It may sound like a scary simple question, but answering how many countries there are in the world is an almost impossible task.
The problem is that there is no proper unambiguous definition of what a country is.
In fact, it is as difficult as finding out what is the world’s largest city.
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For example, would you say that the United Kingdom is one country? Or three? Or four? And are countries like Canada, Australia, Jamaica independent countries, or are they really controlled by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the Commonwealth?
What is a country?
But let’s try anyway:
According to availablecountries, the UN officially has 193 Member States that must be considered as their own countries, with the last new membership being South Sudan in 2011. (In this definition, the United Kingdom is one country – but Canada, Australia and Jamaica are, of course, listed as independent).
It is not straightforward, however, since some of the UN member states are also debated. For example, Turkey does not recognize Cyprus, and neither South nor North Korea recognize each other.
On the list of member states, on the other hand, you will not find a country “everyone” recognizes, namely the Vatican City. However, this is because they do not want to be a full UN member state.
Kosovo will definitely claim to be a country of its own, but Serbia is strongly opposed. They are recognized by most Western countries as a separate country, but not by Russia and China, for example.
Then we end up in 195 countries, which is a relatively widely accepted definition, but as we shall see at the very bottom, the UN actually uses a list of 200 countries.
Non-recognized countries
There are also a large number of areas that want to be their own countries, but who simply do not receive the necessary recognition.
Palestine is a crown example, which has received much recognition, but is still such a contentious area that its legal status is difficult to establish.
Western Sahara remains a significant source of conflict, with Morocoo claiming to have control.
South Ossetia – the country that caused Russia to take action against Georgia in 2008 – is recognized as its own by a handful of countries, including Russia. The status of Abkhazia in the same area is about the same.
At the other end of the scale we find Somaliland who claims to have broken out Somalia, without anyone acknowledging them for that at all.
Territories, administrative regions and cooperation agreements
It becomes even more complicated when you look at miniature states and small islands that have more or less cooperation with other countries.
For example, Puerto Rico is subject to the United States as a territory, but does not have voting rights in the United States. Indeed, the United States has control over a large number of smaller islands and lands.
The Cook Islands are often referred to as a country, but what they call in a “free association” with New Zealand. Yet they are UN members.
The Netherlands, for its part, has formal control over a pile of islands in the Caribbean – and the United Kingdom still has full control over islands and territories over much of the world – including Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands and the Falkland Islands.
China, for its part, has half-separated two areas, Hong Kong and Macau, as separate administrative regions with very special status.
The largest island in the world, Greenland, on the other hand, is a Danish island with self-government.
And so you can continue almost infinitely with different forms of almost-land. Pirate Bay even tried to gain control of Sealand – which was simply an old rig off the coast of Northern Ireland.
The UN cooperates with 200 countries
Although the UN currently has 193 member countries, on its websites it lists a total of 200 countries referred to as member countries.
On this list we find countries such as Kosovo, the Vatican and Cook Islands which are not actually full UN countries.
Countries in Africa |
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Countries in Asia |
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Countries in Europe |
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Countries in Oceania |
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Countries in North America |
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50 State of the United States of AmericaAccording to citiesplustowns, the United States of America is composed of 50 states, each with its own government and unique identity. From the original thirteen colonies to the last two states admitted in 1959, the nation has grown and evolved through territorial acquisitions and admissions. States vary widely in geography, population, economy, and culture, contributing to the nation’s diversity. They possess significant autonomy in governing internal affairs while also adhering to federal laws and regulations. Countries in South America |
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The 50 countries with the highest gas consumption in the world
Rank | Country | Gas consumption (million cubic meters) |
1 | United States of America (North America) | 629.100 |
2 | Russia (Europe) | 401.200 |
3 | Iran (Asia) | 112,000 |
4 | Germany (Europe) | 94,290 |
5 | Canada (North America) | 90,000 |
6 | Japan (Asia) | 88,600 |
7 | Great Britain (Europe) | 88,180 |
8 | Italy (Europe) | 79,000 |
9 | Ukraine (Europe) | 78,400 |
10 | Saudi Arabia (Asia) | 66,720 |
11 | Mexico (North America) | 61,000 |
12 | Uzbekistan (Asia) | 52.010 |
13 | Netherlands (Europe) | 50,500 |
14 | France (Europe) | 45,660 |
15 | United Arab Emirates (Asia) | 38.110 |
16 | China, People’s Republic (Asia) | 38,100 |
17 | Argentina (South America) | 35,950 |
18 | Egypt (Africa) | 35,500 |
19 | India (Asia) | 34,710 |
20 | Thailand (Asia) | 32,130 |
21 | Malaysia (Asia) | 30,030 |
22 | Indonesia (Asia) | 28,100 |
23 | Venezuela (South America) | 27,200 |
24 | Australia (Australia-Oceania) | 26,370 |
25 | Pakistan (Asia) | 24,500 |
26 | Spain (Europe) | 24,420 |
27 | Turkey (Asia) | 24,010 |
28 | Algeria (Africa) | 22,700 |
29 | Brazil (South America) | 22,600 |
30 | Belarus (Europe) | 22,100 |
31 | Turkmenistan (Asia) | 18,800 |
32 | Romania (Europe) | 18,000 |
33 | Poland (Europe) | 17,180 |
34 | Kazakhstan (Asia) | 16,500 |
35 | Belgium (Europe) | 15,970 |
36 | Hungary (Europe) | 15,670 |
37 | Bangladesh (Asia) | 13,300 |
38 | Qatar (Asia) | 13,300 |
39 | Trinidad and Tobago (North America) | 12,960 |
40 | Bahrain (Asia) | 11,370 |
41 | Czech Republic (Europe) | 9,690 |
42 | Azerbaijan (Asia) | 9,580 |
43 | Syria, Arab Republic (Asia) | 9,560 |
44 | Austria (Europe) | 9,470 |
45 | Taiwan (Asia) | 8,900 |
46 | Oman (Asia) | 8,400 |
47 | Kuwait (Asia) | 8,000 |
48 | Nigeria (Africa) | 7,930 |
49 | Chile (South America) | 7,460 |
50 | Vietnam (Asia) | 7,347 |
Consumption of natural gas. |
Source: Abbreviationfinder
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