How Many Countries in the World?

Globes of the world shine brightly on display at the National Geographic store on Regent Street in London. ricardo/Flickr/(CC By SA 2.0)

What is a country and how many independent countries are there in the world? Easy questions, right? The answers might surprise you and they might depend on who you choose to take as an authority on exactly how many countries, regardless of world population, there are in the world.

According to the United Nations (U.N.), the generally recognized body which determines nationhood, there are 193 countries in the list of countries on planet Earth right now.

This number includes 193 countries that are member states of the United Nations and two countries that are non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine in the Middle East. The United Nations calls these 193 countries "member states" because they have been admitted to the United Nations through a series of steps beginning with each nation's philosophical direction as an independent country.

To be a member state, a country must be a "peace loving" state and one that "accepts the obligations contained in the United Nations Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able to carry out these obligations." (Kind of makes you wonder about some of the countries in the world, but we won't name names.) At any rate, becoming a member or receiving recognition as a state is not a slam dunk.

Because the U.N. is not a state and does not have its own government, it cannot grant authority to recognize a state or government — its members, the organization of independent states, do that.

The new state submits an application and letter to the Secretary-General stating that it accepts the requirements of the Charter. The application is referred to the 15-member Security Council for consideration where countries recognized must receive nine of 15 votes and cannot be voted down by any of the five permanent members of the Council (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the United States).

Once the application passes through the Security Council it goes before the General Assembly where it must receive a two-thirds majority vote for admission. It's as simple as that.

Countries the United Nations Does Not Recognize

But, of course, nothing is ever simple in geopolitics. There are territories that apply for recognition that do not receive it for what can only be described as political reasons. Taiwan continues to be lumped in with the People's Republic of China, for example.

Palestine — which received non-member observer status in November 2012 — is one of the unrecognized countries because Israel and many other countries in the world do not recognize it as a sovereign state. The Holy See, representing Vatican City, also has non-member observer states at the U.N. Thus, as non-member observer states, Palestine and the Holy See are not member states or sovereign states.

Places You Thought Were Countries

As far as the United Nations is concerned, Puerto Rico is a territory of the U.S., and so are Guam and American Samoa. The Republic of Ireland is a country, but Northern Ireland is not. Northern Ireland, along with Scotland, Wales and even England are part of the United Kingdom. The Canary Islands? Not a country. They belong to the European country of Spain.

Some places in the world share land area, but not country status. Tibet, which shares the world's tallest mountain (Mount Everest) with Nepal, is not considered a country. It's part of mainland China. Even the biggest island on the planet, Greenland, is also not an independent country. It's a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the smallest Nordic country. Oddly, its smaller next door neighbor, Iceland, is an independent, European nation. Which just goes to show you, country population doesn't matter and size doesn't matter.

Now That's Interesting

How does a nation declare its intentions for independence and its desire to become one of the recognized countries in the world? First, it must exist within clearly defined boundaries. Next, it must retain a permanent population. It has to set up a working government and finally must be able to enter into agreements with other independent nations. Obtaining recognition from all the countries seen as legitimate countries in the world goes a long way in the eyes of the international community. That's why Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and others spent so much time courting European support early in the American Revolution.