How many countries are there?

There is no clear answer to this question. There are between 189 and 195 independent countries (as of May 2008).

The UN (United Nations) has 192 member countries, the US State Department recognises 194 countries as independent, and most encyclopaedias list 193 countries.

However, the world's political situation is constantly changing, so the list below is merely one possible answer to the question "How many countries are there in the world".

Note: England, Scotland and Wales are generally understood to be independent countries, but are part of the United Kingdom, therefore listed as one country (UK).

List of countries in alphabetical order. The capital city is shown in brackets.

Afghanistan (Kabul) (AS)
Egypt (Cairo) (AF)
Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) (AF)
Equatorial Guinea (Guinea (Malabo) (AF)
Albania (Tirana) (EU)
Algeria (Algiers) (AF)
Andorra (Andorra la Vella) (EU)
Angola (Luanda) (AF)
Antigua and Barbuda (St. John's) (NA)
Argentina (Buenos Aires) (SA)
Armenia (Yerevan) (EU)
Australia (Canberra) (AU)
Azerbaijan (Baku) (AS)
Bahamas (Nassau) (NA)
Bahrain (Manama) (AS)
Bangladesh (Dhaka) (AS)
Barbados (Bridgetown) (NA)
Belarus (Minsk) (EU)
Belgium (Brussels) (EU)
Belize (Belmopan) (NA)
Benin (Port-Novo) (AF)
Bhutan (Thimphu) (AS)
Bolivia (Sucre) (SA)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) (EU)
Botswana (Gaborone) (AF)
Brazil (Brasilia) (SA)
Brunei (Bander Seri Begawan) (AS)
Bulgaria (Sofia) (EU)
Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou) (AF)
Burma/Myanmar (Yangon) (AS)
Burundi (Bujumbura) (AF)
Chile (Santiago) (SA)
China (Beijing) (AS)
Costa Rica (San Jose) (NA)
Denmark (Copenhagen) (EU)
Germany (Berlin) (EU)
Dominica (Roseau) (NA)
Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) (NA)
Djibouti (Djibouti) (AF)
Ecuador (Quito) (SA)
El Salvador (San Salvador) (NA)
Ivory Coast (Yamoussoukro) (AF)
Eritrea (Asmara) (AF)
Estonia (Tallinn) (EU)
Fiji (Suva) (AU - Oceania)
Finland (Helsinki) (EU)
France (Paris) (EU)
Gabon (Liberville) (AF)
Gambia (Banjul) (AF)
Georgia (Tbilisi) (EU)
Ghana (Accra) (AF)
Grenada (St George's) (NA)
Greece(Athens) (EU)
Guatemala (Guatemala City) (NA)
Guinea (Conakry) (AF)
Guinea-Bissau (Bissau) (AF)
Guyana (Georgetown) (SA)
Haiti (Port-au-Prince) (NA)
Honduras (Tegucigalpa) (NA)
Iceland (Reykjavik) (EU)
India (New Delhi) (AS)
Indonesia (Jakarta) (AS)
Iran (Tehran) (AS)
Iraq (Baghdad) (AS)
Ireland (Dublin) (EU)
Israel (Jerusalem) (AS)
Italy (Rome) (EU)
Jamaica (Kingston) (NA)
Japan (Tokyo) (AS)
Yemen (Sana) (AS)
Jordan (Amman) (AS)
Cambodia (Phnom Penh) (AS)
Cameroon (Yaounde) (AF)
Canada (Ottawa) (NA)
Cape Verde (Praia) (EU - Portugal)
Kazakhstan (Astana) (AS)
Kenya (Nairobi) (AF)
Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) (AS)
Kiribati (Bairiki) (AU - Oceania)
Korea, North (Pyongyang) (AS)
Korea, South (Seoul) (AS)
Colombia (Bogota) (SA)
Comoros (Moroni) (AF)
Congo (Brazzaville) (AF)
Congo, Democratic Republic (Kinshasa) (AF)
Croatia (Zagreb) (EU)
Cuba (Havana) (NA)
Kuwait (Kuwait City) (AS)
Laos (Vientiane) (AS)
Latvia (Riga) (EU)
Lebanon (Beirut) (AS)
Lesotho (Maseru) (AF)
Liberia (Monrovia) (AF)
Libya (Tripoli) (AF)
Liechtenstein (Vaduz) (EU)
Lithuania (Vilnius) (EU)
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) (EU)
Macedonia (Skopje) (EU)
Madagascar (Antananarivo) (AF)
Malawi (Lilongwe) (AF)
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) (AS)
Maldives (Male) (AS)
Mali (Bamako) (AF)
Malta (Valletta) (EU)
Marshall Islands (Majuro) (AU - Oceania)
Mauritania (Nouakchott) (AF)
Mauritius (Port Louis) (AF)
Mexico (Mexico City) (NA)
Micronesia (Palikir) (AU - Oceania)
Moldova (Chisinau) (EU)
Monaco (Monaco) (EU)
Mongolia (Ulan Bator) (AS)
Montenegro (Podgorica) (EU)
Morocco (Rabat) (AF) (with West Sahara)
Mozambique (Maputo) (AF)
Namibia (Windhoek) (AF)
Nauru (no official capital) (AU - Oceania)
Nepal (Kathmandu) (AS)
Netherlands (Amsterdam, The Hague) (EU)
New Zealand (Wellington) (AU)
Nicaragua (Managua) (NA)
Niger (Niamey) (AF)
Nigeria (Abuja) (AF)
Norway (Oslo) (EU)
Oman (Muscat) (AS)
Austria (Vienna) (EU)
East Timor (Dili) (AS)
Pakistan (Islamabad) (AS)
Palau (Koror) (AU - Oceania)
Panama (Panama City) (NA)
Papa New Guinea (Port Moresby) (AU)
Paraguay (Asuncion) (SA)
Peru (Lima) (SA)
Philippines (Manila) (AS)
Poland (Warsaw) (EU)
Portugal (Lisbon) (EU)
Qatar (Doha) (AS)
Romania (Bucharest) (EU)
Russia (Moscow) (AS)
Rwanda (Kigali) (AF)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (Basseterre) (NA)
Saint Lucia (Castries) (NA)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Kingstown) (NA)
Zambia (Lusaka) (AF)
Samoa (Apia) (AU - Oceania)
San Marino (San Marino) (EU)
Sao Tome and Principe (Sao Tome) (AF)
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) (AS)
Senegal (Dakar) (AF)
Serbia (Belgrade) (EU)
Seychelles (Victoria) (AF)
Sierra Leone (Freetown) (AF)
Singapore (Singapore) (AS)
Slovakia (Bratislava) (EU)
Slovenia (Ljubljana) (EU)
Solomon Islands (Honiara) (AU - Oceania)
Somalia (Mogadishu) (AF)
South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein) (AF)
Spain (Madrid) (EU)
Sri Lanka (Colombo) (AS)
Sudan (Khartoum) (AF)
Suriname (Paramaribo) (SA)
Swaziland (Mbabane) (AF)
Sweden (Stockholm) (EU)
Switzerland (Bern) (EU)
Syria (Damascus) (AS)
Tajikistan (Dushanbe) (AS)
Tanzania (Dodoma) (AF)
Thailand (Bangkok) (AS)
Togo (Lome) (AF)
Tonga (Nuku'alofa) (AU - Oceania)
Trinidad and Tobago (Port-of-Spain) (NA)
Chad (N'Djamena) (AF)
Czech Republic (Prague) (EU)
Tunisia (Tunis) (AF)
Turkey (Ankara) (AS) & (EU)
Turkmenistan (Ashgabat) (AS)
Tuvalu (Funafuti) (AU - Oceania)
Uganda (Kampala) (AF)
Ukraine (Kiev) (EU)
Hungary (Budapest) (EU)
United Kingdom (London) (EU)
Uruguay (Montevideo) (SA)
Uzbekistan (Tashkent) (AS)
Vanuatu (Port-Vila) (AU - Oceania)
Vatican City (n.a.) (EU)
Venezuela (Caracas) (SA)
United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) (AS)
United States of America (Washington D.C.) (NA)
Vietnam (Hanoi) (AS)
Central Africa (Bangui) (AF)
Zimbabwe (Harare) (AF
Cyprus (Nicosia) (AS) and/or (EU)