how many countries are there in the world. Just wondered.?

Answer 1

243 entities considered to be countries

Answer 2

There are 192 members of the United Nations. Unfortunately, the number 192 is too often used to represent the number of countries in the world. Although this number represents almost all of the countries in the world, there is still one country (the Vatican City) that is independent and has chosen not to become a member of the U.N.
so 192 is not the number of countries in the world.The United States' State Department recognizes 193 independent countries around the world. Their list of 193 countries reflects the political agenda of the United States of America and its allies. Missing from the State Department's list is one entity that may or may not be considered a country, Your Guide considers there to be 193 countries in the world, which is probably the best current answer to the question, "How many countries are in the world?" unless Taiwan becomes officially recognized by the international community, in which case the answer would be 194.
Recognize that there are dozens of territories and colonies that are sometimes erroneously called "countries" but don't count at all - they're governed by other countries. Places commonly confused as being countries include Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Greenland, Palestine, Western Sahara, and even the components of the United Kingdom (such as Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England - sorry folks, they're not countries, states, or nation-states).
Afghanistan - Kabul
Albania - Tirane
Algeria - Algiers
Andorra - Andorra la Vella
Angola - Luanda
Antigua and Barbuda - Saint John's
Argentina - Buenos Aires
Armenia - Yerevan
Australia - Canberra
Austria - Vienna
Azerbaijan - Baku
The Bahamas - Nassau
Bahrain - Manama
Bangladesh - Dhaka
Barbados - Bridgetown
Belarus - Minsk
Belgium - Brussels
Belize - Belmopan
Benin - Porto-Novo
Bhutan - Thimphu
Bolivia - La Paz (administrative) Sucre (judicial)
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo
Botswana - Gaborone
Brazil - Brasilia
Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan
Bulgaria - Sofia
Burkina Faso - Ouagadougou
Burundi - Bujumbura
Cambodia - Phnom Penh
Cameroon - Yaounde
Canada - Ottawa
Cape Verde - Praia
Central African Republic - Bangui
Chad - N'Djamena
Chile - Santiago
China - Beijing
Colombia - Bogota
Comoros - Moroni
Congo, Republic of the - Brazzaville
Congo, Democratic Republic of the - Kinshasa
Costa Rica - San Jose
Cote d'Ivoire - Yamoussoukro (official) Abidjan (de facto)
Croatia - Zagreb
Cuba - Havana
Cyprus - Nicosia
Czech Republic - Prague
Denmark - Copenhagen
Djibouti - Djibouti
Dominica - Roseau
Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo
East Timor - Dili
Ecuador - Quito
Egypt - Cairo
El Salvador - San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Malabo
Eritrea - Asmara
Estonia - Tallinn
Ethiopia - Addis Ababa
Fiji - Suva
Finland - Helsinki
France - Paris
Gabon - Libreville
The Gambia - Banjul
Georgia - Tbilisi
Germany - Berlin
Ghana - Accra
Greece - Athens
Grenada - Saint George's
Guatemala - Guatemala City
Guinea - Conakry
Guinea-Bissau - Bissau
Guyana - Georgetown
Haiti - Port-au-Prince
Honduras - Tegucigalpa
Hungary - Budapest
Iceland - Reykjavik
India - New Delhi
Indonesia - Jakarta
Iran - Tehran
Iraq - Baghdad
Ireland - Dublin
Israel - Jerusalem
Italy - Rome
Jamaica - Kingston
Japan - Tokyo
Jordan - Amman
Kazakhstan - Astana
Kenya - Nairobi
Kiribati - Tarawa
Korea, North - Pyongyang
Korea, South - Seoul
Kuwait - Kuwait City
Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek
Laos - Vientiane
Latvia - Riga
Lebanon - Beirut
Lesotho - Maseru
Liberia - Monrovia
Libya - Tripoli
Liechtenstein - Vaduz
Lithuania - Vilnius
Luxembourg - Luxembourg
Macedonia - Skopje
Madagascar - Antananarivo
Malawi - Lilongwe
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
Maldives - Male
Mali - Bamako
Malta - Valletta
Marshall Islands - Majuro
Mauritania - Nouakchott
Mauritius - Port Louis
Mexico - Mexico City
Federated States of Micronesia - Palikir
Moldova - Chisinau
Monaco - Monaco
Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar
Montenegro - Podgorica
Morocco - Rabat
Mozambique - Maputo
Myanmar (Burma) - Rangoon but moving to Pyinmana
Namibia - Windhoek
Nauru - no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
Nepal - Kathmandu
Netherlands - Amsterdam
New Zealand - Wellington
Nicaragua - Managua
Niger - Niamey
Nigeria - Abuja
Norway - Oslo
Oman - Muscat
Pakistan - Islamabad
Palau - Koror
Panama - Panama City
Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby
Paraguay - Asuncion
Peru - Lima
Philippines - Manila
Poland - Warsaw
Portugal - Lisbon
Qatar - Doha
Romania - Bucharest
Russia - Moscow
Rwanda - Kigali
Saint Kitts and Nevis - Basseterre
Saint Lucia - Castries
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Kingstown
Samoa - Apia
San Marino - San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe - Sao Tome
Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
Senegal - Dakar
Serbia - Belgrade
Seychelles - Victoria
Sierra Leone - Freetown
Singapore - Singapore
Slovakia - Bratislava
Slovenia - Ljubljana
Solomon Islands - Honiara
Somalia - Mogadishu
South Africa - Pretoria (administrative) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judiciary)
Spain - Madrid
Sri Lanka - Colombo
Sudan - Khartoum
Suriname - Paramaribo
Swaziland - Mbabana
Sweden - Stockholm
Switzerland - Bern
Syria - Damascus
Tajikistan - Dushanbe
Tanzania - Dar es Salaam
Thailand - Bangkok
Togo - Lome
Tonga - Nuku'alofa
Trinidad and Tobago - Port-of-Spain
Tunisia - Tunis
Turkey - Ankara
Turkmenistan - Ashgabat
Tuvalu - Funafuti
Uganda - Kampala
Ukraine - Kyiv
United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
United Kingdom - London
United States - Washington D.C.
Uruguay - Montevideo
Uzbekistan - Tashkent
Vanuatu - Port-Vila
Vatican City (Holy See) - Vatican City
Venezuela - Caracas
Vietnam - Hanoi
Yemen - Sanaa
Zambia - Lusaka
Zimbabwe - Harare

Answer 3

Hmm. That all depends how you define a 'country'.

If you define a country as an entity that has a representative at the United Nations, there are about 192. One should really include countries that are on their way to becoming members, such as Montenegro and Palestine. (Or are they members already ? I'm not sure.) And what is the status of Kosovo ? Is it a 'country' or not ?

If you define a country as an entity that has diplomatic relations with a substantial number of other countries, that would include the mini-states of Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and the Holy See (the Vatican). In fact, the Holy See has diplomatic relations with almost 100 other countries.

Then you could add the list of those break-away entities that have an internal administation, but are recognised by no other countries or by hardly any other countries, e.g. Abkhazia, Trans-Dniestr Republic, Republic of North Cyprus, Somaliland.

The longest list of countries would be found in the roll of members of the Universal Postal Union, as it includes nearly all entities that issue their own stamps, so it includes territories that are still colonies or dependent territories, such as St Helena, the Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St Pierre & Miquelon, Greenland etc.

Answer 4

Depends who you ask. There are 192 members of the UN, which excludes Vatican City. The US State Department recognises 193 independent countries in the world.

The information taken from the CIA website stating that there are 272 nations is not accurate, as they go on to explain there are 272 "nations, dependent areas or other entities" in the world. This is not the same as an independent country. For example, would you class the UK as one country or four? The number increases dramatically if you include places like the Falkland Islands as an independent country, which it is not.

The CIA Factbook explains there are 193 countries and 73 dependencies.

Answer 5

"The World Factbook also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The Factbook provides a two- to three-page summary of the demographics, geography, communications, government, economy, and military of 272 U.S.-recognized countries, dependencies, and other areas in the world."

So accordign to the U.S., we recognize 272 other countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Factbook

Answer 6

232
ANd the list is given at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_area

Answer 7

not sure sorry...=(