Countries
How many countries are there in the world?
According to the United Nations there is 193 internationally recognized countries as at January 2023. However if we account for unique territories this number is more like 330. On this page you can find detailed listings about the names of places that exist, but it is by no means exhaustive. See the Territories List for more information.
Flags List
Distinct territories and people are commonly represented by flags. There is a two-letter country code called ISO 3166-1 which is used to generate over 258 flag character codes. Please note that this include all people and is just for explorative purposes only.
🇦🇨 AC Ascension Island
🇦🇩 AD Andorra
🇦🇪 AE United Arab Emirates
🇦🇫 AF Afghanistan
🇦🇬 AG Antigua & Barbuda
🇦🇮 AI Anguilla
🇦🇱 AL Albania
🇦🇲 AM Armenia
🇦🇴 AO Angola
🇦🇶 AQ Antarctica
🇦🇷 AR Argentina
🇦🇸 AS American Samoa
🇦🇹 AT Austria
🇦🇺 AU Australia
🇦🇼 AW Aruba
🇦🇽 AX Åland Islands
🇦🇿 AZ Azerbaijan
🇧🇦 BA Bosnia & Herzegovina
🇧🇧 BB Barbados
🇧🇩 BD Bangladesh
🇧🇪 BE Belgium
🇧🇫 BF Burkina Faso
🇧🇬 BG Bulgaria
🇧🇭 BH Bahrain
🇧🇮 BI Burundi
🇧🇯 BJ Benin
🇧🇱 BL St. Barthélemy
🇧🇲 BM Bermuda
🇧🇳 BN Brunei
🇧🇴 BO Bolivia
🇧🇶 BQ Caribbean Netherlands
🇧🇷 BR Brazil
🇧🇸 BS Bahamas
🇧🇹 BT Bhutan
🇧🇻 BV Bouvet Island
🇧🇼 BW Botswana
🇧🇾 BY Belarus
🇧🇿 BZ Belize
🇨🇦 CA Canada
🇨🇨 CC Cocos (Keeling) Islands
🇨🇩 CD Congo - Kinshasa
🇨🇫 CF Central African Republic
🇨🇬 CG Congo - Brazzaville
🇨🇭 CH Switzerland
🇨🇮 CI Côte d'Ivoire
🇨🇰 CK Cook Islands
🇨🇱 CL Chile
🇨🇲 CM Cameroon
🇨🇳 CN China
🇨🇴 CO Colombia
🇨🇵 CP Clipperton Island
🇨🇷 CR Costa Rica
🇨🇺 CU Cuba
🇨🇻 CV Cape Verde
🇨🇼 CW Curaçao
🇨🇽 CX Christmas Island
🇨🇾 CY Cyprus
🇨🇿 CZ Czechia
🇩🇪 DE Germany
🇩🇬 DG Diego Garcia
🇩🇯 DJ Djibouti
🇩🇰 DK Denmark
🇩🇲 DM Dominica
🇩🇴 DO Dominican Republic
🇩🇿 DZ Algeria
🇪🇦 EA Ceuta & Melilla
🇪🇨 EC Ecuador
🇪🇪 EE Estonia
🇪🇬 EG Egypt
🇪🇭 EH Western Sahara
🇪🇷 ER Eritrea
🇪🇸 ES Spain
🇪🇹 ET Ethiopia
🇪🇺 EU European Union
🇫🇮 FI Finland
🇫🇯 FJ Fiji
🇫🇰 FK Falkland Islands
🇫🇲 FM Micronesia
🇫🇴 FO Faroe Islands
🇫🇷 FR France
🇬🇦 GA Gabon
🇬🇧 GB United Kingdom
🇬🇩 GD Grenada
🇬🇪 GE Georgia
🇬🇫 GF French Guiana
🇬🇬 GG Guernsey
🇬🇭 GH Ghana
🇬🇮 GI Gibraltar
🇬🇱 GL Greenland
🇬🇲 GM Gambia
🇬🇳 GN Guinea
🇬🇵 GP Guadeloupe
🇬🇶 GQ Equatorial Guinea
🇬🇷 GR Greece
🇬🇸 GS South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands
🇬🇹 GT Guatemala
🇬🇺 GU Guam
🇬🇼 GW Guinea-Bissau
🇬🇾 GY Guyana
🇭🇰 HK Hong Kong SAR China
🇭🇲 HM Heard & McDonald Islands
🇭🇳 HN Honduras
🇭🇷 HR Croatia
🇭🇹 HT Haiti
🇭🇺 HU Hungary
🇮🇨 IC Canary Islands
🇮🇩 ID Indonesia
🇮🇪 IE Ireland
🇮🇱 IL Israel
🇮🇲 IM Isle of Man
🇮🇳 IN India
🇮🇴 IO British Indian Ocean Territory
🇮🇶 IQ Iraq
🇮🇷 IR Iran
🇮🇸 IS Iceland
🇮🇹 IT Italy
🇯🇪 JE Jersey
🇯🇲 JM Jamaica
🇯🇴 JO Jordan
🇯🇵 JP Japan
🇰🇪 KE Kenya
🇰🇬 KG Kyrgyzstan
🇰🇭 KH Cambodia
🇰🇮 KI Kiribati
🇰🇲 KM Comoros
🇰🇳 KN St. Kitts & Nevis
🇰🇵 KP North Korea
🇰🇷 KR South Korea
🇰🇼 KW Kuwait
🇰🇾 KY Cayman Islands
🇰🇿 KZ Kazakhstan
🇱🇦 LA Laos
🇱🇧 LB Lebanon
🇱🇨 LC St. Lucia
🇱🇮 LI Liechtenstein
🇱🇰 LK Sri Lanka
🇱🇷 LR Liberia
🇱🇸 LS Lesotho
🇱🇹 LT Lithuania
🇱🇺 LU Luxembourg
🇱🇻 LV Latvia
🇱🇾 LY Libya
🇲🇦 MA Morocco
🇲🇨 MC Monaco
🇲🇩 MD Moldova
🇲🇪 ME Montenegro
🇲🇫 MF St. Martin
🇲🇬 MG Madagascar
🇲🇭 MH Marshall Islands
🇲🇰 MK North Macedonia
🇲🇱 ML Mali
🇲🇲 MM Myanmar (Burma)
🇲🇳 MN Mongolia
🇲🇴 MO Macao SAR China
🇲🇵 MP Northern Mariana Islands
🇲🇶 MQ Martinique
🇲🇷 MR Mauritania
🇲🇸 MS Montserrat
🇲🇹 MT Malta
🇲🇺 MU Mauritius
🇲🇻 MV Maldives
🇲🇼 MW Malawi
🇲🇽 MX Mexico
🇲🇾 MY Malaysia
🇲🇿 MZ Mozambique
🇳🇦 NA Namibia
🇳🇨 NC New Caledonia
🇳🇪 NE Niger
🇳🇫 NF Norfolk Island
🇳🇬 NG Nigeria
🇳🇮 NI Nicaragua
🇳🇱 NL Netherlands
🇳🇴 NO Norway
🇳🇵 NP Nepal
🇳🇷 NR Nauru
🇳🇺 NU Niue
🇳🇿 NZ New Zealand
🇴🇲 OM Oman
🇵🇦 PA Panama
🇵🇪 PE Peru
🇵🇫 PF French Polynesia
🇵🇬 PG Papua New Guinea
🇵🇭 PH Philippines
🇵🇰 PK Pakistan
🇵🇱 PL Poland
🇵🇲 PM St. Pierre & Miquelon
🇵🇳 PN Pitcairn Islands
🇵🇷 PR Puerto Rico
🇵🇸 PS Palestinian Territories
🇵 ?? PT Portugal
🇵🇼 PW Palau
🇵🇾 PY Paraguay
🇶🇦 QA Qatar
🇷🇪 RE Réunion
🇷🇴 RO Romania
🇷🇸 RS Serbia
🇷🇺 RU Russia
🇷🇼 RW Rwanda
🇸🇦 SA Saudi Arabia
🇸🇧 SBSolomon Islands
🇸🇨 SC Seychelles
🇸🇩 SD Sudan
🇸🇪 SE Sweden
🇸🇬 SG Singapore
🇸🇭 SH St. Helena
🇸🇮 SI Slovenia
🇸🇯 SJ Svalbard & Jan Mayen
🇸🇰 SK Slovakia
🇸🇱 SL Sierra Leone
🇸🇲 SM San Marino
🇸🇳 SN Senegal
🇸🇴 SO Somalia
🇸🇷 SR Suriname
🇸🇸 SS South Sudan
🇸🇹 ST São Tomé & Príncipe
🇸🇻 SV El Salvador
🇸🇽 SX Sint Maarten
🇸🇾 SY Syria
🇸🇿 SZ Eswatini
🇹🇦 TA Tristan da Cunha
🇹🇨 TC Turks & Caicos Islands
🇹🇩 TD Chad
🇹🇫 TF French Southern Territories
🇹🇬 TG Togo
🇹🇭 TH Thailand
🇹🇯 TJ Tajikistan
🇹🇰 TK Tokelau
🇹🇱 TL Timor-Leste
🇹🇲 TM Turkmenistan
🇹🇳 TN Tunisia
🇹🇴 TO Tonga
🇹🇷 TR Turkey
🇹🇹 TT Trinidad & Tobago
🇹🇻 TV Tuvalu
🇹🇼 TW Taiwan
🇹🇿 TZ Tanzania
🇺🇦 UA Ukraine
🇺🇬 UG Uganda
🇺🇲 UM U.S. Outlying Islands
🇺🇳 UN United Nations
🇺🇸 US United States
🇺🇾 UY Uruguay
🇺🇿 UZ Uzbekistan
🇻🇦 VA Vatican City
🇻🇨 VC St. Vincent & Grenadines
🇻🇪 VE Venezuela
🇻🇬 VG British Virgin Islands
🇻🇮 VI U.S. Virgin Islands
🇻🇳 VN Vietnam
🇻🇺 VU Vanuatu
🇼🇫 WF Wallis & Futuna
🇼🇸 WS Samoa
🇽🇰 XK Kosovo
🇾🇪 YE Yemen
🇾🇹 YT Mayotte
🇿🇦 ZA South Africa
🇿🇲 ZM Zambia
🇿🇼 ZW Zimbabwe
Territories
If you dig deeper the actual figure of all countries closer to 330. This is because the United Nations bases each country on a single government claim. A country can consist of several territories which is one reason the number is much smaller. It's also important to point out that each territory can be the home to groups of people whose ethnic group is unique from the government in power. Some countries live in unity without any issue, however sometimes disagreements lead to conflict and war and territories change hands.
^ This map and listing considers all countries and territories and has widespread recognition as one of the most accurate collections of countries and territories amongst serious travellers.
PACIFIC OCEAN (40)
Austral Islands
Australia
Bismarck Archipelago (Admiralty Islands, Bougainville, New Britain, New Ireland)
Chatham Islands
Cook Islands (Aitutaki, Penrhyn, Rarotonga)
Easter Island
Fiji Islands
French Polynesia (Gambier, Tahiti, Tuamotu)
Galapagos Islands
Guam
Hawaiian Islands
Juan Fernandez Islands (Robinson Crusoe Island)
Kiribati (Gilberts, Tarawa, Ocean Island)
Line/Phoenix Islands (Canton, Christmas, Enderbury, Fanning)
Lord Howe Island
Marquesas Islands
Marshall Islands, Republic of (Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Majuro)
Micronesia, Fed.States of (Caroline Islands, Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap)
Midway Island
Nauru
New Caledonia & Dependencies (L’Île-des-Pins, Loyalty Islands)
New Zealand
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Marianas (Saipan, Tinian)
Ogasawara (Bonin, Iwo Jima, Volcano Island)
Palau, Republic of
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Island
Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa)
Samoa, American
Samoa
Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Tulagi)
Tasmania
Tokelau Islands (Atafu, Fakaofu, Union)
Tonga (Nukualofa)
Tuvalu (Ellice Island, Funafuti, Vaitapu)
Vanuatu (New Hebrides Islands)
Wake Island
Wallis & Futuna Islands
NORTH AMERICA (6)
Alaska
Canada
Mexico
Prince Edward Island
St. Pierre & Miquelon
United States (Contiguous)
CENTRAL AMERICA (7)
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
SOUTH AMERICA (14)
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
French Guiana
Guyana
Nueva Esparta (Margarita Island)
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
CARIBBEAN (31)
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Bonaire
Cayman Islands
Cuba
Curacao
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada & Dependencies (Carriacou, Grenadines)
Guadeloupe & Dependencies (Marie Galante)
Haiti
Jamaica
Martinique
Montserrat
Nevis
Puerto Rico
Saba & Sint Eustatius
St. Barthélemy
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
St. Martin (France)
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
San Andres & Providencia
Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos Islands
Virgin Islands, British (Tortola, etc.)
Virgin Islands, U.S. (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas)
ATLANTIC OCEAN (14)
Ascension
Azores Islands
Bermuda
Canary Islands
Cape Verde Islands
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fernando de Noronha
Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat)
Iceland
Madeira
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
St. Helena
Tristan da Cunha
EUROPE & MEDITERRANEAN (68)
Aland Islands
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Balearic Islands (Ibiza, Mallorca, Minorca)
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Corsica
Crete
Croatia
Cyprus, British Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri & Dhekelia
Cyprus, Republic
Cyprus, Turkish Fed. State
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greek Aegean Islands (Cyclades, Dodecanese,
Northern Aegean Islands)Guernsey & Dependencies (Alderney, Herm, Sark)
Hungary
Ionian Islands (Corfu, etc.)
Ireland (Eire)
Ireland, Northern
Isle of Man
Italy
Jersey
Kaliningrad
Kosovo
Lampedusa
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Sardinia
Scotland
Serbia
Sicily
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Spitsbergen (Svalbard, Bear Island)
Srpska
Sweden
Switzerland
Transnistria (Pridnestrovie)
Turkey in Europe (Istanbul)
Ukraine
Vatican City
Wales
ANTARCTICA (7)
Argentine Antarctica (Antarctic Peninsula)
Australian Antarctic Territory (Davis, Heard, Macquarie, Mawson)
British Antarctic Territory (Antarctic Peninsula, Graham Land, South Orkney, South Shetland)
Chilean Antarctic Territory (Antarctic Peninsula)
French Antarctica (Adélie, Kerguelen)
New Zealand Antarctica (Ross Dependency)
Norwegian Dependencies (Bouvet, Peter I Island, Queen Maud Land)
AFRICA (55)
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabinda
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa)
Congo, Republic of (Brazzaville)
Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Djibouti
Egypt in Africa
Equatorial Guinea (Bioko)
Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni)
Eritrea
Eswatini (Swaziland)
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Morocco, Spanish (Ceuta, Melilla)
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia (Italian Somaliland)
Somaliland (British)
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Western Sahara
Zambia
Zanzibar
Zimbabwe
MIDDLE EAST (21)
Abu Dhabi
Ajman
Bahrain
Dubai
Egypt in Asia (Sinai Peninsula)
Fujairah
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
Ras Al Khaimah
Saudi Arabia
Sharjah
Syria
Umm Al Qaiwain
Yemen
INDIAN OCEAN (15)
Andaman-Nicobar Islands
British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago, Diego Garcia)
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Comoros (Anjouan, Grand Comoro, Moheli)
Lakshadweep
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritius & Dependencies (Agalega, St. Brandon)
Mayotte (Dzaoudzi)
Reunion
Rodrigues Island
Seychelles
Socotra
Zil Elwannyen Sesel (Aldabra, Amirante Islands, Farquhar)
ASIA (52)
Abkhazia
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China, People’s Republic
Georgia
Hainan Island
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia (Java)
Japan
Jeju Island (South Korea)
Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo)
Kashmir
Kazakhstan
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Timor, Indonesia)
Macau
Malaysia
Maluku Islands
Mongolia, Republic
Myanmar (Burma)
Nakhchivan
Nepal
Pakistan
Papua (Irian Jaya)
Philippines
Russia in Asia (incl. Siberia)
Sabah (North Borneo)
Sarawak
Sikkim
Singapore
South Ossetia
Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
Sulawesi (Celebes, Indonesia)
Sumatra (Indonesia)
Taiwan. R.O.C.
Tajikistan
Thailand
Tibet
Timor-Leste
Turkey in Asia (Anatolia, Ankara, Izmir)
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
What is a Country?
A country is a self proclaimed land that a ruling entity, usually government has declared control over. This is usually achieved by giving the land a name, defined its borders, and then enforcing laws. Not all people who live in a country might agree with the ruling entity, and not all claims are recognised by other governments. Unfortunately this situation can lead conflict and wars, however in recent years there has been much more peace.