List of sovereign states

This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states.

In order to be listed here as a de facto independent country, Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention from 1933 is followed, which means that the entity should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population, (b) a defined territory, (c) government, and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states. Also, the entity doesn't accept that the state de jure\ comprises part of the territory of another country. In the case of the inclusion of a de facto independent state, a note explains the reason for its inclusion.

The notes include information on:-

The reason why a non-de jure state is listed (also listed at the de jure state) ¹
The overseas dependencies ²
The federal structures if applicable ³
The autonomous entities inside the territory of the sovereign state ⁴

The names are given in English and in the official language(s) of the state.

The names in English are the short official names (e.g. Afghanistan) and the (longer) official name (e.g. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan).

The names in the native languages are the short and official names in the official language(s). If needed, they have been transliterated into Romanized characters, but original scripts (such as Cyrillic or Chinese characters) are included. When possible, the romanization preferred by the country has been used.
The listing of any name in this article is not meant to imply an official position in any naming dispute. Entities considered to be micronations that are internationally not recognized are not included.

The count

As of November 2004, there are 201 entities on this list. It corresponds to:

193 countries in List of countries by area, including:

* 191 United Nations member states

* Republic of China (Taiwan)

* Vatican City

Six de-facto independent countries (Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, South Ossetia, Transnistria)

Two entities recognized by many countries but de-facto not independent, Palestine and Western Sahara.
Not listed below are various disputed territories which fall into neither of the last two categories, including Jubaland, Puntland, Cabinda, Kosovo, Kurdistan (Iraq), and Kurdistan (Turkey).

The sovereign states

Notes

¹: This list includes de facto independent countries. More information can be found at the list of unrecognized countries.

²: Some sovereign states have overseas dependencies, generally not part of the territory of the state. More information can be found at the List of dependent countries.

³: Some sovereign states have more or less federal structures. More information can be found at a List of federations.

⁴: Some sovereign states have autonomous entities as part of the territory of the state. More information can be found at the list of autonomous entities.

⁵: The Republic of Macedonia is known also as "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", see Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia.

⁶: Western Sahara: see Politics of Western Sahara

⁷: Palestine: "State of Palestine" was declared 1988 and recognized by a series of Arab and Muslim countries, see also: proposals for a Palestinian state and Palestinian territories. Gaza Strip, West Bank, Israel include country articles about areas in the Palestine region.

⁸: Kosovo (Kosova - Kosovo i Metohija / Косово и Метохија), a Serbian autonomous province, is under UN administration since 1999

⁹: Somalia is a country that currently only exists in a de jure capacity

¹⁰: Also known as Ivory Coast (which was formerly its official name)

¹¹: Also known as Burma (which was formerly its official name)