Our land is incredibly large. The main part (71%) is water. Parts of the world (continents and islands) are located on land. Over 600 million years of existence on the planet human life, people have always united into communities, unions, societies. History has constantly made adjustments and changed their regional associations. Empires, powers, principalities, and kingdoms arose on the inhabited continents. Some of them arose, others disappeared, only the number of continents remained unchanged.

Continents

There are six continents or parts of the world on Earth:

1. Eurasia is the part of the world with the largest territory, 54 million km 2.
2. Africa is the second largest continent, approximately 30 million km2.
3. North America- a relatively young continent, discovered only in 1502, with an area of ​​about 20 million km 2.
4. South America - has an area of ​​almost 18 million km 2.
5. Australia is a relatively small part of the world, covering an area of ​​7.7 million km2.
6. Antarctica is the southernmost and coldest continent of our planet. It has a large territory - approximately 14 million km 2.

It’s interesting to know: which ones exist on planet Earth?

On each continent and the numerous adjacent islands there are different countries.

Let's say right away that the number of countries is greater than the number of states. How did this happen? Each country proceeds from its own national and political interests, without looking at the interests of competing countries.

All these lands are countries. But not all of them are states. The fact is that only recognized powers with complete independence, whose territory is not disputed and has clear boundaries, can be a state. There are still colonies and territories dependent on more prosperous neighbors. They are not individual states, but countries. The concept of a country is rather a community of nationalities, culture, and traditions.

And the state is a more political concept, implying a unified government in a given territory. A state is a separate autonomy with undisputed sovereignty and a system of governance. The state is created in order to unite people who agree with the organization of government and comply with the laws adopted by it.

It’s interesting to know: what continents exist on planet Earth?

There are currently no regulations in the world that would recognize the state independence of seceding territories. More often it comes down to partial recognition of certain regions by individual independent states. As an example, Abkhazia or South Ossetia, which were recognized by Russia, but not recognized by an overwhelming number of other powers. And at the same time, Russia does not officially recognize and does not have diplomatic relations with Kosovo and Northern Cyprus. But there are countries that recognize them and support them, cooperating with them.

How many world territories are there today?

For 2017 international organization The United Nations (UN) has established a list of world territories (251 countries and 193 states). In some sources, the number of states is indicated by other numbers. This is explained by the fact that not all countries are included in this association. Or, for example, the UN recognizes the Vatican as separate state, but does not add it to the list of independent countries.

Disputes about how many countries there are in the world continue to this day. Their territorial and state affiliations will constantly change. People all over the world are freedom-loving, have their own opinions and personal understanding of how to build their lives. Sometimes even part of one country has an uncertain status. For example, the People's Republic of Korea still considers Taiwan its territory. And Kosovo, having sovereignty and being a state, is not a member of the UN.

Let's give an example:

There are even virtual countries. For example, two settlements in Estonia, consisting of four residents, announced their separation from the country.

Some calculations involve a certain quasi-state entity - the Order of Malta, which has UN observer status and has established diplomatic relations with many regions (with 81 countries, including Russia). The Order of Malta is also called dwarf state.

Given such disagreements, it is impossible to determine the exact number of individual territories and their status. Questions about the controversial number of countries and states in the world will never stop.

Lists

It would be correct to divide existing countries into geographical location territories in one or another part of the world, on one continent or another.

Eurasia

List of 90 official countries located in the Eurasian territory:

Russia. Armenia. Azerbaijan. Belarus. Georgia. Kazakhstan. Ukraine. Moldova. Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan. Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan.Bulgaria. Bosnia and Herzegovina.Hungary. Poland. Portugal. Romania.Czech Republic.Slovakia. Slovenia. Serbia. Croatia. Montenegro. Denmark. Finland. Sweden. Norway. Netherlands. Latvia. Lithuania. Estonia.

Austria. Germany. France. Switzerland. Belgium.United Kingdom. Spain. Italy. Ireland. Liechtenstein. Luxembourg. Türkiye. Greece. Israel. Iceland. Korea. Macedonia.San Marino. East Timor. Vatican.

Albania. Andorra. Afghanistan. Bahrain. Bangladesh. Butane.Brunei. Vietnam.Iraq. Iran. India. Jordan. Yemen. Cambodia. Qatar. Cyprus. Kuwait. Lebanon. Laos. Maldives. Malaysia. Malta. Monaco. Myanmar. Mongolia. Nepal. Oman. China. United Arab Emirates. Pakistan.Saudi Arabia. Syria.Thailand. Sri Lanka. Singapore.Philippines. Japan.

List of six partially recognized territories of the Eurasian continent:

• Abkhazia.
• State of Palestine.
• Taiwan (Republic of China).
• Kosovo.
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
• South Ossetia.

List of four unrecognized states:

• DPR (Donetsk People's Republic).
• LPR (Lugansk People's Republic).
• Transnistria (Moldavian Republic).
• Nagorno-Karabakh.

There are also two independent countries- This Egypt, occupying only part of the mainland territory of Eurasia, and Indonesia - island state, adjacent to the Asian shores.

From the above lists you can see:

• There are 102 countries in Eurasia. They are located both on the continental part and on the island.
• Of this number, 92 can be classified as states.
• Partially recognized 6 states.
• The 4 unrecognized territories are not states.

Africa

Africa is the continent with the second largest number of recognized regions.

List of 54 independent republics with state structure:

Angola. Algeria. Benin. Burkina Faso.Botswana. Burundi. Guinea. Guinea-Bissau. Ghana. Gabon. Gambia. Djibouti. Egypt (part of the state is located in Eurasia). Zimbabwe. Zambia. Cameroon. Cape Verde. Kenya. Union of the Comoros Islands. Congo. Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cote d'Ivoire. Kingdom of Lesotho. Libya. Liberia. Mauritius. Islamic Mauritania. Madagascar. Mali. Malawi.

Kingdom of Morocco. Mozambique. Niger. Namibia.Rwanda. Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sao Tome and Principe. Swaziland. Seychelles. Somalia. Senegal.South Sudan. Sudan. Tanzania. Sierra Leone. Tunisia. Togo. Uganda. Chad. Central African Republic (CAR). Ethiopia. Equatorial Guinea. Eritrea. South African Republic.

List of nine dependent territories of Africa:

• Canary Islands, Melilla and Ceuta belong to Spain.
• Madeira - Portugal.
• Mayotte and Reunion - France.
• Saint Helena Island,Tristan da Cunha, Ascension - these are the three colonies of Great Britain.

There is one African country that has not received full recognition - Western Sahara (Arab Republic).

From 59 African countries:

• 54 - states;
• 9 - do not apply to states;
• 1 territory is partially recognized.

North America

North America includes 23 regions with independent status:

Antigua and Barbuda. Barbados. Bahamas. Belize. Honduras. Haiti. Guatemala. Grenada.Dominican Republic Commonwealth of Dominica. Costa Rica. Cuba. Nicaragua. Panama. Salvador. Saint Lucia. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. USA.Mexico. Canada. Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica.

And also 29 dependent countries:

The 52 distinct territories of North America are divided into 23 states and 29 countries. Here, when counting non-state entities, it is necessary to take into account not 29, but fewer, since dependent regions united into 20, subordinate to the state foundations of more developed powers.

South America

12 independent states of South America:

Argentina. Brazil. Bolivia. Venezuela. Guyana. Peru. Paraguay.Colombia. Suriname. Uruguay (Uruguayan Eastern Republic). Chile. Ecuador.

Four dependent territories:

• French Guiana.
• Falkland Islands of Britain.
• South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia(belong to Antarctica, which is part of Antarctica).

To summarize: in South America 12 states and 4 regions without their own statehood.

Australia

On the territory of Australia there is one power with the same name. It is also an official state.

Antarctica

This continent is located at the South Pole, in Antarctica, which, in addition to the mainland, consists of glaciers. According to the Antarctic Convention, generally accepted by all states in 1959, mainland Antarctica does not belong to anyone. In these areas with harsh climates, only scientific activity. But now scientific stations, of which there are many at the South Pole, are ready to declare the territories they occupy as their own states.

Here are the countries that have recently appeared in Antarctica, but their statehood exists only virtually:

This state of affairs also creates confusion in determining the exact number of existing countries.

Statistics

Here's what we got:

Why don't our numbers match the UN lists? We looked at mainland territories, but ignored not only two unrecognized Estonian villages, but also some other small island countries, which sometimes even have no population. Let's list them:

• Cook Island. Christmas Island. Azores.Åland Islands. American Samoa. St. Eustatius.Macao. Aruba. British territories located in the Indian Ocean. Guernsey. Gibraltar. Guam. Jersey. Cocos Islands. Niue. Maine. Order of Malta.

Total 251 countries. In some sources you can find information that there are not 251, but 257 countries in the world. But even these numbers may change with the next count.

The political map is quite dynamic and reflects all changes in the borders of states and the influence of large and powerful countries on world economy. The fundamental stage in the formation of the modern political map was the post-war redivision of the world, but modern conflicts also have a noticeable impact on state borders. How many states are there on Earth now? This question is to some extent one-sided, since in addition to independent ones, there are also unrecognized territories and lands with an uncertain status.

By the way, all the changes also affect people who until recently asked the question: “How much does it cost to rent land from the state?” Price varies. With changes in the citizenship of territories, problems often arise with private property, the owner of which until recently was the state.

Number of states on a modern political map

The modern political map includes not only independent states, but also territories whose status is not so clear. How many states are there on Earth? Today, the United Nations consists of 193 countries and two additional observer states, which are the Vatican and Palestine. These are also full-fledged but they do not have the right to vote in the UN. Moreover, all relations of other independent states and organizations are coordinated with the Holy See, and not with the Vatican City State itself. Palestine is legally an independent state in the process of creation.

The Vatican (more precisely, the Holy See) has been an observer at the UN since 1964; Palestine was granted special status in 2012. Until 2002, neutral Switzerland was also an observer state, and Taiwan applied to join the UN and be granted observer state status several times, but without success. Also, the commonwealths of states have a special status in the UN: the EU, the CIS, the OSCE, the Arab League and some others.

Territories that are not clearly identified

How many states are there on Earth? The answer will be incomplete if we do not take into account regions that are fighting for their own independence, unrecognized and partially recognized states, micronations, often without even territory, existing only virtually or proclaimed individuals or groups of people.

Greatest chance of becoming subjects international law currently have partially recognized states. Among them:

Kosovo in the Balkans (territory recognized by 109 states out of 193).

Abkhazia.

Northern Cyprus (officially recognized as exclusively independent Turkey).

Republic of China (maintains relations with 22 states).

South Ossetia in Transcaucasia.

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR is recognized by 84 countries, 59 maintain diplomatic relations).

South Ossetia and Abkhazia have a special status - the states are recognized by four full members of the UN, as well as seven unrecognized (or partially recognized) states, including each other.

and special territories

How many states are there on Earth that are unrecognized entities? There are five such countries: the so-called DPR and LPR, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), Transnistria and Somaliland on the territory of the former British colony.

In addition, there are two territories that carry out international relations independently, but are actually part of New Zealand, as well as two entities with an uncertain status. The latter include which was supposed to gain independence, but was occupied by Morocco and Mauritania, as well as Azad Kashmir - a self-governing territory between India, China and Pakistan

Virtual and microstates

Self-proclaimed states, which are not recognized as independent and are not subjects of international relations, only declare their statehood, in fact often without even having territory. They began to appear at the end of the 20th century, at the moment there are more than 60 such formations. Some of them have quite interesting names. For example, the Kingdom of the Beautiful or the Peaceful Land. The creators of such powers are often public organizations(Greenpeace, Roman Renaissance supporters, gay activists) or famous personalities (John Lennon and Yoko Ono), some are based in abandoned WWII sites (Sealand) or formed in protest (Wanstonia - against the construction highway M11).

Founders of such virtual and microcountries was not interested in the question: “How much does it cost to rent land from the state?” They don't care about the price— they simply created their own entity and are mainly engaged in issuing postage stamps or commemorative coins. Another state, Virtland, is still planning to buy a piece of land and start building statehood, but these hopes have not yet come true.

Purchase of land and state

You can also purchase land for use (or rent a plot) from independent states. Land sales are carried out by local administrations. To purchase, you must fill out an application and submit it to the above authorities; in case of a positive decision, the land is assessed, all documents are drawn up necessary documents, and then the buyer pays for the purchase (possibly in installments), after which he becomes the full owner of the plot.

How much does the state's land cost? The price depends on the territory, its size, the state that is the owner, the buyer’s ownership of buildings located on the site, the purpose of the purchase, use of the land, etc. There are quite a lot of factors and evaluation criteria. How much does one hundred square meters of land cost to the state? Renting land for agricultural purposes in the Krasnodar region (Otradnensky district), for example, ranges from 705 to 950 rubles/year per 1 ha, in the Moscow region (Sergiev Posad district) - 16,500 rubles/year, and in Rostov region(Azov region) - 4700 rub. It is necessary to clarify the cost with local authorities.

Let's look at political map peace. on it different colors countries are painted. The most variegated of the continents is Africa, it has the most states - 54. In South America there are few countries - only 12. On the mainland of North America there are only 3 countries: Canada, the United States of America and Mexico. And in Australia there is only one country - Australia. There are a total of 196 countries on Earth, but according to different calculations (with different criteria), this number may change. The fact is that there are many unrecognized states on Earth. For example, Abkhazia and South Ossetia were recognized Russian Federation, but are not recognized by most countries in the world. At the same time, Russia has still not officially recognized or established diplomatic relations with entities such as Kosovo and Northern Cyprus, but there are countries that have recognized them and are working closely with them. Most often, in this matter, states proceed from their national interests.

The largest largest countries by area

1. Russia 17,102,345 km 2
2. Canada 9,976,139 km2
3. China 9,640,821 km 2 ./li>
4. USA 9,522,057 km2
5. Brazil 8,511,965 km2
6. Australia 7,686,850 km2
7. India 3,287,590 km 2
8. Argentina 2,766,890 km2
9. Kazakhstan 2,724,900 km 2
10. Algeria 2,381,740 km 2 ./li>

Smallest countries

The first place “from the bottom” in terms of territory size rightfully belongs to the Vatican, where the residence of the head is located catholic church- the Pope. The area of ​​the Vatican is less than 0.5 km 2. and only 826 people live here, so the population density is very low. In second place is the Principality of Monaco, where almost 33,000 people live on an area of ​​1.95 km 2, the population density there is almost 150 times greater. In third place is Gibraltar, located on a rocky cape (area 6.5 km 2 ..

Interesting fact is the number of countries in the world. Moreover, not everyone distinguishes the concept of “country” from “state”. But the first concept is much broader than the second, and their number will be greater throughout the world. Therefore, before answering the question of how many countries there are in the world, these concepts should be explained. For 2017 – 251 countries.

How does a country differ from a state?

A state differs from the concept of a country in that it is recognized by others, has independence, clearly defined borders and has all required attributes. But a country may include unrecognized or dependent territories. Definitions will help you understand the difference better.

• A state is an autonomous unit with a separate system of governance and sovereignty.
• A country is a specific geographical territory inhabited by a population of a certain nationality, with a particular culture and language.

That is, the state includes not only a community of people united by special characteristics, but also their management with the help of branches of government. In fact, it is created to organize the lives of people, with the help of laws that are binding on all citizens and foreign citizens located on its territory.

A country differs from a state in that the concept has a greater geographical and cultural meaning. This concept is characterized by the following categories:

• Population size.
• Length of territory.
• Religion.
• Mentality.
• Climatic characteristics.
• Natural resources.
• Relief features of the area.
• State of the environment.
• The number and purity of reservoirs and rivers.

A country is not always an independent state; often some of them may be dependent on a more developed neighbor, or is its colony, a territory under trusteeship. This is unacceptable for a state; its characteristic feature is independence from others.

Data on how many countries there are in the world can vary significantly. Depending on when the calculations were made, because the situation is politically always unstable.

For 2017 there are:

• 195 states.
• 251 countries.

And although the UN recognizes the Vatican, it is not added to the independent states. So how many countries are there in the world and why are the numbers above so different? The fact is that the difference arose due to the fact that some countries to this day remain unrecognized by the rest, or have an uncertain status.

Disputed countries

There are countries that are not members of the UN, but have sovereignty and therefore are states, for example, Kosovo. In addition to it, there is also Taiwan, which, although it is an independent state, is not recognized by the UN for political reasons, and therefore does not have its own separate participant. The People's Republic of Korea still considers its territory to be its special part. Therefore, the question of the number of countries in the world never ends.

Some countries do not have a specific status to be classified into one category or another. There are 12 of them in total, of which:

• 8 are recognized by some UN member states.
• 2 are recognized by 2-3 units as members of the UN.
• 2 are not officially recognized by anyone.

The first category, although recognized by some UN members, is not part of this organization. And although international law is on their side, their status still remains uncertain. These countries are:

• South Ossetia.
• Palestine.
• Abkhazia.
• Republic of Northern Cyprus.
• Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
• Kashmir.
• Azad Jammu.
• Kosovo.

Their status is not yet clear, but life does not stand still and after a while, perhaps the UN will include them when conducting calculations. Today, it is this organization that is referred to when making calculations. There are also 4 territories that have a special status:

• Åland Islands.
• Spitsbergen.
• Hong Kong.
• Macau.

The further fate of these territorial units also remains completely unresolved today.

Virtual countries

Having asked the question about the number of countries that exist in the world, it is worth studying the phenomenon of virtual states. The concept clearly gave a characteristic, from which it follows that this unit must necessarily have its own territory, with clearly defined boundaries. However, in the age of technology development and the prevalence of the Internet, this is no longer necessary.

A virtual state is an entity that declares its independence and imitates certain characteristic features inherent in the state. They may not be taken seriously by other countries, especially those on whose territory they were proclaimed. Such a unit may have:

• Independent attributes (flag, banknote, coat of arms, etc.).
• Stamps.
• Citizens.
• System of government.
• Have the opportunity to become members of international communities.

Sometimes such countries are touching with their absurdity, for example, two farms in Estonia, which consist of 4 people, decided to separate from another part of the country. Another example is Malu Vento, on an island near Sardinia. Some states, although they demand the establishment of rights over this or that land, receive real power over it.

Association of microcountries on the icy continent of Antarctica

All states that exist only on the World Wide Web, in an attempt to imitate real sovereign units of power, create not only paraphernalia in the form of a flag and money, but also try to copy the political structure. For example, some proclaim republics (for example, Lakota or Christiania), others more often turn out to be monarchies.

Today, many states have appeared on the territory of Antarctica that exist only virtually. These include:

• Antarctic Community of Landshire. The second oldest state. Established in 2001.
• Republic of Mary. Formed in 2008, like the first state, it claims rights to the lands of Mary Byrd.
• South Georgia. Founded in 2010. Unlike the others, it was created by real residents of Georgia Island who live in the Antarctic region.
• West Antarctica Federation.
• Flandrensis. Formed in 2008. Believes that he has the right to legally own the islands near Antarctica.
• Federal Republic of Antarctica. Created in 2013.
• Antarctic Empire. Formed in 2014, it is the youngest of all and claims to cover the entire ice continent.

The planet is so big and there are so many countries in the world that with high accuracy they cannot be counted. History makes its own adjustments every time and changes the final number up or down. Some countries arise, others disappear, only the number of continents remains unchanged.

Video instructions

Every person at school studied a subject such as geography, but if you ask any passerby on the street: “How many countries are there in the world?”, then probably no one will give an exact answer.

It is noteworthy that such a question will baffle even experienced geographers or local historians, since several methods for counting countries and states have been adopted.

For the most accurate answer to the question, it is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “state” and “country”.

States include territorial units that are officially recognized as independent by other states, have clear boundaries and accompanying attributes, including the presence of a flag and anthem. A country does not always have these characteristics. In particular, a colony or a disputed territory can be called a country.

The total number of countries existing in the world today is officially recorded by the UN

According to the UN, there are only 192 states, a list of which is provided on the official website of the organization.

This number did not include two states that can be found on the world map, since they are not members of the United Nations. This is Kosovo and the Vatican. Also among the states that have this particular status is Taiwan, which has long since left the jurisdiction of China. The latter does not recognize the official status of this small country, since it has claims on the territory of Taiwan, therefore the UN, guided by political motives, does not include the state in official list countries in modern world. But this is not the only reason for the dispute over how many countries there are in the world.

In addition to countries that have an unambiguous status, today there are 12 states in the world whose status is not defined.

In particular, 8 states were recognized as one of the members of the organization, 2 countries are recognized as such by neighboring states, and 2 remain unrecognized. At the same time, 8 states are not members of the organization, but according to all the rules of international law they must remain independent until precise definition their political fate. In addition to Taiwan and Kosovo, this list includes South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Palestine, the Republic of Northern Cyprus, SADR, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Virtual states

There is a concept of “state”, according to which every country that claims the right to be called a state must have borders. Spreading virtual reality makes it possible to get rid of this convention. A state created in virtual reality may have other attributes to be called such.

The virtual state has a coat of arms, flag, banknotes

Also, such territorial units created in the network, according to international law, can declare their claims to the lands of Antarctica and the Arctic, which gives them the opportunity to fully become a state.

A similar bright representative of a virtual country is Westarctica, which was born in 2001, or the unrecognized state of Sealand, located in the waters surrounding the British Isles. There is also Wirtlandia and Vimperium.

The Order of Malta, which also does not fall under general signs States, however, are considered as such and are observers at the UN.

The total number of states in the world that fully comply with all criteria is 195, but when counting all disputed territories and virtual countries, total number will amount to 262 states.

We recommend watching a video about how many countries there are in the world: