World Population Review

How Many Countries Are There 2020

How many countries are there in the world? The simplest answer is there are 197 countries in the
world.

Calculating the number of countries in the world may seem like it should be a simple task, but it is one
that quickly becomes fraught with political, geographical and socio-economic difficulties. Depending
on the source, the number of countries can vary quite considerably and there is no universal
agreement on the total.

Kazakhstan
Population 2020: 18,776,707 Area: 2,724,900 km² Region: Asia Subregion: Central Asia

However, many people look to the United Nations as the most reliable source, as for a country to
become a member of the UN requires a considerable process of assessment and voting by existing
members. A country applying for UN membership must receive consent from all five permanent
member countries of the Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China),
in addition to receiving approval from a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.

At present, the UN recognises a total of 197 countries. This includes 193 member countries, two UN
observers (Holy See (Vatican) and Palestine), and Taiwan and Kosovo, each widely regarded as self-
governed territories, and Taiwan in particular recognised as having significant economic resources.
However, it should be noted that China regards Taiwan as being part of its territory, as does Serbia
with Kosovo. Both are good examples of the political sensitivities involved in defining what makes a
country, particularly when the area involved shares contested space, such as in the case of Palestine.

It is also worth noting that some well-established countries haven't always been members of the UN,
which complicates using UN figures. For example, Switzerland joined the UN in 2002, but few would
argue over Switzerland's status as a sovereign state long before this date. It can therefore be useful to
look to other internationally-recognised organisations for country data, such as the World Bank, the
World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

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When looking at a map of the world, it may seem relatively easy to determine areas of the globe that
look like they should be countries. For example, Greenland, a large island between the north Atlantic
and Arctic oceans, certainly looks like it ought to be a country. However, Greenland is not a UN
member country and, while it controls many of its own domestic affairs, it is in fact ultimately
controlled by Denmark, a much smaller European country thousands of miles away.

Even the United Kingdom, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a strong global
economic player, is simply the collective name for the constituent countries of England, Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland, all of which have varying levels of devolution and each of which has a
complicated political history with England, including territorial disputes that continue to this day.

All of this demonstrates that it is not so simple to determine the exact number of countries there are in
the world, and the constantly changing nature of politics means that issues around sovereignty are
unlikely to ever be fully resolved as the ever-shifting forces of globalisation continue to redefine the
meaning of nationhood.

The table below shows 232 because it includes territories and regions that have some element of self-
governance but are not considered soverign states.

How Many Countries Are There by Population 2020

Source: Countries Data

CSV JSON

Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

1 China 1,439,323,776 9,706,961 km² Asia Eastern Asia

2 India 1,380,004,385 3,287,590 km² Asia Southern Asia

3 United States 331,002,651 9,372,610 km² Americas Northern America

4 Indonesia 273,523,615 1,904,569 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

5 Pakistan 220,892,340 881,912 km² Asia Southern Asia

6 Brazil 212,559,417 8,515,767 km² Americas South America

Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

7 Nigeria 206,139,589 923,768 km² Africa Western Africa

8 Bangladesh 164,689,383 147,570 km² Asia Southern Asia

9 Russia 145,934,462 17,098,242 Europe Eastern Europe

km²

10 Mexico 128,932,753 1,964,375 km² Americas Central America

11 Japan 126,476,461 377,930 km² Asia Eastern Asia

12 Ethiopia 114,963,588 1,104,300 km² Africa Eastern Africa

13 Philippines 109,581,078 342,353 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

14 Egypt 102,334,404 1,002,450 km² Africa Northern Africa

15 Vietnam 97,338,579 331,212 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

16 Dr Congo 89,561,403 2,344,858 km² Africa Middle Africa

17 Germany 83,783,942 357,114 km² Europe Western Europe

18 Turkey 84,339,067 783,562 km² Asia Western Asia

19 Iran 83,992,949 1,648,195 km² Asia Southern Asia

20 Thailand 69,799,978 513,120 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

21 United Kingdom 67,886,011 242,900 km² Europe Northern Europe

22 France 65,273,511 551,695 km² Europe Western Europe

23 Italy 60,461,826 301,336 km² Europe Southern Europe

24 South Africa 59,308,690 1,221,037 km² Africa Southern Africa

25 Tanzania 59,734,218 945,087 km² Africa Eastern Africa

26 Myanmar 54,409,800 676,578 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

27 Kenya 53,771,296 580,367 km² Africa Eastern Africa

28 South Korea 51,269,185 100,210 km² Asia Eastern Asia

29 Colombia 50,882,891 1,141,748 km² Americas South America

30 Spain 46,754,778 505,992 km² Europe Southern Europe

31 Argentina 45,195,774 2,780,400 km² Americas South America

32 Uganda 45,741,007 241,550 km² Africa Eastern Africa

33 Ukraine 43,733,762 603,500 km² Europe Eastern Europe

34 Algeria 43,851,044 2,381,741 km² Africa Northern Africa

35 Sudan 43,849,260 1,886,068 km² Africa Northern Africa

36 Iraq 40,222,493 438,317 km² Asia Western Asia

37 Afghanistan 38,928,346 652,230 km² Asia Southern Asia

38 Poland 37,846,611 312,679 km² Europe Eastern Europe

39 Canada 37,742,154 9,984,670 km² Americas Northern America

40 Morocco 36,910,560 446,550 km² Africa Northern Africa

41 Saudi Arabia 34,813,871 2,149,690 km² Asia Western Asia

42 Uzbekistan 33,469,203 447,400 km² Asia Central Asia

43 Peru 32,971,854 1,285,216 km² Americas South America

44 Malaysia 32,365,999 330,803 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

45 Angola 32,866,272 1,246,700 km² Africa Middle Africa

46 Ghana 31,072,940 238,533 km² Africa Western Africa

Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

47 Mozambique 31,255,435 801,590 km² Africa Eastern Africa

48 Yemen 29,825,964 527,968 km² Asia Western Asia

49 Nepal 29,136,808 147,181 km² Asia Southern Asia

50 Venezuela 28,435,940 916,445 km² Americas South America

51 Madagascar 27,691,018 587,041 km² Africa Eastern Africa

52 Cameroon 26,545,863 475,442 km² Africa Middle Africa

53 Ivory Coast 26,378,274 322,463 km² Africa Western Africa

54 North Korea 25,778,816 120,538 km² Asia Eastern Asia

55 Australia 25,499,884 7,692,024 km² Oceania Australia and New

Zealand

56 Taiwan 23,816,775 36,193 km² Asia Eastern Asia

57 Niger 24,206,644 1,267,000 km² Africa Western Africa

58 Sri Lanka 21,413,249 65,610 km² Asia Southern Asia

59 Burkina Faso 20,903,273 272,967 km² Africa Western Africa

60 Mali 20,250,833 1,240,192 km² Africa Western Africa

61 Romania 19,237,691 238,391 km² Europe Eastern Europe

62 Chile 19,116,201 756,102 km² Americas South America

63 Malawi 19,129,952 118,484 km² Africa Eastern Africa

64 Kazakhstan 18,776,707 2,724,900 km² Asia Central Asia

65 Zambia 18,383,955 752,612 km² Africa Eastern Africa

66 Guatemala 17,915,568 108,889 km² Americas Central America

67 Ecuador 17,643,054 276,841 km² Americas South America

68 Netherlands 17,134,872 41,850 km² Europe Western Europe

69 Syria 17,500,658 185,180 km² Asia Western Asia

70 Cambodia 16,718,965 181,035 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

71 Senegal 16,743,927 196,722 km² Africa Western Africa

72 Chad 16,425,864 1,284,000 km² Africa Middle Africa

73 Somalia 15,893,222 637,657 km² Africa Eastern Africa

74 Zimbabwe 14,862,924 390,757 km² Africa Eastern Africa

75 Guinea 13,132,795 245,857 km² Africa Western Africa

76 Rwanda 12,952,218 26,338 km² Africa Eastern Africa

77 Benin 12,123,200 112,622 km² Africa Western Africa

78 Tunisia 11,818,619 163,610 km² Africa Northern Africa

79 Belgium 11,589,623 30,528 km² Europe Western Europe

80 Burundi 11,890,784 27,834 km² Africa Eastern Africa

81 Bolivia 11,673,021 1,098,581 km² Americas South America

82 Cuba 11,326,616 109,884 km² Americas Caribbean

83 Haiti 11,402,528 27,750 km² Americas Caribbean

84 South Sudan 11,193,725 619,745 km² Africa Middle Africa

85 Dominican Republic 10,847,910 48,671 km² Americas Caribbean

86 Czech Republic 10,708,981 78,865 km² Europe Eastern Europe

Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

87 Greece 10,423,054 131,990 km² Europe Southern Europe

88 Portugal 10,196,709 92,090 km² Europe Southern Europe

89 Jordan 10,203,134 89,342 km² Asia Western Asia

90 Azerbaijan 10,139,177 86,600 km² Asia Western Asia

91 Sweden 10,099,265 450,295 km² Europe Northern Europe

92 United Arab Emirates 9,890,402 83,600 km² Asia Western Asia

93 Honduras 9,904,607 112,492 km² Americas Central America

94 Hungary 9,660,351 93,028 km² Europe Eastern Europe

95 Belarus 9,449,323 207,600 km² Europe Eastern Europe

96 Tajikistan 9,537,645 143,100 km² Asia Central Asia

97 Austria 9,006,398 83,871 km² Europe Western Europe

98 Papua New Guinea 8,947,024 462,840 km² Oceania Melanesia

99 Serbia 8,737,371 88,361 km² Europe Southern Europe

100 Switzerland 8,654,622 41,284 km² Europe Western Europe

101 Israel 8,655,535 20,770 km² Asia Western Asia

102 Togo 8,278,724 56,785 km² Africa Western Africa

103 Sierra Leone 7,976,983 71,740 km² Africa Western Africa

104 Hong Kong 7,496,981 1,104 km² Asia Eastern Asia

105 Laos 7,275,560 236,800 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

106 Paraguay 7,132,538 406,752 km² Americas South America

107 Bulgaria 6,948,445 110,879 km² Europe Eastern Europe

108 Lebanon 6,825,445 10,452 km² Asia Western Asia

109 Libya 6,871,292 1,759,540 km² Africa Northern Africa

110 Nicaragua 6,624,554 130,373 km² Americas Central America

111 El Salvador 6,486,205 21,041 km² Americas Central America

112 Kyrgyzstan 6,524,195 199,951 km² Asia Central Asia

113 Turkmenistan 6,031,200 488,100 km² Asia Central Asia

114 Singapore 5,850,342 710 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

115 Denmark 5,792,202 43,094 km² Europe Northern Europe

116 Finland 5,540,720 338,424 km² Europe Northern Europe

117 Slovakia 5,459,642 49,037 km² Europe Eastern Europe

118 Republic Of The Congo 5,518,087 342,000 km² Africa Middle Africa

119 Norway 5,421,241 323,802 km² Europe Northern Europe

120 Costa Rica 5,094,118 51,100 km² Americas Central America

121 Palestine 5,101,414 6,220 km² Asia Western Asia

122 Oman 5,106,626 309,500 km² Asia Western Asia

123 Liberia 5,057,681 111,369 km² Africa Western Africa

124 Ireland 4,937,786 70,273 km² Europe Northern Europe

125 New Zealand 4,822,233 270,467 km² Oceania Australia and New
Zealand

126 Central African Republic 4,829,767 622,984 km² Africa Middle Africa
Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

127 Mauritania 4,649,658 1,030,700 km² Africa Western Africa

128 Panama 4,314,767 75,417 km² Americas Central America

129 Kuwait 4,270,571 17,818 km² Asia Western Asia

130 Croatia 4,105,267 56,594 km² Europe Southern Europe

131 Moldova 4,033,963 33,846 km² Europe Eastern Europe

132 Georgia 3,989,167 69,700 km² Asia Western Asia

133 Eritrea 3,546,421 117,600 km² Africa Eastern Africa

134 Uruguay 3,473,730 181,034 km² Americas South America

135 Bosnia And Herzegovina 3,280,819 51,209 km² Europe Southern Europe

136 Mongolia 3,278,290 1,564,110 km² Asia Eastern Asia

137 Armenia 2,963,243 29,743 km² Asia Western Asia

138 Jamaica 2,961,167 10,991 km² Americas Caribbean

139 Puerto Rico 2,860,853 8,870 km² Americas Caribbean

140 Albania 2,877,797 28,748 km² Europe Southern Europe

141 Qatar 2,881,053 11,586 km² Asia Western Asia

142 Lithuania 2,722,289 65,300 km² Europe Northern Europe

143 Namibia 2,540,905 825,615 km² Africa Southern Africa

144 Gambia 2,416,668 10,689 km² Africa Western Africa

145 Botswana 2,351,627 582,000 km² Africa Southern Africa

146 Gabon 2,225,734 267,668 km² Africa Middle Africa

147 Lesotho 2,142,249 30,355 km² Africa Southern Africa

148 Macedonia 2,083,374 25,713 km² Europe Southern Europe

149 Slovenia 2,078,938 20,273 km² Europe Southern Europe

150 Guinea Bissau 1,968,001 36,125 km² Africa Western Africa

151 Latvia 1,886,198 64,559 km² Europe Northern Europe

152 Bahrain 1,701,575 765 km² Asia Western Asia

153 Trinidad And Tobago 1,399,488 5,130 km² Americas Caribbean

154 Equatorial Guinea 1,402,985 28,051 km² Africa Middle Africa

155 Estonia 1,326,535 45,227 km² Europe Northern Europe

156 Timor Leste 1,318,445 14,874 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

157 Mauritius 1,271,768 2,040 km² Africa Eastern Africa

158 Cyprus 1,207,359 9,251 km² Europe Eastern Europe

159 Swaziland 1,160,164 17,364 km² Africa Southern Africa

160 Djibouti 988,000 23,200 km² Africa Eastern Africa

161 Fiji 896,445 18,272 km² Oceania Melanesia

162 Reunion 895,312 2,511 km² Africa Eastern Africa

163 Comoros 869,601 1,862 km² Africa Eastern Africa

164 Guyana 786,552 214,969 km² Americas South America

165 Bhutan 771,608 38,394 km² Asia Southern Asia

166 Solomon Islands 686,884 28,896 km² Oceania Melanesia

Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

167 Macau 649,335 30 km² Asia Eastern Asia

168 Montenegro 628,066 13,812 km² Europe Southern Europe

169 Luxembourg 625,978 2,586 km² Europe Western Europe

170 Western Sahara 597,339 266,000 km² Africa Northern Africa

171 Suriname 586,632 163,820 km² Americas South America

172 Cape Verde 555,987 4,033 km² Africa Western Africa

173 Maldives 540,544 300 km² Asia Southern Asia

174 Malta 441,543 316 km² Europe Southern Europe

175 Brunei 437,479 5,765 km² Asia South-Eastern Asia

176 Guadeloupe 400,124 1,628 km² Americas Caribbean

177 Belize 397,628 22,966 km² Americas Central America

178 Bahamas 393,244 13,943 km² Americas Caribbean

179 Martinique 375,265 1,128 km² Americas Caribbean

180 Iceland 341,243 103,000 km² Europe Northern Europe

181 Vanuatu 307,145 12,189 km² Oceania Melanesia

182 French Guiana 298,682 83,534 km² Americas South America

183 Barbados 287,375 430 km² Americas Caribbean

184 New Caledonia 285,498 18,575 km² Oceania Melanesia

185 French Polynesia 280,908 4,167 km² Oceania Polynesia

186 Mayotte 272,815 374 km² Africa Eastern Africa

187 Sao Tome And Principe 219,159 964 km² Africa Middle Africa

188 Samoa 198,414 2,842 km² Oceania Polynesia

189 Saint Lucia 183,627 616 km² Americas Caribbean

190 Guam 168,775 549 km² Oceania Micronesia

191 Curacao 164,093 444 km² Americas Caribbean

192 Kiribati 119,449 811 km² Oceania Micronesia

193 Micronesia 115,023 702 km² Oceania Micronesia

194 Grenada 112,523 344 km² Americas Caribbean

195 Saint Vincent And The 110,940 389 km² Americas Caribbean
Grenadines

196 Aruba 106,766 180 km² Americas Caribbean

197 United States Virgin Islands 104,425 347 km² Americas Caribbean

198 Tonga 105,695 747 km² Oceania Polynesia

199 Seychelles 98,347 452 km² Africa Eastern Africa

200 Antigua And Barbuda 97,929 442 km² Americas Caribbean

201 Isle Of Man 85,033 572 km² Europe Northern Europe

202 Andorra 77,265 468 km² Europe Southern Europe

203 Dominica 71,986 751 km² Americas Caribbean

204 Cayman Islands 65,722 264 km² Americas Caribbean

205 Bermuda 62,278 54 km² Americas Northern America

206 Marshall Islands 59,190 181 km² Oceania Micronesia

Rank Country Population 2020 Area Region Subregion

207 Northern Mariana Islands 57,559 464 km² Oceania Micronesia

208 Greenland 56,770 2,166,086 km² Americas Northern America

209 American Samoa 55,191 199 km² Oceania Polynesia

210 Saint Kitts And Nevis 53,199 261 km² Americas Caribbean

211 Faroe Islands 48,863 1,393 km² Europe Northern Europe

212 Sint Maarten 42,876 34 km² Americas Caribbean

213 Monaco 39,242 2.02 km² Europe Western Europe

214 Turks And Caicos Islands 38,717 948 km² Americas Caribbean

215 Liechtenstein 38,128 160 km² Europe Western Europe

216 Saint Martin 38,666 53 km² Americas Caribbean

217 San Marino 33,931 61 km² Europe Southern Europe

218 Gibraltar 33,691 6 km² Europe Southern Europe

219 British Virgin Islands 30,231 151 km² Americas Caribbean

220 Palau 18,094 459 km² Oceania Micronesia

221 Cook Islands 17,564 236 km² Oceania Polynesia

222 Anguilla 15,003 91 km² Americas Caribbean

223 Tuvalu 11,792 26 km² Oceania Polynesia

224 Wallis And Futuna 11,239 142 km² Oceania Polynesia

225 Nauru 10,824 21 km² Oceania Micronesia

226 Saint Barthélemy 9,877 21 km² Americas Caribbean

227 Saint Pierre And Miquelon 5,794 242 km² Americas Northern America

228 Montserrat 4,992 102 km² Americas Caribbean

229 Falkland Islands 3,480 12,173 km² Americas South America

230 Niue 1,626 260 km² Oceania Polynesia

231 Tokelau 1,357 12 km² Oceania Polynesia

232 Vatican City 801 0.44 km² Europe Southern Europe

Sources

1. Countries Data

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