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The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty.
The 205 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership within the United Nations System: 193 UN member states,[1] 2 UN General Assembly non-member observer states, and 10 other states. The sovereignty dispute column indicates states having undisputed sovereignty (188 states, of which there are 187 UN member states and 1 UN General Assembly non-member observer state), states having disputed sovereignty (15 states, of which there are 6 UN member states, 1 UN General Assembly non-member observer state, and 8 de facto states), and states having a special political status (2 states, both in free association with New Zealand).
Compiling a list such as this can be a complicated and controversial process, as there is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations concerning the criteria for statehood. For more information on the criteria used to determine the contents of this list, please see the criteria for inclusion section below. The list is intended to include entities that have been recognised as having de facto status as sovereign states, and inclusion should not be seen as an endorsement of any specific claim to statehood in legal terms.
Criteria for inclusion
The dominant customary international law standard of statehood is the declarative theory of statehood, which was codified by the Montevideo Convention of 1933. The Convention defines the state as a person of international law if it "possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) a capacity to enter into relations with the other states" so long as it was not "obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure".[2]
Debate exists on the degree to which recognition should be included as a criterion of statehood. The declarative theory of statehood argues that statehood is purely objective and recognition of a state by other states is irrelevant. On the other end of the spectrum, the constitutive theory of statehood defines a state as a person under international law only if it is recognised as sovereign by other states. For the purposes of this list, included are all polities that consider themselves sovereign states (through a declaration of independence or some other means) and either:
- are often regarded as satisfying the declarative theory of statehood, or
- are recognised as a sovereign state by at least one UN member state
In some cases, there is a divergence of opinion over the interpretation of the first point, and whether an entity satisfies it is disputed. Unique political entities which fail to meet the classification of a sovereign state are considered proto-states.[3][4]
On the basis of the above criteria, this list includes the following 205 entities:[a][b]
- 203 states recognised by at least one UN member state
- 1 state that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is recognised only by non-UN member states
- 1 state that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is not recognised by any other state
The table includes bullets in the right-hand column representing entities that are either not sovereign states or have a close association to another sovereign state. It also includes subnational areas where the sovereignty of the titular state is limited by an international agreement. Taken together, these include:
- Entities that are in a free association relationship with another state
- 2 entities controlled by Pakistan which are neither sovereign states, dependent territories, nor part of another state: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
- Dependent territories of another state, as well as areas that exhibit many characteristics of dependent territories according to the dependent territory page
- Subnational entities created by international agreements
List of states
UN member states and General Assembly observer states
"Membership within the UN System" column legend |
"Sovereignty dispute" column legend Undisputed sovereignty
Disputed sovereignty
|
Common and formal names | Membership within the UN System[c] | Sovereignty dispute[d] | Further information on status and recognition of sovereignty[f] |
---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | UN member state | None | The de facto ruling government, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has not been recognised by any state. The United Nations continues to recognise the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as the government of Afghanistan.[5][6] |
Albania – Republic of Albania | UN member state | None | |
Algeria – People's Democratic Republic of Algeria | UN member state | None | |
Andorra – Principality of Andorra | UN member state | None | Andorra is a co-principality in which the office of head of state is jointly held ex officio by the French president and the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Urgell,[7] who himself is appointed with approval from the Holy See. |
Angola – Republic of Angola | UN member state | None | |
Antigua and Barbuda | UN member state | None | Antigua and Barbuda is a Commonwealth realm[g] with one autonomous region, Barbuda.[8][h] |
Argentina – Argentine Republic[i] | UN member state | None | Argentina is a federation of 23 provinces and one autonomous city.[j] |
Armenia – Republic of Armenia | UN member state | Not recognised by Pakistan. | Armenia is not recognised by Pakistan due to the dispute over Artsakh.[10][11][12] |
Australia – Commonwealth of Australia | UN member state | None | Australia is a Commonwealth realm[g] and a federation of both states and territories. There are six states, three internal territories, six external territories and one claimed Antarctic external territory. The external territories of Australia are: |
Austria – Republic of Austria | UN member state | None | Member of the European Union.[e] Austria is a federation of nine states. |
Azerbaijan – Republic of Azerbaijan[k] | UN member state | None | Azerbaijan contains one autonomous region, Nakhchivan.[h] |
Bahamas, The – Commonwealth of The Bahamas[14] | UN member state | None | The Bahamas is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
Bahrain – Kingdom of Bahrain | UN member state | None | |
Bangladesh – People's Republic of Bangladesh | UN member state | None | |
Barbados | UN member state | None | |
Belarus – Republic of Belarus | UN member state | None | Many states rescinded their recognition of President Alexander Lukashenko following the disputed 2020 election. Lithuania currently recognises Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Coordination Council as the legitimate government of Belarus.[15] |
Belgium – Kingdom of Belgium | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Belgium is a federation of three linguistic communities and three regions. |
Belize | UN member state | None | Belize is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
Benin – Republic of Benin | UN member state | None | |
Bhutan – Kingdom of Bhutan | UN member state | None | |
Bolivia – Plurinational State of Bolivia | UN member state | None | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | UN member state | None | Bosnia and Herzegovina has two constituent entities:
and Brčko District, a self-governing administrative district.[16] |
Botswana – Republic of Botswana | UN member state | None | |
Brazil – Federative Republic of Brazil | UN member state | None | Brazil is a federation of 26 states and one federal district. |
Brunei – Brunei Darussalam | UN member state | None | |
Bulgaria – Republic of Bulgaria | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
Burkina Faso | UN member state | None | |
Burundi – Republic of Burundi | UN member state | None | |
Cambodia – Kingdom of Cambodia | UN member state | None | |
Cameroon – Republic of Cameroon | UN member state | None | |
Canada[l] | UN member state | None | Canada is a Commonwealth realm[g] and a federation of ten provinces and three territories. |
Cape Verde – Republic of Cabo Verde[m] | UN member state | None | |
Central African Republic | UN member state | None | |
Chad – Republic of Chad | UN member state | None | |
Chile – Republic of Chile | UN member state | None | Chile has one special territory, Easter Island.[n] |
China – People's Republic of China[o] | UN member state | Partially unrecognised. Claimed by the Republic of China | China contains five autonomous regions, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang.[h] Additionally, it has sovereignty over the Special Administrative Regions of:
China claims, but does not control, Taiwan, which is governed by a rival administration (the Republic of China) that claims all of China as its territory.[p] China is not recognised by 11 UN member states and Vatican City, which, with the exception of Bhutan, all recognise the Republic of China (Taiwan) instead.[q] |
Colombia – Republic of Colombia | UN member state | None | |
Comoros – Union of the Comoros | UN member state | None | Comoros is a federation of three islands.[r] |
Congo, Democratic Republic of the[s] | UN member state | None | |
Congo, Republic of the[t] | UN member state | None | |
Costa Rica – Republic of Costa Rica | UN member state | None | |
Croatia – Republic of Croatia | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
Cuba – Republic of Cuba | UN member state | None | |
Cyprus – Republic of Cyprus | UN member state | Not recognised by Turkey[19] | Member of the EU.[e] The northeastern part of the island is the de facto state of Northern Cyprus.
Cyprus is not recognised by Turkey due to the Cyprus dispute, with Turkey recognising Northern Cyprus. |
Czech Republic[u] | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
Denmark – Kingdom of Denmark | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] The Kingdom of Denmark includes 2 self-governing territories:
The metropolitan territory of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland form the three constituent countries of the Kingdom.[v] The Kingdom of Denmark as a whole is a member of the EU, but EU law (in most cases) does not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland. See Greenland and the European Union, and Faroe Islands and the European Union for more information.[20][21] |
Djibouti – Republic of Djibouti | UN member state | None | |
Dominica – Commonwealth of Dominica | UN member state | None | |
Dominican Republic | UN member state | None | |
East Timor – Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste[w] | UN member state | None | |
Ecuador – Republic of Ecuador | UN member state | None | |
Egypt – Arab Republic of Egypt | UN member state | None | |
El Salvador – Republic of El Salvador | UN member state | None | |
Equatorial Guinea – Republic of Equatorial Guinea | UN member state | None | |
Eritrea – State of Eritrea | UN member state | None | |
Estonia – Republic of Estonia | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
Eswatini – Kingdom of Eswatini[x] | UN member state | None | |
Ethiopia – Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | UN member state | None | Ethiopia is a federation of eleven regions and two chartered cities. |
Fiji – Republic of Fiji | UN member state | None | Fiji contains one autonomous region, Rotuma.[h][22][23] |
Finland – Republic of Finland | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
France – French Republic | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] France contains five overseas regions/departments; French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion. France also includes the overseas territories of: |
Gabon – Gabonese Republic | UN member state | None | |
Gambia, The – Republic of The Gambia[24] | UN member state | None | |
Georgia | UN member state | None | Georgia contains two autonomous republics, Adjara and Abkhazia.[h] In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, de facto states have been formed. |
Germany – Federal Republic of Germany | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Germany is a federation of 16 states. |
Ghana – Republic of Ghana | UN member state | None | |
Greece – Hellenic Republic | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] Greece contains one autonomous area, Mount Athos.[25] |
Grenada | UN member state | None | Grenada is a Commonwealth realm.[g] |
Guatemala – Republic of Guatemala | UN member state | None | |
Guinea – Republic of Guinea[aa] | UN member state | None | |
Guinea-Bissau – Republic of Guinea-Bissau | UN member state | None | |
Guyana – Co-operative Republic of Guyana | UN member state | None | |
Haiti – Republic of Haiti | UN member state | None | |
Honduras – Republic of Honduras | UN member state | None | |
Hungary | UN member state | None | Member of the EU.[e] |
Iceland[ab] – Republic of Iceland | UN member state | None | |
India – Republic of India | UN member state | None | India is a federation of 28 states and eight union territories. |
Indonesia – Republic of Indonesia | UN member state | None | Indonesia has nine autonomous provinces, Aceh, Jakarta, Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, West Papua, and Yogyakarta.[h] |
Iran – Islamic Republic of Iran | UN member state | None | |
Iraq – Republic of Iraq | UN member state | None | Iraq is a federation[r][29] of 19 governorates, four of which make up the autonomous Kurdistan Region.[h] |