How many countries are there? Officially there are 195 countries in the world, with 44 countries in Europe, 23 countries in North America, 48 countries in Asia, 54 countries in Africa, 14 countries in Oceania, and 12 countries in South America.
Have you ever tried to see how many countries can you name? If you can only name a few dozen, there is no need to feel disappointed. There are almost 200 different countries in the world. But, how many actual countries are there? If we use the United Nations as an official way to count countries globally, then the number is 195. Actually, 193 are member states of the United Nations. So, which ones are the other two? Vatican City and the State of Palestine are not actual members of the United Nations but are recognized as observer states.
How Many Countries Are There Per Continent?
There are 54 countries in Africa; 48 countries in Asia; 44 countries in Europe; 23 countries in North America; 14 countries in Oceania; and 12 in South America.
How many can you name per continent?
54 Countries in AfricaÂ
For people who live on other continents, Africa might be the hardest continent. Not only does it have the largest number of countries of any continent, but, unfortunately, many people who live on other continents tend to think of it as one country. This is not just wildly inaccurate but also unfair because Africa is a hugely diverse and fascinating continent geopolitically.
So, here is the full list of the 54 countries list in Africa ordered by population:
| African countries ordered by population |
| Nigeria (Western Africa) |
| Ethiopia (Eastern Africa) |
| Egypt (Northern Africa) |
| DR Congo (Middle Africa) |
| Tanzania (Eastern Africa) |
| South Africa (Southern Africa) |
| Kenya (Eastern Africa) |
| Uganda (Eastern Africa) |
| Algeria (Northern Africa) |
| Sudan (Northern Africa) |
| Morocco (Northern Africa) |
| Angola (Middle Africa) |
| Mozambique (Easter Africa) |
| Ghana (Western Africa) |
| Madagascar (Eastern Africa) |
| CĂŽte dâIvoire (Western Africa) |
| Cameroon (Middle Africa) |
| Niger (Western Africa) |
| Burkina Faso (Western Africa) |
| Malawi (Eastern Africa) |
| Mali (Western Africa) |
| Zambia (Eastern Africa) |
| Zimbabwe (Eastern Africa) |
| Senegal (Western Africa) |
| Chad (Middle Africa) |
| Somalia (Eastern Africa) |
| Guinea (Western Africa) |
| South Sudan (Eastern Africa) |
| Rwanda (Eastern Africa) |
| Tunisia (Northern Africa) |
| Benin (Western Africa) |
| Burundi (Eastern Africa) |
| Togo (Western Africa) |
| Sierra Leone (Western Africa) |
| Libya (Northern Africa) |
| Congo (Middle Africa) |
| Eritrea (Eastern Africa) |
| Liberia (Western Africa) |
| Central Africa Republic (Middle Africa) |
| Mauritania (Western Africa) |
| Namibia (Southern Africa) |
| Botswana (Southern Africa) |
| Lesotho (Southern Africa) |
| Gambia (Western Africa) |
| Gabon (Middle Africa) |
| Guinea-Bissau (Western Africa) |
| Swaziland (Southern Africa) |
| Equatorial Guinea (Middle Africa) |
| Mauritius (Eastern Africa) |
| Djibouti (Eastern Africa) |
| Comoros (Eastern Africa) |
| Cabo Verde (Western Africa) |
| Sao Tome & Principe (Middle Africa) |
| Seychelles (Eastern Africa) |
48 Countries in Asia
When I grew up, in Taiwan, the Korean War was seen as a good war, where America protected Asia. It was sort of an extension of World War II. And it was, of course, the peak of the Cold War. People in Taiwan were generally proAmerican. The Korean War made Japan. And then the Vietnam War made Taiwan. There is some truth to that. â Ang Lee
Here is the full list of the 48 countries list in Asia ordered by population:
| Asian countries ordered by population |
| China (Eastern Asia) |
| India (Southern Asia) |
| Indonesia (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Pakistan (Southern Asia) |
| Bangladesh (Southern Asia) |
| Japan (Eastern Asia) |
| Philippines (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Viet Nam (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Iran (Southern Asia) |
| Turkey (Western Asia) |
| Thailand (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Myanmar (South-Eastern Asia) |
| South Korea (Eastern Asia) |
| Iraq (Western Asia) |
| Afghanistan (Southern Asia) |
| Saudi Arabia (Western Asia) |
| Uzbekistan (Central Asia) |
| Malaysia (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Nepal (Southern Asia) |
| Yemen (Western Asia) |
| North Korea (Eastern Asia) |
| Sri Lanka (Southern Asia) |
| Syria (Western Asia) |
| Kazakhstan (Central Asia) |
| Cambodia (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Azerbaijan (Western Asia) |
| Jordan (Western Asia) |
| United Arab Emirates (Western Asia) |
| Tajikistan (Central Asia) |
| Israel (Western Asia) |
| Laos (South-Eastern Asia) |
| Lebanon (Western Asia) |
| Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia) |
| Turkmenistan (Central Asia) |
| Singapore (South-Eastern Asia) |
| State of Palestine (Western Asia) |
| Oman (Western Asia) |
| Kuwait (Western Asia) |
| Georgia (Western Asia) |
| Mongolia (Eastern Asia) |
| Armenia (Western Asia) |
| Qatar (Western Asia) |
| Bahrain (Western Asia) |
| Timor-Leste (South-Easter Asia) |
| Cyprus (Western Asia) |
| Bhutan (Southern Asia) |
| Maldives (Southern Asia) |
| Brunei (South-Eastern Asia) |
44 Countries in Europe
âEvery time I come to Europe, I get just as excited as I was my very first time, which was many, many years ago. I love that part of the world, and I especially love the fans.â â Dolly Parton
Here is the full list of the 44 countries list in Europe ordered by population:
| European countries ordered by population |
| Russia (Eastern Europe) |
| Germany (Western Europe) |
| United Kingdom (Northern Europe) |
| France (Western Europe) |
| Italy (Southern Europe) |
| Spain (Southern Europe) |
| Ukraine (Eastern Europe) |
| Poland (Eastern Europe) |
| Romania (Eastern Europe) |
| Netherlands (Western Europe) |
| Belgium (Western Europe) |
| Greece (Southern Europe) |
| Czech Republic (Eastern Europe) |
| Portugal (Southern Europe) |
| Sweden (Northern Europe) |
| Hungary (Eastern Europe) |
| Belarus (Eastern Europe) |
| Serbia (Southern Europe) |
| Austria (Western Europe) |
| Switzerland (Western Europe) |
| Bulgaria (Eastern Europe) |
| Denmark (Northern Europe) |
| Finland (Northern Europe) |
| Slovakia (Eastern Europe) |
| Norway (Northern Europe) |
| Ireland (Northern Europe) |
| Croatia (Southern Europe) |
| Moldova (Eastern Europe) |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina (Southern Europe) |
| Albania (Southern Europe) |
| Lithuania (Northern Europe) |
| TFYR Macedonia (Southern Europe) |
| Slovenia (Southern Europe) |
| Latvia (Northern Europe) |
| Estonia (Northern Europe) |
| Montenegro (Southern Europe) |
| Luxembourg (Western Europe) |
| Malta (Southern Europe) |
| Iceland (Northern Europe) |
| Andorra (Southern Europe) |
| Monaco (Western Europe) |
| Liechtenstein (Western Europe) |
| San Marino (Southern Europe) |
| Holy See (Southern Europe) |
23 Countries in North America
Here is the full list of the 23 countries list in North America ordered by population:
| North American and Carribean countries ordered by population |
| The United States of America |
| Mexico |
| Canada |
| Guatemala (Central America) |
| Cuba (Caribbean) |
| Haiti (Caribbean) |
| Dominican Republic (Caribbean) |
| Honduras (Central America) |
| El Salvador (Central America) |
| Nicaragua (Central America) |
| Costa Rica (Central America) |
| Panama (Central America) |
| Jamaica (Caribbean) |
| Trinidad and Tobago (Caribbean) |
| Bahamas (Caribbean) |
| Belize (Central America) |
| Barbados (Caribbean) |
| Saint Lucia (Caribbean) |
| St. Vincent & Grenadines (Caribbean) |
| Grenada (Caribbean) |
| Antigua and Barbuda (Caribbean) |
| Dominica (Caribbean) |
| Saint Kitts & Nevis (Caribbean) |
14 Countries in Oceania
Here is the full list of the 14 countries list in Oceania ordered by population:
Photos from New Zealand (top left), Australia (top right), Samoa (bottom left), and Papua New Guinea (bottom right). Images licensed under CC0 via Pixabay
| Oceania countries ordered by population |
| Australia (Australia and New Zealand) |
| Papua New Guinea (Melanesia) |
| New Zealand (Australia and New Zealand) |
| Fiji (Melanesia) |
| Solomon Islands (Melanesia) |
| Vanuatu (Melanesia) |
| Samoa (Polynesia) |
| Kiribati (Micronesia) |
| Tonga (Polynesia) |
| Micronesia (Micronesia) |
| Marshall Islands (Micronesia) |
| Palau (Micronesia) |
| Nauru (Micronesia) |
| Tuvalu (Polynesia) |
12 Countries in South America
Here is the full list of the 12 countries list in South America in order of population:
| South American countries ordered by population |
| Brazil |
| Colombia |
| Argentina |
| Peru |
| Venezuela |
| Chile |
| Ecuador |
| Bolivia |
| Paraguay |
| Uruguay |
| Guyana |
| Suriname |
What Countries Are Missing And Why?Â
You may be surprised if you were able to name some countries that were not on the list of 195 countries in the world. This does not mean that you are necessarily wrong, it just means that there are a few countries that the United Nations does not recognize as sovereign countries. Interestingly, most of the countries that are not recognized are island or archipelago nations.
One example of this is Taiwan. Officially the Republic of China (ROC), the island of Taiwan counts as part of the Peopleâs Republic of China (PRC) by the United Nations. This is a contentious issue. Until 1971, the ROC was a member state of the United Nations but the country lost its seat as soon as the PRC joined the organization. The United Nations does not recognize any areas or territories that are not fully sovereign, including, among many others, the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, Martinique, etc. Also not included are Niue and The Cook Islands or any other countries that are not fully self-governing.
View Comments
How to get it right like how to understand the countries and their part it some how confusing me
Good! Africa has many countries! But Asia is the largest! That's because Asia has many big countries, some part egypt and russia. But Africa only has 1 country on the top 10 most biggest countries. While Asia has 4!
Love from Bangladesh
Is Korean a country
wow! i thought EGYPT is a part of middle east.... đ
Why Africa is the second largest continent in world, but when we look through the globe, Russia is half of the Africa continent. And Russia is in Europe but they have making Europe the sixth continent on earth.
Hey Jackson, that's a great question. Russia is considered to be partially in Europe, and partially in Asia. The separation happens at the Ural mountains. West of the mountains is Europe and East of the Urals in Asia.
Why is Central America not separated from North America?
It depends on the way people divise the American continent, some people divide as a whole continent some divide as North and South and some divide as North South and Central America
Why Vatican City not included at all
Vatican City is Holy See, so it is included
incredible i thought french Guiana is a country in south America
French Guiana is part of France, not an independent country.
I thought there is Australia country and Australia continent, here you've only mentioned 6 continents I thought they were 7
Their is 7 but the thing is that nobody lives in antartica that is the reason they count 6 countries.
Why isn't there a quote from someone about Africa?
Superb I really love it.
Countries in Oceania, I am confused on this point. Does it mean Australia ?
Yes - Australia is part of Oceania :-)
Name of the leaders of all the countries of the world.