User:Derlinus/List of countries

This list of countries, arranged alphabetically, gives an overview of countries of the world. A country is a geographical territory, both in the sense of nation (a cultural entity) and state'' (a political entity).

It includes territories that are independent states (both those that are internationally recognized and generally unrecognized), inhabited dependent territories, and areas of special sovereignty.

Such inclusion criteria means the list does not treat the word "country" as synonymous with "sovereign state," as one may often find in colloquial usage, when the term country is used as a synonym for an independent sovereign state, see List of sovereign states or United Nations member states. Note, that in certain circumstances and in certain languages the term country is understood in the most restrictive sense, thus including only the 193 entities mentioned under the first item below.

The list covers all areas under the jurisdiction of the listed countries, namely territory, territorial waters (including internal waters and contiguous zones), exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, and airspace.

The names of countries in the list are given in English and include both an English version of the short official or normative names (e.g. Afghanistan) and an English version of the (longer) official names (e.g. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan). The listing of any name in this article is not meant to imply an official position in any naming dispute.

Types of political entities included
On this list are 245 entities of the following types:
 * 193 states with general international recognition:
 * 192 member states of the United Nations (UN).
 * 1 state with general international recognition but not UN membership, governed by the Holy See (a UN permanent observer): Vatican City.
 * 9 states lacking general international recognition, none of which are UN members, that may be defined as states in the body of customary international law, drawing on the precedent of the Montevideo Convention:
 * 3 states with limited international recognition and are able to fulfill clause d of the Montevideo Convention (capacity to enter into relations with the other states) due to their memberships in certain international organizations (i.e. World Bank, African Union)
 * 1 state, no longer a UN member since late 1971, recognized by 22 UN member states and the Holy See (Vatican City), and currently with de facto international relations with many others: the Republic of China (commonly referred to as Taiwan).
 * 1 state, recognised by UN member states and the Republic of China (Taiwan) : the Republic of Kosovo.
 * 1 state, recognized by 46 UN member states but never admitted to the UN itself, with most of its claimed territory under Moroccan de facto administration: the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Western Sahara.
 * 6 states with no or almost no international recognition.
 * 2 states, diplomatically recognized by 2 UN member states: the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia.
 * 1 state, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states except Turkey: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
 * 3 states, diplomatically recognized by no UN member states whatsoever: the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the Republic of Somaliland and Transnistria.
 * 38 inhabited dependent territories:
 * 3 external territories of Australia (Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Norfolk Island).
 * 2 overseas countries in the United Kingdom of Denmark (Faroe Islands and Greenland).
 * 7 overseas territories of France:
 * 1 sui generis (unique) community (New Caledonia).
 * 6 overseas collectivities:
 * 1 overseas country (French Polynesia)
 * 1 departmental collectivity (Mayotte)
 * 1 territorial collectivity (Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
 * 2 other collectivities (Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin)
 * 1 territory (Wallis and Futuna)
 * 2 overseas countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba and Netherlands Antilles).
 * 3 dependent territories of New Zealand:
 * 2 states in free association with New Zealand (Cook Islands and Niue).
 * 1 overseas territory (Tokelau).
 * 16 dependent territories of the United Kingdom:
 * 13 British overseas territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena (and its dependencies Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia).
 * 3 Crown dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man).
 * 5 unincorporated territories of the United States:
 * 2 commonwealths (Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico).
 * 2 organized territories (Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands).
 * 1 de facto organized territory lacking an Organic Act (American Samoa).
 * 5 special entities recognized by international treaty or agreement (Åland in Finland; Svalbard in Norway; the Palestinian territories; and the 2 special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau).

In the 'Entities not included', an outline is given on the entities not included in this list. This includes distinct political and legal entities which are known as countries, but are integral parts of a sovereign state also termed a country - notably the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.

Entities excluded

 * Confederations, supranational unions (such as the European Union) and international / intergovernmental organizations which are associations of countries.
 * Sovereign entities without territorial possessions, all permanent observers of the United Nations:
 * Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), a sovereign entity under international law that maintains diplomatic/official relations with over 100 states/entities and participating in various international organizations.
 * International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an independent non-state entity under international law which maintains delegations worldwide, founding body of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and guardian of international humanitarian law in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.
 * International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), an independent non-state entity under international law which, together with the ICRC, assists and coordinates between National Societies of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.


 * Entities considered integral part of other countries:
 * Component states of federations, such as states of Australia, provinces of Canada, Bundesländer of Germany, estados of México, estados of Brazil, and states of the United States.
 * Substate units of federacies that enjoy considerably more independence than the majority of others, like Zanzibar (Tanzania).
 * Constituent countries of the United Kingdom, i.e. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
 * Mount Athos (Regime of Aghion Oros or Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain), a monastic republic in Greece politically self-governed by the Holy Community of the 20 Monasteries of the Holy Mountain Athos and its Holy Executive and spiritually under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch in accordance with the constitution of Greece.
 * Condominiums like Pheasant Island (sovereignty of which jointly shared by France and Spain).
 * Autonomous areas legally part of sovereign states, such as Catalonia (Spain), Tibet (People's Republic of China) and Chechnya (Russia); but excluding Åland, which is recognized by international treaties.
 * Special Administrative Regions established within countries, like Aceh (Indonesia), excluding Hong Kong and Macau which are recognized by international treaties.
 * Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in sovereign states with economic laws different from the rest of the states, such as Shenzhen SEZ of the People's Republic of China.
 * Areas leased by countries like Russian part of Saimaa Canal and Malyj Vysotskij Island (leased by Finland from Russia).
 * Enclaves / Exclaves that belong to one country but are not connected to it by land (islands are not included) and are surrounded by other countries, like Alaska (United States) and Kaliningrad (Russia).
 * Overseas portions of countries legally integrated into the country, like:
 * Chile: Easter Island and Juan Fernández Islands (special territories).
 * France: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion (also overseas departments).
 * Portugal: Azores and Madeira (autonomous regions).
 * Spain: Canary Islands (autonomous community) and the Plazas de soberanía (including the autonomous cities Ceuta and Melilla).
 * United States: Hawaii (state).
 * Other subnational entities of countries.


 * Dependent territories without indigenous inhabitation:
 * Australia: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Coral Sea Islands and Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
 * France: Clipperton Island and French Southern and Antarctic Lands (excluding the French claim of Adélie Land in Antarctica).
 * Norway: Bouvet Island.
 * United Kingdom: British Indian Ocean Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
 * United States: Navassa Island, Petrel Islands, Serranilla Bank, United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges and Wake Island.


 * Places where extraterritoriality is applied such as embassies, consulates and military bases of foreign countries, and most notably:
 * United Nations United Nations headquarters at New York which is an international zone governed under its own rules.
 * The SMOM headquarters in Rome.
 * The ICRC headquarters in Geneva.
 * The specified Properties of the Holy See in Italy.
 * Pavillon de Breteuil in France used by the General Conference on Weights and Measures.
 * Guantanamo Bay, a territory of Cuba under the permanent control (with no claim of sovereignty) of the United States which pays rent under terms of treaties with Cuba.


 * International waters and corresponding airspace, international seabed area and outerspace that are open to all countries.


 * Territorial claims of sovereign states to Antarctica and its outlying islands south of 60°S which are held in abeyance under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty:
 * Argentina: Argentine Antarctica (25°W to 74°W, overlapping British and Chilean claims).
 * Australia: Australian Antarctic Territory (160°E to 142°02' E and 136°11' E to 44°38' E).
 * Chile: Antártica Chilena Province (53°W to 90°W, overlapping Argentine and British Claims).
 * France: Adélie Land (142°02' E to 136°'11 E)
 * New Zealand: Ross Dependency (150°W to 160°E).
 * Norway: Queen Maud Land (44°38' E to 20°W) and Peter I Island (at 68°50' S, 90°35'W).
 * United Kingdom: British Antarctic Territory (20°W to 80°W, overlapping Argentine and Chilean claims).
 * (No formal claims have been made in the sector between 90°W and 150°W, except for the Norwegian claim to Peter I Island.)
 * Brazil's Zone of Interest: Brazilian Antarctica (28°W to 53°W, overlapping Argentine and British claims, informal claim).


 * Territorial claims to the Arctic made by sovereign states which are all members of the Arctic Council.
 * Various disputed or occupied territories, see the List of territorial disputes.
 * Demilitarized or neutral zones between two warring countries (the two sides of the demarcation line in the zones are considered parts of the respective warring countries, with the exception of the neutral ground between Gibraltar and Spain which does not belong to either country.
 * Places under the control of UN Peacekeeping Missions.


 * Places under the control of secessionist movements, guerrilla forces, or terrorist organizations.
 * Entities not claiming sovereignty with de facto control over their territory.
 * Governments in exile.
 * Surviving monarchs and pretenders of abolished monarchies.
 * Subnational traditional monarchies, tribes and indigenous peoples, with their heads holding traditional (mostly ceremonial) roles and/or exercising limited jurisdiction.
 * Nations without their own states, many of which are members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).
 * Self-proclaimed micronations that are not recognized internationally, see the List of micronations.
 * Anarchist movements and communities.
 * Extinct political entities.
 * All forms of land claims, including claims to the so-called terra nullius.
 * Organizations that attempt to establish a world government.
 * Pirate utopias.
 * Fictional, imaginary and proposed countries as well as space and ocean colonization projects and extraterrestrial real estate that do not exist in the real world.
 * Cruise ships and other passenger vessels in international waters.
 * Multinational corporations.