The Countries of the World

While working on the Peakbagger.com web site, a common need was a definitive list of the countries in the world. While it may seem like a straightforward task to come up with a list like this, the complexity of the modern political world is very difficult to unravel in a consistent manner. In the end, I came up with a list of 253 countries (and country equivalents) that together contain every square inch of the earth's land surface in a complete and non-overlapping coverage. This list was used to assign peaks to countries, come up with country high point lists, and so on. Since this list is used quite a bit, I thought it important to explain and justify how it came about and where the magic number 253 comes from.

To cover the entire earth, four different flavors of "country" are needed, as follows:

• Independent Nation-States: Real, recognized, and undisputed countries that (except for one) are all members of the United Nations.
• Dependencies: Territories, colonies, possessions, or other separate areas administered or controlled by an independent nation-state as a separate political entity.
• Antarctica: A special territory not part of or controlled by any other country.
• Other Areas: Any other tract of land that politically cannot be classified as an independent nation-state or a dependency. This category is used for countries that fall into a gray area or have special status.

Independent Nation-States

Most independent nation-states are members of the United Nations, whose membership stands at 193 since the admission of South Sudan in 2011. The only independent nation-state that is not a U.N. member is the Vatican City. Therefore, there is little argument that there are 194 independent nation-states in the world.

Dependencies

Figuring the number of dependencies is a much more difficult task. While the old colonial empires have been greatly reduced, there are still a large number of dependencies scattered about the globe, many of them small islands or island groups. Most of these are formally organized into official dependent territories, but there are many small islands offshore from an independent nation-state whose status is unclear.

Any enumeration of dependencies must include some judgment calls. The political status of a place is the most important factor--if the administration of a political entity is special in some significant way, such as limited self-government, then that is a clear sign that it is a dependency. The other important factor is how far offshore from the controlling country the dependency is--any place that is a whole ocean away from the home country or more is usually a dependency and not part of the home country.

A list of the world's dependencies could have anywhere from 40 to 70 members, depending on how you decide to classify places. I went through and made a bunch of judgment calls and came up with a list of 55 dependencies that I am pretty happy with. Below is a list of the nine "controlling countries" that politically control dependencies, with the number of dependencies controlled and a list of them.

Total Dependencies, by Country:

To see a list of all the individual judgment calls I made in coming up with this list, you can look at my List of Dependencies with Commentary.

Antarctica

Another issue is Antarctica. Seven nations (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom) have pie-shaped territorial claims in the continent, but by general international agreement Antarctica is considered international territory and not part of any country. The claims are not recognized by most other countries, and in my list I am including Antarctica as its own entity, neither an independent nation-state nor a dependency.

The British and French Antarctic Territories include peri-Antarctic islands (north of 60° S) in addition to their pie-shaped continental claims. For the purposes of this classification, the British and French territories are deemed to exist, but only include these northern islands (South Georgia and the South Sandwiches for the British dependency, the Kerguelen group and others for the French). All land south of 60° S, including the South Shetlands, South Orkneys, Balleny Islands, Scott Island, and Peter I Island, is considered part of Antarctica. The Antarctic territories of the other five Antarctic claimants are considered non-existent.

Other Areas

There are several areas that fall into the gray area between an independent nation-state and dependency. Again, the number of such places could be as large as 15 or 20 depending on the judgments made. I have decided to minimize the number of these areas and have come up with a list of only four:

• Kosovo: This area has declared independence and many nations have recognized it as a new nation-state. However, Serbia still considers it an integral part of their territory, and they, too, have the support of many nations. Until the situation is resolved one way or the other, Kosovo will be classified as an "Other Area".
• Palestinian Authority territory in the West Bank and Gaza: These territories do not yet constitute an independent nation-state, nor is it correct to call them a dependency, despite effective Israeli control over some of the land. Without making any political statement, the West Bank and Gaza together are simply classed as an "Other Area" of undefined status.
• Taiwan: Not a U.N. Member and not generally acknowledged as independent by the international community, but still not part of de-facto mainland China.

In addition, there are many areas that are in dispute between two or more nations, including some that no one nation really controls. Most of this disputed land is under the de-facto control of one country or another despite the disputed status. For example, Morocco controls the Western Sahara, Russia the southern Kuril Islands, and India and Pakistan have a line of control in Kashmir. No political statement is intended by these statements, and the borders are simply drawn by what the reality is on the ground.

The few small areas that are not under the control of any nation, mostly tiny islands such as the Paracel and Spratly Islands, are simply ignored. They are too tiny to merit separate entries in a list of countries. The same goes for slivers of disputed no-man's land that may exist between countries.

Summary

By this methodology, there are therefore 253 "countries" in the world: 194 independent nation-states, 55 dependencies, Antarctica, and 3 other areas.

Appendix: Dependencies or Not?

The following list shows all independent nation-states that have dependencies, plus those with offshore territories where there might be some question as to whether or not those territories are dependencies or not. All the dependencies and quasi-dependencies are classified as "Included" as politically part of the home country, or as distinct "Dependencies". The basic call is between including the area as part of the main country or calling it a separate dependency. Where there is some question as to the status of an area, or where a judgment call was made, commentary has been provided.

My approach to dependencies could be called somewhat conservative--when in doubt, I tend to lump offshore islands with the home country, which has the effect of reducing the total. A more liberal approach might, for example, treat the five small French islands near Madagascar as separate from Reunion, or treat every minor islet owned by the U.S. in the Pacific as separate. The number of dependencies could thus easily increase up to perhaps 70, if one were to use a different approach from mine.

Australia

Includes: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Torres Strait Islands, Lord Howe Island, Ball's Pyramid, and Macquarie Island. All of these islands are pretty much uninhabited, administered by individual Australian states, and 920 miles or closer to the Australian mainland. Although some sources consider some of them to be separate dependencies, I feel best including them as part of metropolitan Australia.

Dependencies: These territories are all either more politically distinct than the included ones listed above, or more offshore.

• Christmas Island: 950 miles away, and ethnically and politically distinct.
• Cocos Islands: 1310 miles away and politically similar to Christmas Island.
• Coral Sea Islands: Offshore and uninhabited, but a separate and distinct territory administered from Norfolk Island.
• Heard and McDonald Islands: Although uninhabited and "offshore" to some degree, they are 2370 miles from the mainland, further away than any other island group in the world discussed here that is considered offshore, and administered directly from Canberra instead of as part of a state.
• Norfolk Island: Has limited home rule, so it is definitely its own dependency.

Brazil

Includes: Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Martin Vaz, Trindade, and the Saint Peter and Paul Rocks. All are very small mid-Atlantic islands relatively close to Brazilian shores.

Chile

Includes: Easter Island, Sala y Gomez, Juan Fernandez, San Ambrosio, and San Felix. Although some of these islands are a long way offshore (up to 2180 miles), Chile's long coastline, the lack of any other islands or neighboring countries, and the low population of the groups all argue against calling these areas separate dependencies.

China

Dependencies:

• Hong Kong: Although now part of China and contiguous to it, the cultural, political, and economic distinctness of this recently acquired territory force me to call it a distinct dependency for now, rather than included as part of metropolitan China.
• Macau: Similar to Hong Kong, and the same arguments for separate dependency apply.

Colombia

Includes: Malpelo in the Pacific, plus San Andres, Providencia, and small cays offshore in the Caribbean.

Costa Rica

Includes: Coco Island, 305 miles offshore.

Denmark

Dependencies:

• Faeroe Islands: Might be considered offshore, but are largely self-governing.
• Greenland: Clearly a separate dependency.

Ecuador

Includes: The Galapagos (Archipelago de Colón), 575 miles offshore.

Finland

Includes: The Aland Islands. The ISO gives the Alands its own country codes, and this province enjoys more autonomy than other parts of Finland. However, the islands are geographically right offshore, and still send representatives to the Finnish parliament. The status of the Alands falls into the gray area between separate dependent and integrated province, and it is really a judgment call. For the purposes of this web site, they are treated as part of Finland.

France

Includes: Corsica.

Dependencies: All of the following areas are overseas territories, overseas departments, or territorial collectivities, and they cannot be considered "offshore" from France in any real way. Some of these dependencies are politically part of mainland France and send deputies to the French legislature, but their extreme geographic remoteness argues strongly for listing them separate from the mother country.

• French Guiana
• French Polynesia: Includes Clipperton Island, sometimes considered a separate dependency.
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands: Includes Kergeulen, Crozet, Saint Paul, and Amsterdam, but not the unrecognized Antarctic claim.
• Guadaloupe: Includes Saint-Barts and Saint-Martin (northern half).
• Martinique
• Mayotte
• New Caledonia
• Reunion: Includes 5 small islands near Madagascar: Bassas de India, Europa, Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, and Tromelin. Sometimes these islands are treated as separate dependencies, but they are all uninhabited and administered from Reunion.
• Saint Barthelemy (separated from Guadaloupe in 2007)
• Saint Martin (separated from Guadaloupe in 2007--includes only northern half of island)
• Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
• Wallis and Futuna

India

Includes: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 605 miles away, south of Myanmar.

Japan

Includes: The Izu-Shoto, Volcano, Bonin, and Ryuku Islands. Although extending quite a ways out from the home islands, these island groups form nearly continuous arcs stretching away from the mainland, with no large water gaps between individual islands.  Politically they are an integral part of Japan; the Volcano and Bonin islands are even part of Tokyo.

Mexico

Includes: Revillagegedo, Alijos, Clarion and Gualalupe Islands in the Pacific.

Morocco

Includes:

Netherlands

Dependencies: The former Netherlands Antilles has now been entirely broken up into its six separate island groups--Arbua was granted separate dependency status in 1986, and the remaining five islands of the Netherlands Antilles became separate in 2010. Although Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are politically part of the Netherlands mainland, their geographic separation is why they are treated as separate dependencies, similar to French overseas departments.

• Aruba
• Curaçao
• Bonaire
• Saba
• Sint Eustatius
• Sint Maarten (southern half)

New Zealand

Includes: Chatham Islands, Auckland Islands, the Snares, Campbell Island, Antipodes Islands, Bounty Islands, and the Kermandec Islands. All of these small archipelagos are within 500 miles of the main islands of New Zealand, and only the Chatham Islands are populated.

Dependency: These three island groups are politically distinct from New Zealand, and much further afield than the small nearby groups.

• Cook Islands
• Niue
• Tokelau

Norway

Dependencies:

• Bouvet Island: This tiny, uninhabited South Atlantic island is not offshore Norway, so I consider it a separate country.
• Jan Mayen: Uninhabited and 545 miles offshore, but usually considered politically distinct.
• Svalbard: Includes Bear Island.

Portugal

Includes: The Azores, 850 miles offshore, and Madeira, 495 miles away. Both are almost always considered an integral part of Portugal.

Russia

Includes: East Prussia (Kaliningrad Oblast), 225 miles away through Belarus, Lithuania, or Latvia, and offshore via the Baltic, is politically indistinguishable from the rest of Russia.

South Africa

Includes: The tiny Prince Edward Islands, 1065 miles offshore to the southeast in the Indian Ocean.

Spain

Includes: The Canary Islands, the Balearics, and Spanish North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla). All are integral parts of the metropolitan Spain.

United Kingdom

Includes: Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, and Rockall, a tiny islet quite a ways off in the North Atlantic.

Dependencies: There are tiny remnants of the once-mighty British Empire scattered about the globe. All of the following territories are well offshore and administered as separate entities, except for Guernsey, Jersey, and Man, which are distinct politically but are quite close offshore of the U.K.

• Anguilla
• Bermuda
• South Georgia (British Antarctic Territory): Includes the South Sandwich Islands, but not any parts of Antarctica (see section on Antarctica).
• British Indian Ocean Territory: Includes the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Falkland Islands
• Gibraltar
• Guernsey: Includes Alderney and Sark. Separate politically from the U.K. despite being offshore.
• Jersey: Separate politically from the U.K. despite being offshore.
• Isle of Man: Although just offshore the U.K., it has clear and distinct separate political status.
• Montserrat
• Pitcairn Islands: Includes Ducie, Henderson, and Oeno Islands.
• Saint Helena: Includes Ascension, Tristan da Cunha, and Gough Islands.
• Turks and Cacios Islands

United States

Includes: The 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, plus the District of Columbia.

Dependencies: The United States still controls several areas as dependencies:

• American Samoa
• Guam
• Navassa Island: An uninhabited island between Cuba and Haiti, administered by the Coast Guard.
• Northern Marianas
• Puerto Rico
• U.S. Minor Pacific Islands: The United States controls several tiny islands in the mid-Pacific area. Often treated as separate dependencies by many sources, it makes sense to combine them into one dependency rather than to clog up the list with all these minor islands. Included are Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island.
• U.S. Virgin Islands

Venzuela

Includes: Margarita and other offshore Caribbean Islands, plus Aves, way off to the north.