of The Gambia
•  Georgia
•  Germany – Federal Republic of Germany
•  Ghana – Republic of Ghana
•  Gibraltar (UK overseas territory)
•  Greece – Hellenic Republic
•  Greenland (Self-governing country in the Kingdom of Denmark)
•  Grenada
•  Guam – Territory of Guam (US organized territory)
•  Guatemala – Republic of Guatemala
•  Guernsey – Bailiwick of Guernsey (British Crown dependency)
•  Guinea – Republic of Guinea
•  Guinea-Bissau – Republic of Guinea-Bissau
•  Guyana – Co-operative Republic of Guyana

H

•  Haiti – Republic of Haiti
•  Honduras – Republic of Honduras
•  Hong Kong – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Area of special sovereignty)
•  Hungary – Republic of Hungary

I

•  Iceland – Republic of Iceland
•  India – Republic of India
•  Indonesia – Republic of Indonesia
•  Iran – Islamic Republic of Iran
•  Iraq – Republic of Iraq
•  Ireland - Ireland
•  Isle of Man (British Crown dependency)
•  Israel – State of Israel
•  Italy – Italian Republic
• For "Ivory Coast", see Côte d'Ivoire

J

•  Jamaica
•  Japan
•  Jersey – Bailiwick of Jersey (British Crown dependency)
•  Jordan – Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

K

•  Kazakhstan – Republic of Kazakhstan
•  Kenya – Republic of Kenya
•  Kiribati – Republic of Kiribati
•  Korea, North – Democratic People's Republic of Korea
•  Korea, South – Republic of Korea
•  Kosovo – Republic of Kosovo
•  Kuwait – State of Kuwait
•  Kyrgyzstan – Kyrgyz Republic

L

•  Laos – Lao People's Democratic Republic
•  Latvia – Republic of Latvia
•  Lebanon – Republic of Lebanon
•  Lesotho – Kingdom of Lesotho
•  Liberia – Republic of Liberia
•  Libya – Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
•  Liechtenstein – Principality of Liechtenstein
•  Lithuania – Republic of Lithuania
•  Luxembourg – Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

M

•  Macao – Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Area of special sovereignty)
•  Macedonia – Republic of Macedonia
•  Madagascar – Republic of Madagascar
•  Malawi – Republic of Malawi
•  Malaysia
•  Maldives – Republic of Maldives
•  Mali – Republic of Mali
•  Malta – Republic of Malta
•  Marshall Islands – Republic of the Marshall Islands
•  Mauritania – Islamic Republic of Mauritania
•  Mauritius – Republic of Mauritius
•   Mayotte – Departmental Collectivity of Mayotte (French overseas collectivity)
•  Mexico – United Mexican States
•  Micronesia – Federated States of Micronesia
•  Moldova – Republic of Moldova
•  Monaco – Principality of Monaco
•  Mongolia - Republic of Mongolia
•  Montenegro – Republic of Montenegro
•  Montserrat (UK overseas territory)
•  Morocco – Kingdom of Morocco
•