Counting the exact number of countries in the world is the ultimate geopolitical rabbit hole—and it is a question that completely divides the global travel community.
The definitive number changes once you look past the strict political definitions of the United Nations.
Whether you are counting countries by FIFA, or the popular but slightly controversial list created by the Travelers’ Century Club used by independent overland travellers who regularly navigate disputed borders and unrecognised microstates, the global map is far from fixed.
If you want to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and discover how many nations truly exist, you have to look at who is doing the counting, why they are counting them, and what it actually takes for a piece of land to be called a country.
But first, what constitutes a country:
What is a Country?
I Googled: What is a Country? This is the answer on Google Chrome’s AI Overview (I don’t feel bad about copying it because they got the information from other websites and passed it off as their own):
Defined Territory: A country occupies a specific geographical area with recognised boundaries.
Permanent Population: It is inhabited by a permanent group of people.
Government: There is a governing body that exercises control over the territory and its people.
Sovereignty: A fully sovereign country has the authority to govern itself without external control.
International Relations: The government has the capacity to engage in relations with other countries.
Here are some answers to questions that often come up in conversations:
England is a country, but it is not a sovereign state; instead, it is one of the four countries (along with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) that together form the United Kingdom, which is the sovereign state
The United Kingdom (UK) is an independent sovereign state and a country
Hong Kong and Macau are not countries; they are Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China
Réunion is not a country, but rather an overseas department and region of France located in the Indian Ocean
French Guiana is an overseas department of France on the northeast coast of South America
Martinique is not an independent country; it is an overseas department and region of France
Ceuta is a Spanish Autonomous City in Africa, as is Melilla
Greenland is not an independent country, but an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark
the Faroe Islands are not an independent country, but a self-governing nation under the external sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark
The Falkland Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic
Palestine is a country with non-member observer State status in the UN
For me, a country is a country if they have its own flag, its own money, its own passports, and its own car licence plates, and if it feels like a country, then hell, it’s a country.
The United Nations states that there are 193 Member States. Yes, all of you who are chasing 193 countries are misinformed. They are Member States.
FIFA says there are 211 countries and “territories”. You see the problem here?
The United Nations lists member states.
FIFA lists countries AND territories.
The British FCO lists 226 countries AND territories but you may notice if you look closely, the UK is not even mentioned.
NomadMania lists 1301 regions.
The Travelers’ Century Club also has a list of countries AND territories, but it seems to have its own criteria.
The UN does not include Kosovo, Palestine, Vatican City, or Taiwan, even if they are countries. So if you are chasing every country in the world, you are missing 4 already.
And then you have a whole bunch of partially recognised countries, countries with limited recognition, but they are STILL countries, so all you wannabes, you haven’t been to all the countries in the world if you are following the UN list, FIFA’s list or any other politically corrupt organisations’ list.
Going back to the UK, if you reckon that is a country, you could spend 1 day in Belfast, then technically you’ve visited the UK.
So it’s all fucking pointless. You get my drift!
Social Media turned travel into a race. Always aiming to do something better than someone else.
“I went to 193 countries before I was 27, well, I did that at 21, yeah, but at 24, I did the 193 and a whole bunch of other non-recognised, de facto states with limited recognition and all the overseas territories, departments and the only country in the world without any land.”
Some make claims that they have been somewhere, but they were only in transit at the airport, or literally set foot in said land, for it to count. Now that’s a joke and a half.
The whole number thing is also just a joke. It would be better, if you insist, to state that you went to 81, 101 or all of the United Nations Member States, if that’s the list you are following, or 991 of the 1031 regions as listed by NomadMania.
Me? I have absolutely no interest in going everywhere. I have my own list of how many countries and territories I have visited. But I also have a list according to these organisations:
2 thoughts on “How Many Countries Are There in the World? And why is it so complicated?”
I agree with your definition of a country.
Getting one accurate answer is impossible because each naming body has its own agendas. The U.N., FIFA and wait a second….how about each country’s definition of a country? Madness follows. Ask Cyprus what the deal is with the northern part of their island. Ask Turkey about it.
Your example helps to unite these places far more than you realize. We will always have political divisions into countries for organizational purposes, identification with culture and the like. But appreciating the sameness under the surface extracts fear from this place like venom from a snake bite victim.
That being said, your last paragraph sums it all up. Do your thing. Travel how you wish. Let others travel as they do.
The last part was the idea of chasing countries.. Social Media turned travel into a race. Surely, it’s something to be enjoyed. savoured. and not rushed….. but whatever… each to their own…
I agree with your definition of a country.
Getting one accurate answer is impossible because each naming body has its own agendas. The U.N., FIFA and wait a second….how about each country’s definition of a country? Madness follows. Ask Cyprus what the deal is with the northern part of their island. Ask Turkey about it.
Your example helps to unite these places far more than you realize. We will always have political divisions into countries for organizational purposes, identification with culture and the like. But appreciating the sameness under the surface extracts fear from this place like venom from a snake bite victim.
That being said, your last paragraph sums it all up. Do your thing. Travel how you wish. Let others travel as they do.
The last part was the idea of chasing countries.. Social Media turned travel into a race. Surely, it’s something to be enjoyed. savoured. and not rushed….. but whatever… each to their own…