How Many Countries Are There? 193, 195 or 197 Explained
There are 193 member states of the United Nations. With the two observer states, Vatican City and Palestine, there are 195; if you count Kosovo and Taiwan, you reach 197. Travel apps also count dependent territories and land at 235 to 250, the Travelers' Century Club at 330. Which number is right depends on what you are counting for.
The numbers and where they come from
"How many countries are there?" sounds like a question with one answer. It is really a question about definitions: What is a country — a state everyone recognises? One that governs itself? Or every piece of land with its own flag and its own passport stamp? Each answer yields a different number, and each of them is used seriously somewhere.
| Number | Who counts this way | What is added |
|---|---|---|
| 193 | United Nations — member states | The hard core. Latest addition: South Sudan, 2011. All 193 are recognised by (almost) all the others. |
| 195 | The most common everyday figure | + the two UN observer states: Vatican City (the Holy See) and Palestine — the right to speak, no right to vote. |
| 197 | Many travellers and most "every country" projects | + Kosovo (recognised by roughly half of UN states, including Germany and the USA) and Taiwan (de facto independent, recognised by few states). |
| 206 / 211 | Olympic Committee / FIFA | Sports bodies count territories that field their own teams: Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, the Faroe Islands, the four British football associations. |
| 249 | ISO standard 3166 (country codes such as DE, FR, JP) | States and dependent territories with their own code: Greenland, French Polynesia, Puerto Rico, Antarctica. This is the list software means by "countries". |
| 235–250+ | Travel tracker apps | Usually the ISO list, trimmed of uninhabited places and extended with special cases. been lists "250+", Love the World 236 territories. |
| 330 | Travelers' Century Club | The club of frequent travellers (since 1954) counts everything that is "politically, ethnically or geographically separate": Hawaii and Alaska separately, Sicily, Zanzibar, Antarctic sectors. List as of January 2022. |
| > 1,000 | Region counters such as NomadMania | Split states into provinces and island groups. For people who want to keep counting after country number 197. |
Two lessons from the table. First: there is no wrong number, only an unsuitable one. If a world-map app counts 48 "countries" for you and a quiz then says 193, you have understood both correctly. Second: numbers are only comparable when counted the same way. "I have been to 60 countries" says little without the list — 60 out of 193 is a third of the world, 60 out of 330 barely a fifth.
The borderline cases where the numbers diverge
Between 193 and 197 lie the states that exist but are not recognised by everyone. The most important, soberly sorted:
- Kosovo — independent since 2008, recognised by around 100 states (as of October 2026), not by Serbia, Russia, China and some EU members. Counted by almost every travel app.
- Taiwan — has governed itself since 1949 with its own currency, passports and elections; diplomatically recognised by only a handful of states because China regards it as a province. Counted by almost every travel app.
- Palestine — UN observer state since 2012, recognised by roughly three quarters of UN members (as of October 2026), since 2024/25 also by several Western European states.
- Vatican City — the smallest state in the world, not a UN member by its own choice, but recognised by practically everyone.
- Western Sahara, Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria — territories with their own administration that hardly anyone recognises. The Travelers' Century Club counts some of them; UN lists and ISO codes do not (Western Sahara alone has its own ISO code).
For your map this means: decide once whether you count 193, 195 or 197, and write it down. It spares you the debate over whether the day trip to Taipei "counts".
Countries per continent
The 195-state count, distributed across the continents. The total only adds up if each transcontinental state is assigned to one continent — which is why the figures for Europe and Asia vary slightly in every source.
| Continent | States | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 54 | The most countries; plus the disputed Western Sahara. |
| Asia | 48 | Including Palestine and the states of the Middle East; Russia counted as European. |
| Europe | 44 | Including Vatican City; with Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan up to 50. |
| North America | 23 | Including Central America and the Caribbean — most of them island states. |
| Oceania | 14 | Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and eleven island states. |
| South America | 12 | The continent with the fewest states; French Guiana belongs to France. |
Anyone who "has" all six continents usually means Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania — Antarctica, having no states, is left out by most people, while the Travelers' Century Club counts it as several sectors.
What counts as "visited"?
The second half of the question is the one travellers really argue about. Three conventions have established themselves; none is official.
| Rule | A country counts if … | Who counts this way |
|---|---|---|
| Strict | … you have left the airport and slept there at least one night. | Many "every country" travellers who do not want anything held against them. |
| Middle | … you have set foot on the ground outside the transit area — an afternoon is enough, a terminal is not. | The majority. The most practical rule. |
| Loose | … you were there, even just to change planes or refuel. | The Travelers' Century Club explicitly accepts short stopovers. |
Our advice is the same as for the counting method: fix the rule before a concrete case comes up. Whoever decides during the layover in Doha decides generously when in doubt — and regrets it next time.
And if you count people instead of countries?
We asked this question for a different reason than most travel blogs. Love the World is a world map on which it is not the countries you have travelled that count, but the people you have met — every nation a stamp in your passport. The counting question arises there just the same: 235 territories can be recorded, and whether Taiwan or Greenland get a stamp of their own we answered with yes. Kosovo is still missing, because our map is built on ISO codes and Kosovo has none. Not out of political conviction, but because that is what the person in front of you calls themselves. See how the app works — or open a real example map (German).
Frequently asked questions
How many countries are there in the world (2026)?
193 states are members of the United Nations. Add the two observer states, Vatican City and Palestine, and you get 195; add Kosovo and Taiwan, recognised by many but not all states, and you get 197. There is no single correct number, only different ways of counting.
Why do some people say 195 countries and others 193?
193 is the number of UN members. 195 includes the two observer states that may speak at the UN but not vote: Vatican City and Palestine. Both numbers are right – they answer different questions.
Does an airport layover count as visiting a country?
Under the strict rule, no: a country counts once you have left the airport and slept there. The middle rule only requires that you set foot outside the transit area. The Travelers' Century Club even accepts pure stopovers. What matters is picking one rule and sticking to it.
How many countries are there in Europe?
Between 44 and 50, depending on how you count. 44 states lie entirely in Europe; up to six transcontinental states such as Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan can be assigned to Europe or Asia. Cyprus is often counted as geographically Asian but politically European.
How many countries are there in Africa?
54 recognised states – more than on any other continent. Add Western Sahara, whose status is disputed, and dependent territories such as Réunion, Mayotte or the Canary Islands, which belong to European states.
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