All Countries in the World and Their Capitals

How many countries are there in the world? As of 2024, the United Nations (UN) recognizes 195 independent countries, including its 193 members and two permanent observer states (Vatican and Palestine). In recent history, the number of states has quadrupled. However, some are contested by member states, others are subject to special sovereignty or have an ambiguous status.

All Countries in the World

Distribution of countries by continent

• Africa: 54 countries (East Africa: 18; West Africa: 16; Southern Africa: 5; North Africa: 7; Central Africa: 9)
• Asia: 48 countries (East Asia: 5; West Asia: 19; South Asia: 8; Southeast Asia: 11; Central Asia: 5)
• Europe: 44 countries (East Europe: 10; West Europe: 9; South Europe: 16; North Europe: 10)
• Latin America and the Caribbean: 33 countries
• Oceania: 14 countries (Polynesia: 4; Melanesia: 4; Micronesia: 5; Australasia: 1)
• North America: 2 countries

Disputed Countries

The United Nations list is far from reaching consensus. Cyprus, which has been independent since 1960, is not recognized by Turkey, even though Turkey is a member of the United Nations. Another example: France still refuses diplomatic recognition to North Korea.

Conversely, some states are not recognized by the United Nations, but are recognized by at least one member of the organization. Two examples are Kosovo, which declared itself independent in 2008 and was recognized by 103 states, or Taiwan, which is recognized by 14 states although it has never declared independence. Here is a full list of disputed countries and capitals:

• Not recognized as a country by the United Nations but listed here: Taiwan, Kosovo, Western Sahara.
• Hong Kong, Macau are part of the People’s Republic of China and are not separate, sovereign states.
• Faroe Islands, Greenland belong to Denmark and are not their own sovereign states.
• Russia belongs to Europe and Asia. But since the larger part of the country belongs to Asia; the same applies to Turkey.
• Latin America is not considered a continent in its own right.
• Antarctica is an independent continent, but it does not have its own sovereign states.
• Jerusalem is not recognized as the capital of Israel by the United Nations and the majority of member states, even though Israel declares it to be so by national law.

Evolution of the number of countries in the world

The number of countries in the world has exploded due to decolonization. In 1914 there were only 53 countries in the world recognized as independent. At that time, dominions such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand were still under British sovereignty. At the end of 1945, the newly formed United Nations had 51 member states, while 72 states divided the world between themselves. With decolonization and the disintegration of the Eastern Bloc, that number has quadrupled. The most recent formation is South Sudan, which was declared independent in 2011 after years of civil war.

All Capital Cities in the World

Capital is either the most important city of a country, a state (or province),  or even the most essential town of a city (or county). In general, it’s the administrative center of local government. For example, London is the capital city of United Kingdom, while Austin is the capital city of Texas (one of the 50 U.S. states).

In the table below, please see an alphabetical list of all independent nations and their capitals as well as the regions where each country is located:

#	Flag	Nation	Population	Capital	Capital
1		Afghanistan	38,928,357	Kabul	Southern Asia
2		Åland Islands	29,789	Mariehamn	Northern Europe
3		Albania	2,877,808	Tirana	Southern Europe
4		Algeria	43,851,055	Algiers	Northern Africa
5		Andorra	77,276	Andorra	Southern Europe
6		Angola	32,866,283	Luanda	Central Africa
7		Antigua and Barbuda	97,940	Saint John’s	North America
8		Argentina	45,195,785	Buenos Aires	South America
9		Armenia	2,963,254	Yerevan	Western Asia
10		Australia	25,499,895	Canberra	Australasia
11		Austria	9,006,409	Vienna	Western Europe
12		Azerbaijan	10,139,188	Baku	Western Asia
13		Bahamas	393,255	Nassau	North America
14		Bahrain	1,701,586	Manama	Western Asia
15		Bangladesh	164,689,394	Dhaka	Southern Asia
16		Barbados	287,386	Bridgetown	North America
17		Belarus	9,449,334	Minsk	Eastern Europe
18		Belgium	11,589,634	Brussels	Western Europe
19		Belize	397,639	Belmopan	North America
20		Benin	12,123,211	Porto-Novo	Western Africa
21		Bhutan	771,619	Thimphu	Southern Asia
22		Bolivia	11,673,032	Sucre	South America
23		Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,280,830	Sarajevo	Southern Europe
24		Botswana	2,351,638	Gaborone	Southern Africa
25		Brazil	212,559,428	Brasilia	South America
26		Brunei	437,490	Bandar Seri Begawan	Southeastern Asia
27		Bulgaria	6,948,456	Sofia	Eastern Europe
28		Burkina Faso	20,903,284	Ouagadougou	Western Africa
29		Burma	54,409,811	Naypyidaw	Southeastern Asia
30		Burundi	11,890,795	Gitega	Eastern Africa
31		Cambodia	16,718,976	Phnom Penh	Southeastern Asia
32		Cameroon	26,545,874	Yaounde	Central Africa
33		Canada	37,742,165	Ottawa	North America
34		Cape Verde	555,998	Praia	Western Africa
35		Central African Republic	4,829,778	Bangui	Central Africa
36		Chad	16,425,875	N’Djamena	Central Africa
37		Chile	19,116,212	Santiago	South America
38		China	1,439,323,787	Beijing	Eastern Asia
39		Colombia	50,882,902	Bogota	South America
40		Comoros	869,612	Moroni	Eastern Africa
41		Cook Islands	17,459	Avarua District	Oceania
42		Costa Rica	5,094,129	San Jose	North America
43		Côte d’Ivoire	26,378,285	Yamoussoukro	Western Africa
44		Croatia	4,105,278	Zagreb	Southern Europe
45		Cuba	11,326,627	Havana	North America
46		Cyprus	1,207,370	Nicosia	Western Asia
47		Czech Republic	10,708,992	Prague	Eastern Europe
48		Democratic Republic of the Congo	89,561,414	Kinshasa	Central Africa
49		Denmark	5,792,213	Copenhagen	Northern Europe
50		Djibouti	988,011	Djibouti	Eastern Africa
51		Dominica	71,997	Roseau	North America
52		Dominican Republic	10,847,921	Santo Domingo	North America
53		Ecuador	17,643,065	Quito	South America
54		Egypt	102,334,415	Cairo	Northern Africa
55		El Salvador	6,486,216	San Salvador	North America
56		Equatorial Guinea	1,402,996	Malabo	Central Africa
57		Eritrea	3,546,432	Asmara	Eastern Africa
58		Estonia	1,326,546	Tallinn	Northern Europe
59		Ethiopia	114,963,599	Addis Ababa	Eastern Africa
60		Faroe Islands	48,678	Tórshavn	Europe
61		Micronesia	112,640	Palikir	Micronesia
62		Fiji	896,456	Suva	Melanesia
63		Finland	5,540,731	Helsinki	Northern Europe
64		France	65,273,522	Paris	Western Europe
65		Gabon	2,225,745	Libreville	Central Africa
66		Gambia	2,416,679	Banjul	Western Africa
67		Georgia	3,989,178	Tbilisi	Western Asia
68		Germany	83,783,953	Berlin	Western Europe
69		Ghana	31,072,951	Accra	Western Africa
70		Greece	10,423,065	Athens	Southern Europe
71		Greenland	56,225	Nuuk	North America
72		Grenada	112,534	Saint George’s	North America
73		Guatemala	17,915,579	Guatemala City	North America
74		Guinea	13,132,806	Conakry	Western Africa
75		Guinea-Bissau	1,968,012	Bissau	Western Africa
76		Guyana	786,563	Georgetown	South America
77		Haiti	11,402,539	Port-au-Prince	North America
78		Holy See	812	Vatican City	Southern Europe
79		Honduras	9,904,618	Tegucigalpa	North America
80		Hungary	9,660,362	Budapest	Eastern Europe
81		Iceland	341,254	Reykjavik	Northern Europe
82		India	1,380,004,396	New Delhi	Southern Asia
83		Indonesia	273,523,626	Jakarta	Southeastern Asia
84		Iran	83,992,960	Tehran	Western Asia
85		Iraq	40,222,504	Baghdad	Western Asia
86		Ireland	4,937,797	Dublin	Northern Europe
87		Israel	8,655,546	Jerusalem	Western Asia
88		Italy	60,461,837	Rome	Southern Europe
89		Jamaica	2,961,178	Kingston	North America
90		Japan	126,476,472	Tokyo	Eastern Asia
91		Jordan	10,203,145	Amman	Western Asia
92		Kazakhstan	18,776,718	Astana	Central Asia
93		Kenya	53,771,307	Nairobi	Eastern Africa
94		Kiribati	119,460	Tarawa Atoll	Micronesia
95		Kosovo	1,810,377	Pristina	Eastern Europe
96		Kuwait	4,270,582	Kuwait City	Western Asia
97		Kyrgyzstan	6,524,206	Bishkek	Central Asia
98		Laos	7,275,571	Vientiane	Southeastern Asia
99		Latvia	1,886,209	Riga	Northern Europe
100		Lebanon	6,825,456	Beirut	Western Asia
101		Lesotho	2,142,260	Maseru	Southern Africa
102		Liberia	5,057,692	Monrovia	Western Africa
103		Libya	6,871,303	Tripoli	Northern Africa
104		Liechtenstein	38,139	Vaduz	Western Europe
105		Lithuania	2,722,300	Vilnius	Northern Europe
106		Luxembourg	625,989	Luxembourg	Western Europe
107		Madagascar	27,691,029	Antananarivo	Eastern Africa
108		Malawi	19,129,963	Lilongwe	Eastern Africa
109		Malaysia	32,366,010	Kuala Lumpur	Southeastern Asia
110		Maldives	540,555	Male	Southern Asia
111		Mali	20,250,844	Bamako	Western Africa
112		Malta	441,554	Valletta	Southern Europe
113		Marshall Islands	59,201	Majuro	Micronesia
114		Mauritania	4,649,669	Nouakchott	Western Africa
115		Mauritius	1,271,779	Port Louis	Eastern Africa
116		Mexico	128,932,764	Mexico City	North America
117		Moldova	4,033,974	Chisinau	Eastern Europe
118		Monaco	39,253	Monaco	Western Europe
119		Mongolia	3,278,301	Ulaanbaatar	Eastern Asia
120		Montenegro	628,077	Podgorica	Southern Europe
121		Morocco	36,910,571	Rabat	Northern Africa
122		Mozambique	31,255,446	Maputo	Eastern Africa
123		Namibia	2,540,916	Windhoek	Southern Africa
124		Nauru	10,835	Yaren District	Micronesia
125		Nepal	29,136,819	Kathmandu	Southern Asia
126		Netherlands	17,134,883	Amsterdam	Western Europe
127		New Zealand	4,822,244	Wellington	Polynesia
128		Nicaragua	6,624,565	Managua	North America
129		Niger	24,206,655	Niamey	Western Africa
130		Nigeria	206,139,600	Abuja	Western Africa
131		Niue	1,620	Alofi	Oceania
132		North Korea	25,778,827	Pyongyang	Eastern Asia
133		Norway	5,421,252	Oslo	Northern Europe
134		Macedonia	2,022,558	Skopje	Southern Europe
135		Oman	5,106,637	Muscat	Western Asia
136		Pakistan	220,892,351	Islamabad	Southern Asia
137		Palau	18,105	Melekeok	Micronesia
138		Palestine	5,101,425	East Jerusalem	Western Asia
139		Panama	4,314,778	Panama City	North America
140		Papua New Guinea	8,947,035	Port Moresby	Melanesia
141		Paraguay	7,132,549	Asuncion	South America
142		Peru	32,971,865	Lima	South America
143		Philippines	109,581,089	Manila	Southeastern Asia
144		Poland	37,846,622	Warsaw	Eastern Europe
145		Portugal	10,196,720	Lisbon	Southern Europe
146		Puerto Rico	3,285,874	San Juan	Caribbean
147		Qatar	2,881,064	Doha	Western Asia
148		Republic of the Congo	5,240,011	Brazzaville	Central Africa
149		Romania	19,237,702	Bucharest	Eastern Europe
150		Russia	145,934,473	Moscow	Eastern Europe
151		Rwanda	12,952,229	Kigali	Eastern Africa
152		Samoa	198,425	Apia	Polynesia
153		San Marino	33,942	San Marino	Southern Europe
154		Sao Tome and Principe	219,170	Sao Tome	Central Africa
155		Saudi Arabia	34,813,882	Riyadh	Western Asia
156		Senegal	16,743,938	Dakar	Western Africa
157		Serbia	8,737,382	Belgrade	Southern Europe
158		Seychelles	98,358	Victoria	Eastern Africa
159		Sierra Leone	7,976,994	Freetown	Western Africa
160		Singapore	5,850,353	Singapore	Southeastern Asia
161		Slovakia	5,459,653	Bratislava	Eastern Europe
162		Slovenia	2,078,949	Ljubljana	Southern Europe
163		Solomon Islands	686,895	Honiara	Melanesia
164		Somalia	15,893,233	Mogadishu	Eastern Africa
165		South Africa	59,308,701	Bloemfontein; Pretoria; Cape Town	Southern Africa
166		South Korea	51,269,196	Seoul	Eastern Asia
167		South Sudan	11,193,736	Juba	Eastern Africa
168		Spain	46,754,789	Madrid	Southern Europe
169		Sri Lanka	21,413,260	Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte	Southern Asia
170		Saint Kitts and Nevis	52,441	Basseterre	North America
171		Saint Lucia	181,889	Castries	North America
172		Saint Vincent and The Grenadines	110,951	Kingstown	North America
173		Sudan	43,849,271	Khartoum	Northern Africa
174		Suriname	586,643	Paramaribo	South America
175		Swaziland	1,163,491	Mbabane	Southern Africa
176		Sweden	10,099,276	Stockholm	Northern Europe
177		Switzerland	8,654,633	Bern	Western Europe
178		Syria	17,500,669	Damascus	Western Asia
179		Taiwan*	23,816,786	Taipei	Eastern Asia
180		Tajikistan	9,537,656	Dushanbe	Central Asia
181		Tanzania	59,734,229	DDodoma	Eastern Africa
182		Thailand	69,799,989	Bangkok	Southeastern Asia
183		East Timor	1,318,456	Dili	Southeastern Asia
184		Togo	8,278,735	Lome	Western Africa
185		Tonga	105,706	Nuku’alofa	Polynesia
186		Trinidad and Tobago	1,399,499	Port-of-Spain	North America
187		Tunisia	11,818,630	Tunis	Northern Africa
188		Turkey	84,339,078	Ankara	Western Asia
189		Turkmenistan	6,031,211	Ashgabat	Central Asia
190		Tuvalu	11,803	Vaiaku	Polynesia
191		Uganda	45,741,018	Kampala	Eastern Africa
192		Ukraine	43,733,773	Kiev	Eastern Europe
193		United Arab Emirates	9,890,413	Abu Dhabi	Western Asia
194		United Kingdom	67,886,022	London	Northern Europe
195		United States	331,002,662	Washington, D. C.	North America
196		Uruguay	3,473,741	Montevideo	South America
197		Uzbekistan	33,469,214	Tashkent	Central Asia
198		Vanuatu	307,156	Port-Vila	Melanesia
199		Venezuela	28,435,951	Caracas	South America
200		Vietnam	97,338,590	Hanoi	Southeastern Asia
201		Western Sahara	597,339	Laayoune	Western Africa
202		Yemen	29,825,975	Sanaa	Western Asia
203		Zambia	18,383,966	Lusaka	Eastern Africa
204		Zimbabwe	14,862,935	Harare	Eastern Africa

Note: While Taiwan has its own capital city, it is not a nation, but a part of China.

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