How many countries are there? It depends who's counting

The quick answer

There are 193 countries if you follow the United Nations. Most travel lists use 195.

Collectors who count remote islands and territories use 330. All three are fair, as long as you say which one you mean.

193: the United Nations

The UN has 193 member states. It's the cleanest official number.

It leaves out a couple of places most people would call countries.

195: add the observers

Add the two UN observer states, the Holy See (Vatican City) and Palestine, and you get 195.

Lots of travel lists use this number.

330: the Travelers' Century Club

The Travelers' Century Club counts 330 countries and territories. That includes far-flung islands and overseas territories.

It's the number serious collectors chase.

Why there isn't one answer

Whether a place is a country is partly a political question. Governments disagree.

Some places run themselves but aren't recognised by every country. Some belong to a bigger state but feel like a place of their own.

No list settles that, so every list draws its own line.

The disputed ones

A few places show up on some lists and not others.

• Kosovo: recognised by many countries, but not all
• Taiwan: self-governing, though many countries don't formally recognise it
• Palestine and the Holy See: UN observers, so they are in the 195
• England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: parts of one UN member, the UK
• Territories like Greenland or Puerto Rico: they belong to a larger state

Countries and codes are different

You may see a bigger number somewhere else, such as the ISO list of country codes. That list includes territories and isn't a list of countries.

Use it for software. Don't use it for your travel total.

Which should you use?

Use whichever fits your style. Casual traveller? Stick with 195. Keen on remote islands? Go bigger.

In Gan, your total comes from the map. Turn territories on or off and the count updates.

Gan lists 200 places to tick off. That's the 195, with the UK split into four nations, plus Kosovo and Taiwan.

• Want a tidy number: 193 or 195
• Want every island: include territories
• Want to compare with friends: agree one rule first

Do the maths on your own total

Say you've visited 40 places on a list of 195. That's about 21 percent of the world.

The same 40 on a list of 330 is about 12 percent. Same trips, different headline.

That's why friends should compare on the same list.

Questions

How many countries are there in the world?

193 if you count UN member states. 195 if you add the two UN observers. 330 on the Travelers' Century Club list.

Why is the number 195 so common?

It is the 193 UN members plus the Holy See and Palestine, the two UN observer states.

How many countries does Gan list?

200 places. That's the 195, with the UK split into four nations, plus Kosovo and Taiwan.

Is Taiwan a country?

It governs itself, but many countries don't formally recognise it. Gan lists it so you can choose.

Do these numbers ever change?

Rarely, but they can. A new country or a change in UN membership would shift them.