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How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2025? (UN & Global Comparison)

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How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2025 (UN & Global Comparison)
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How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2025?

It’s a simple question that seems like it should have a straightforward answer—but it’s actually more complex than it appears. The number of countries in the world depends on who you ask.

So, let’s break it down.

The Official Count (According to the United Nations)

As of 2025, the United Nations recognizes 195 countries. These include:

  • 193 UN member states, and

  • 2 observer states: the Holy See (Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.

But that’s not the whole story..

The Varying Numbers: Why the Count Can Differ

Different organizations and countries recognize different entities as sovereign. Some consider Taiwan, Kosovo, or other regions as fully independent nations, even if the UN does not. The variance comes down to international recognition—some countries are recognized by a few states but not the UN as a whole.

Read More: List of All Countries With Their Capitals and Currencies

🌍 Comparison Table: Number of Countries by Organization

Source Number of Countries Notes
United Nations 195 Includes 193 member states + 2 observers (Vatican, Palestine)
U.S. State Department 197 Includes Taiwan and Kosovo
World Population Review 206 Includes partially recognized states and territories
FIFA (Football Association) 211 Recognizes teams from non-sovereign territories
IOC (Olympics) 206 Independent teams beyond UN recognition (e.g., Puerto Rico, Hong Kong)

🌍 List of Countries by Population

Below is a comprehensive table of all countries, ranked by population size. The table includes each country’s current population, its percentage share of the global population, and total land area.


S. No		 Country Population (2025) World Share Land Area(Km²)
1 India 1,463,865,525 17.78% 2,973,190
2 China 1,416,096,094 17.20% 9,388,211
3 United States 347,275,807 4.22% 9,147,420
4 Indonesia 285,721,236 3.47% 1,811,570
5 Pakistan 255,219,554 3.10% 770,880
6 Nigeria 237,527,782 2.89% 910,770
7 Brazil 212,812,405 2.59% 8,358,140
8 Bangladesh 175,686,899 2.13% 130,170
9 Russia 143,997,393 1.75% 16,376,870
10 Ethiopia 135,472,051 1.65% 1,000,000
11 Mexico 131,946,900 1.60% 1,943,950
12 Japan 123,103,479 1.50% 364,555
13 Egypt 118,365,995 1.44% 995,450
14 Philippines 116,786,962 1.42% 298,170
15 DR Congo 112,832,473 1.37% 2,267,050
16 Vietnam 101,598,527 1.23% 310,070
17 Iran 92,417,681 1.12% 1,628,550
18 Turkey 87,685,426 1.07% 769,630
19 Germany 84,075,075 1.02% 348,560
20 Thailand 71,619,863 0.87% 510,890
21 Tanzania 70,545,865 0.86% 885,800
22 United Kingdom 69,551,332 0.84% 241,930
23 France 66,650,804 0.81% 547,557
24 South Africa 64,747,319 0.79% 1,213,090
25 Italy 59,146,260 0.72% 294,140
26 Kenya 57,532,493 0.70% 569,140
27 Myanmar 54,850,648 0.67% 653,290
28 Colombia 53,425,635 0.65% 1,109,500
29 South Korea 51,667,029 0.63% 97,230
30 Sudan 51,662,147 0.63% 1,765,048
31 Uganda 51,384,894 0.62% 199,810
32 Spain 47,889,958 0.58% 498,800
33 Algeria 47,435,312 0.58% 2,381,740
34 Iraq 47,020,774 0.57% 434,320
35 Argentina 45,851,378 0.56% 2,736,690
36 Afghanistan 43,844,111 0.53% 652,860
37 Yemen 41,773,878 0.51% 527,970
38 Canada 40,126,723 0.49% 9,093,510
39 Angola 39,040,039 0.47% 1,246,700
40 Ukraine 38,980,376 0.47% 579,320
41 Morocco 38,430,770 0.47% 446,300
42 Poland 38,140,910 0.46% 306,230
43 Uzbekistan 37,053,428 0.45% 425,400
44 Malaysia 35,977,838 0.44% 328,550
45 Mozambique 35,631,653 0.43% 786,380
46 Ghana 35,064,272 0.43% 227,540
47 Peru 34,576,665 0.42% 1,280,000
48 Saudi Arabia 34,566,328 0.42% 2,149,690
49 Madagascar 32,740,678 0.40% 581,795
50 Côte d’Ivoire 32,711,547 0.40% 318,000
51 Cameroon 29,879,337 0.36% 472,710
52 Nepal 29,618,118 0.36% 143,350
53 Venezuela 28,516,896 0.35% 882,050
54 Niger 27,917,831 0.34% 1,266,700
55 Australia 26,974,026 0.33% 7,682,300
56 North Korea 26,571,036 0.32% 120,410
57 Syria 25,620,427 0.31% 183,630
58 Mali 25,198,821 0.31% 1,220,190
59 Burkina Faso 24,074,580 0.29% 273,600
60 Sri Lanka 23,229,470 0.28% 62,710
61 Malawi 22,216,120 0.27% 94,280
62 Zambia 21,913,874 0.27% 743,390
63 Chad 21,003,705 0.26% 1,259,200
64 Kazakhstan 20,843,754 0.25% 2,699,700
65 Chile 19,859,921 0.24% 743,532
66 Somalia 19,654,739 0.24% 627,340
67 Senegal 18,931,966 0.23% 192,530
68 Romania 18,908,650 0.23% 230,170
69 Guatemala 18,687,881 0.23% 107,160
70 Netherlands 18,346,819 0.22% 33,720
71 Ecuador 18,289,896 0.22% 248,360
72 Cambodia 17,847,982 0.22% 176,520
73 Zimbabwe 16,950,795 0.21% 386,850
74 Guinea 15,099,727 0.18% 245,720
75 Benin 14,814,460 0.18% 112,760
76 Rwanda 14,569,341 0.18% 24,670
77 Burundi 14,390,003 0.17% 25,680
78 Bolivia 12,581,843 0.15% 1,083,300
79 Tunisia 12,348,573 0.15% 155,360
80 South Sudan 12,188,788 0.15% 610,952
81 Haiti 11,906,095 0.14% 27,560
82 Belgium 11,758,603 0.14% 30,280
83 Jordan 11,520,684 0.14% 88,780
84 Dominican Republic 11,520,487 0.14% 48,320
85 United Arab Emirates 11,346,000 0.14% 83,600
86 Honduras 11,005,850 0.13% 111,890
87 Cuba 10,937,203 0.13% 106,440
88 Tajikistan 10,786,734 0.13% 139,960
89 Papua New Guinea 10,762,817 0.13% 452,860
90 Sweden 10,656,633 0.13% 410,340
91 Czech Republic (Czechia) 10,609,239 0.13% 77,240
92 Portugal 10,411,834 0.13% 91,590
93 Azerbaijan 10,397,713 0.13% 82,658
94 Greece 9,938,844 0.12% 128,900
95 Togo 9,721,608 0.12% 54,390
96 Hungary 9,632,287 0.12% 90,530
97 Israel 9,517,181 0.12% 21,640
98 Austria 9,113,574 0.11% 82,409
99 Belarus 8,997,603 0.11% 202,910
100 Switzerland 8,967,407 0.11% 39,516
101 Sierra Leone 8,819,794 0.11% 72,180
102 Laos 7,873,046 0.096% 230,800
103 Turkmenistan 7,618,847 0.093% 469,930
104 Libya 7,458,555 0.091% 1,759,540
105 Kyrgyzstan 7,295,034 0.089% 191,800
106 Paraguay 7,013,078 0.085% 397,300
107 Nicaragua 7,007,502 0.085% 120,340
108 Bulgaria 6,714,560 0.082% 108,560
109 Serbia 6,689,039 0.081% 87,460
110 Congo 6,484,437 0.079% 341,500
111 El Salvador 6,365,503 0.077% 20,720
112 Denmark 6,002,507 0.073% 42,430
113 Singapore 5,870,750 0.071% 700
114 Lebanon 5,849,421 0.071% 10,230
115 Liberia 5,731,206 0.070% 96,320
116 Finland 5,623,329 0.068% 303,890
117 Norway 5,623,071 0.068% 365,268
118 State of Palestine 5,589,623 0.068% 6,020
119 Central African Republic 5,513,282 0.067% 622,980
120 Oman 5,494,691 0.067% 309,500
121 Slovakia 5,474,881 0.067% 48,088
122 Mauritania 5,315,065 0.065% 1,030,700
123 Ireland 5,308,039 0.064% 68,890
124 New Zealand 5,251,899 0.064% 263,310
125 Costa Rica 5,152,950 0.063% 51,060
126 Kuwait 5,026,078 0.061% 17,820
127 Panama 4,571,189 0.056% 74,340
128 Croatia 3,848,160 0.047% 55,960
129 Georgia 3,806,671 0.046% 69,490
130 Eritrea 3,607,003 0.044% 101,000
131 Mongolia 3,517,100 0.043% 1,553,560
132 Uruguay 3,384,688 0.041% 175,020
133 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3,140,095 0.038% 51,000
134 Qatar 3,115,889 0.038% 11,610
135 Namibia 3,092,816 0.038% 823,290
136 Moldova 2,996,106 0.036% 32,850
137 Armenia 2,952,365 0.036% 28,470
138 Jamaica 2,837,077 0.034% 10,830
139 Lithuania 2,830,144 0.034% 62,674
140 Gambia 2,822,093 0.034% 10,120
141 Albania 2,771,508 0.034% 27,400
142 Gabon 2,593,130 0.032% 257,670
143 Botswana 2,562,122 0.031% 566,730
144 Lesotho 2,363,325 0.029% 30,360
145 Guinea-Bissau 2,249,515 0.027% 28,120
146 Slovenia 2,117,072 0.026% 20,140
147 Equatorial Guinea 1,938,431 0.024% 28,050
148 Latvia 1,853,559 0.023% 62,200
149 North Macedonia 1,813,791 0.022% 25,220
150 Bahrain 1,643,332 0.020% 760
151 Trinidad and Tobago 1,511,155 0.018% 5,130
152 Timor-Leste 1,418,517 0.017% 14,870
153 Cyprus 1,370,754 0.017% 9,240
154 Estonia 1,344,232 0.016% 42,390
155 Mauritius 1,268,280 0.015% 2,030
156 Eswatini 1,256,174 0.015% 17,200
157 Djibouti 1,184,076 0.014% 23,180
158 Fiji 933,154 0.011% 18,270
159 Comoros 882,847 0.011% 1,861
160 Solomon Islands 838,645 0.010% 27,990
161 Guyana 835,986 0.010% 196,850
162 Bhutan 796,682 0.0097% 38,117
163 Luxembourg 680,453 0.0083% 2,590
164 Suriname 639,850 0.0078% 156,000
165 Montenegro 632,729 0.0077% 13,450
166 Malta 545,405 0.0066% 320
167 Maldives 529,676 0.0064% 300
168 Cabo Verde 527,326 0.0064% 4,030
169 Brunei 466,330 0.0057% 5,270
170 Belize 422,924 0.0051% 22,810
171 Bahamas 403,033 0.0049% 10,010
172 Iceland 398,266 0.0048% 100,250
173 Vanuatu 335,169 0.0041% 12,190
174 Barbados 282,623 0.0034% 430
175 Sao Tome & Principe 240,254 0.0029% 960
176 Samoa 219,306 0.0027% 2,830
177 Saint Lucia 180,149 0.0022% 610
178 Kiribati 136,488 0.0017% 810
179 Seychelles 132,779 0.0016% 460
180 Grenada 117,303 0.0014% 340
181 Micronesia 113,683 0.0014% 700
182 Tonga 103,742 0.0013% 720
183 St. Vincent & Grenadines 99,924 0.0012% 390
184 Antigua and Barbuda 94,209 0.0011% 440
185 Andorra 82,904 0.0010% 470
186 Dominica 65,871 0.00080% 750
187 Saint Kitts & Nevis 46,922 0.00057% 260
188 Liechtenstein 40,128 0.00049% 160
189 Monaco 38,341 0.00047% 1
190 Marshall Islands 36,282 0.00044% 180
191 San Marino 33,572 0.00041% 60
192 Palau 17,663 0.00021% 460
193 Nauru 12,025 0.00015% 20
194 Tuvalu 9,492 0.00012% 30
195 Holy See 501 0.0000061% 0

Not All “Countries” Are Created Equal

There are also territories and regions that operate with a high degree of autonomy, sometimes even with their own passports and government—but they’re not officially recognized as independent countries. Examples include:

  • Taiwan: Functions as an independent state but not recognized by the UN due to pressure from China.

  • Kosovo: Recognized by over 100 countries, but not a UN member due to vetoes from Russia and China.

  • Western Sahara: Claimed by Morocco, but recognized by some countries as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

So… What’s the Real Answer?

In short:
👉 The most universally accepted number is 195 countries, but if you include other recognized or partially recognized nations, the number can climb over 200.

Curious Cases That Confuse the Count

  • Greenland: A part of Denmark, not its own country.

  • Hong Kong & Macau: Special Administrative Regions of China—not independent nations.

  • Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland: Part of the United Kingdom, not separate countries in a UN sense, but distinct in identity and governance.

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