How Many Countries Are There?

I thought I could easily find an answer to the question as it should be something factual, but apparently it’s not as simple as there being seven continents (BBC says there are 8).

Depending on the source and who is counting, the total number of countries in the world can vary quite considerably. 

Why I Googled it

It happened when I saw someone saying on Facebook that there were 238 countries in the world.  When I commented that I thought there were no more than 200, he insisted he was right (which implied that I was wrong).

Really?  Let me ask Google.

I don’t see any entry with the number 238, but I do find quite a few different answers to my query.

194 – number of members of the World Health Organization (WHO)
195 – countries recognized by the United States
197 – members and observer states of the United Nations (UN)
206 – participating nations in the Olympics
211 – affiliated associations eligible for the World Cup
249 – number of country codes by ISO
257 – countries and territories recognized by the UN

How to define a country?

With UN alone, there are already two different numbers: the organization has 197 members and observers, and recognizes 257 countries and territories.  

So which one is it?  And who gets to decide whether it is a country or a territory?  

Under international law, a country possesses (1) a permanent population, (2) a defined territory, (3) a government, and (4) the capacity to conduct international relations.

In that case, Hong Kong could be a country, and Taiwan is definitely a country!

But according to the UN, a country must (1) go through a considerable process of assessment, (2) receive a two-thirds approval by existing members, and (3) have consent from all five permanent members of the Security Council namely the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.

Those not “qualified” due to political, geographical, and socio-economic reasons are classified as territories.

What’s the verdict?

Unfortunately, there is no universal agreement on the answer, but I stand by my opinion that there are fewer than 200 countries in the world because I know for a fact that territories, like my home Hong Kong, are not regarded as countries.

Sad.