A question often debated amongst travelers is “how many countries are there in the world?”
Many people have different answers to this question and I personally believe in two different lists of countries:
1. The UN+3 list; and
2. The Travelers’ Century Club or TCC list (http://travelerscenturyclub.org).
The UN+3 is basically a list of all 193 member states of the United Nations, plus Palestine, Kosovo, and Vatican City, which are all generally recognized by UN members as independent countries.
There are a number of other countries which arguably could be included in this list, but I had to draw the line somewhere and based on a relatively strict interpretation of the number of countries in the world, I believe the UN+3 list of 196 countries is a valid measure. For more a more liberal interpretation of what constitutes a country, I refer to the Travelers’ Century Club list.
Afghanistan – Kabul |
Albania – Tirana |
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 |
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, Democratic Republic of the – Kinshasa |
Congo, Republic of the – Brazzaville |
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 (Timor-Leste) – 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 |
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 Atoll |
Korea, North – Pyongyang |
Korea, South – Seoul |
Kosovo – Pristina |
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 |
Micronesia, Federated States of – Palikir |
Moldova – Chisinau |
Monaco – Monaco |
Mongolia – Ulaanbaatar |
Montenegro – Podgorica |
Morocco – Rabat |
Mozambique – Maputo |
Myanmar (Burma) – Rangoon (Yangon); Naypyidaw or Nay Pyi Taw (administrative) |
Namibia – Windhoek |
Nauru – no official capital; government offices in Yaren District |
Nepal – Kathmandu |
Netherlands – Amsterdam; The Hague (seat of government) |
New Zealand – Wellington |
Nicaragua – Managua |
Niger – Niamey |
Nigeria – Abuja |
Norway – Oslo |
Oman – Muscat |
Pakistan – Islamabad |
Palau – Melekeok |
Palestine – Jerusalem*, Ramallah |
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) |
South Sudan – Juba (Relocating to Ramciel) |
Spain – Madrid |
Sri Lanka – Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative) |
Sudan – Khartoum |
Suriname – Paramaribo |
Swaziland – Mbabane |
Sweden – Stockholm |
Switzerland – Bern |
Syria – Damascus |
Tajikistan – Dushanbe |
Tanzania – Dar es Salaam; Dodoma (legislative) |
Thailand – Bangkok |
The Bahamas – Nassau |
The Gambia – Banjul |
Togo – Lome |
Tonga – Nuku’alofa |
Trinidad and Tobago – Port-of-Spain |
Tunisia – Tunis |
Turkey – Ankara |
Turkmenistan – Ashgabat |
Tuvalu – Vaiaku village, Funafuti province |
Uganda – Kampala |
Ukraine – Kyiv |
United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi |
United Kingdom – London |
United States of America – 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 |