How Many Countries Are There? The UN Has 193 Members, but What About the Rest?

The UN has 193 members, yet many people talk about 195 countries, and others say even more. The gap comes from two observer states and a handful of places with disputed status. Taiwan and Kosovo, for example, have their own governments, currencies and borders, but neither is a member of the United Nations. We looked into why, and who recognizes them.

How many countries does the UN recognize?

The UN currently has 193 member states, with South Sudan the most recent to join, in 2011. Alongside them there are two observer states: the Holy See (Vatican City) since 1964, and Palestine since 2012, when the General Assembly granted it non-member observer state status by a vote of 138 in favor, 9 against and 41 abstentions. Observers can take part in debates, but they can't vote. That's where the commonly quoted figure of 195 comes from.

How does a country become a UN member?

It isn't enough for a country to function well and be recognized by many others. The Security Council has to recommend admission, which takes nine votes in favor and no veto from any of the five permanent members (the US, China, Russia, the UK and France). Then the General Assembly has to approve it by a two-thirds majority. This is why a place recognized by dozens of countries can still be left outside the organization.

Taiwan: once a founding member, now outside

Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) was a founding member of the UN and represented China there until 1971. That year the General Assembly gave China's seat to the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan left the organization. It hasn't been back since, not even as an observer.

Taiwan has its own government, military, currency and borders, but Beijing considers it part of China and objects to other countries maintaining state-to-state relations with it. As a result, the number of formal diplomatic partners keeps shrinking: ten countries have switched to Beijing since 2016, leaving Taiwan with just 12 partners, 11 UN member states and the Holy See.

• The Americas: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Oceania: Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu
• Africa: Eswatini
• Europe: the Holy See (Vatican City)

Kosovo: widely recognized, still not a member

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. The exact number of countries recognizing it is disputed: Kosovo's foreign ministry cites 115 to 120, some tallies count at least 110, and Serbia claims a much lower figure, arguing that several countries have withdrawn their recognition.

Kosovo is recognized by the US, the UK, France, Japan, Canada and 22 of the 27 EU member states, including Hungary. Besides Serbia, Russia and China don't recognize it either, and since both hold a veto in the Security Council, that closes the door to UN membership. Within the EU, Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Romania and Greece have stayed out.

Palestine: an observer state

Palestine is recognized by more than 140 UN member states, making it the most widely recognized entity outside the UN. Full membership depends on Security Council approval, so since 2012 it has taken part in the organization as an observer state: it can co-sponsor resolutions, but it can't vote.

Other places with disputed status

• Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic): recognized by roughly 40 to 46 UN member states and a full member of the African Union
• Northern Cyprus: recognized only by Turkey
• Abkhazia and South Ossetia: recognized by Russia and only a few other states
• Transnistria: a breakaway region of Moldova that no UN member state currently recognizes
• Cook Islands and Niue: in free association with New Zealand, but not UN members

So how many countries are there?

The most common answer is 195: 193 member states and 2 observers. Count Taiwan and Kosovo too and you reach 197, and depending on the criteria it can be even higher. There is no single definition everyone agrees on. In international law, the classic criteria for statehood (a permanent population, a defined territory, a working government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states) come from the 1933 Montevideo Convention, but whether a state must be recognized in order to exist is still debated today.

If you're counting how many countries you've visited, the total also depends on where you draw the line. The UN list is a good starting point, but not everyone treats the same places as countries.