List of Countries in the World (And Their Continents)

We have listed 197 countries in the world. In our list of countries, we have included the UN member states, the countries recognized by the United States, and the independent states of the world.

We’ve also included Kosovo, the Holy See (Vatican City), the Cook Islands, and Niue. The United States recognizes these nations as independent countries.

country names around the world
Country names around the world map. View enlarged map here (Shutterstock)

List of country names from A-Z

Here is the alphabetical list of the country names with their capitals. We have also included the countries’ regions, the international standard for country codes (ISO 3166), and continents.

CountryCountry CapitalCountry CodeRegionContinent
AfghanistanKabulAFSouth-Central AsiaAsia
AlbaniaTiranaALBalkan Peninsula, Southeastern EuropeEurope
AlgeriaAlgiersDZNorthern AfricaAfrica
AndorraAndorra la Vella ADSouthwestern EuropeEurope
AngolaLuandaAOSouthwest AfricaAfrica
Antigua and BarbudaSt. John'sAGLesser Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
ArgentinaBuenos AiresARSouthern South AmericaSouth America
ArmeniaYerevanAMCauscasus Region, Southwestern AsiaAsia
AustraliaCanberraAUOceaniaAustralia
AustriaViennaATCentral EuropeEurope
AzerbaijanBakuAZCauscasus Region, Southwestern AsiaAsia, Europe
Bahamas, TheNassauBSNorth Atlantic OceanNorth America
BahrainManamaBHArabian Peninsula, Middle EastAsia
BangladeshDhakaBDSouthern AsiaAsia
BarbadosBridgetownBBLesser Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
BelarusMinskBYEastern EuropeEurope
BelgiumBrusselsBEWestern EuropeEurope
BelizeBelmopanBZCentral AmericaNorth America
Benin (Dahomey)Porto-NovoBJWestern AfricaAfrica
BhutanThimphuBTSouthern AsiaAsia
BoliviaLa Paz (administrative capital), Sucre (constitutional capital)BOCentral South AmericaSouth America
Bosnia and HerzegovinaSarajevoBABalkan Peninsula, Southeastern EuropeEurope
BotswanaGaboroneBWSouthern AfricaAfrica
BrazilBrasiliaBREastern South AmericaSouth America
BruneiBandar Seri BegawanBNSoutheastern AsiaAsia
BulgariaSofiaBGBalkan Peninsula, Southeastern EuropeEurope
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)OuagadougouBFWestern AfricaAfrica
BurundiGitega (political capital), Bujumbura (commercial capital)BIEastern AfricaAfrica
Cabo VerdePraiaCVWestern AfricaAfrica
CambodiaPhnom PenhKHSoutheastern AsiaAsia
CameroonYaoundéCMWestern AfricaAfrica
CanadaOttawaCANorthern North AmericaNorth America
Central African RepublicBanguiCFCentral AfricaAfrica
ChadN'DjamenaTDCentral AfricaAfrica
ChileSantiagoCLSouthern South AmericaSouth America
ChinaBeijingCNEastern AsiaAsia
ColombiaBogotaCONorthernwestern South AmericaSouth America
ComorosMoroniKMEastern African CoastAfrica
Cook IslandsAvaruaCKPolynesia, OceaniaAustralia
Costa RicaSan JoseCRCentral AmericaNorth America
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)Yamoussoukro (legislative capital), Abidjan (administrative capital)CIWestern AfricaAfrica
CroatiaZagrebHRBalkan Peninsula, Southeastern EuropeEurope
CubaHavanaCUGreater Antilles, CarbbeanNorth America
CyprusNicosiaCYMiddle EastAsia
Czechia (Czech Republic)PragueCZCentral EuropeEurope
Democratic Republic of the CongoKinshasaCDCentral AfricaAfrica
DenmarkCopenhagenDKNorthern EuropeEurope
DjiboutiDjibouti cityDJEastern AfricaAfrica
DominicaRoseauDMLesser Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
Dominican RepublicSanto DomingoDOGreater Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
EcuadorQuitoECWestern South AmericaSouth America
EgyptCairoEGNortheastern Africa, Southwestern AsiaAfrica, Asia
El SalvadorSan SalvadorSVCentral AmericaNorth America
Equatorial GuineaMalaboGQWestern Central AfricaAfrica
EritreaAsmaraERNortheastern AfricaAfrica
EstoniaTallinnEEEastern EuropeEurope
Eswatini (Swaziland)Mbabane (administrative capital), Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)SZSouthern AfricaAfrica
EthiopiaAddis AbabaETEastern AfricaAfrica
FijiSuvaFJMelanesia, OceaniaAustralia
FinlandHelsinkiFINorthern EuropeEurope
FranceParisFRWestern EuropeEurope
GabonLibrevilleGACentral AfricaAfrica
Gambia, TheBanjulGMWestern AfricaAfrica
GeorgiaTbilisiGECauscasus Region, Southwestern AsiaEurope, Asia
GermanyBerlinDECentral EuropeEurope
GhanaAccraGHWestern AfricaAfrica
GreeceAthensGRSouthern EuropeEurope
GrenadaSaint George'sGDLesser Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
GuatemalaGuatemala CityGTCentral AmericaNorth America
GuineaConakryGNWestern AfricaAfrica
Guinea-BissauBissauGWWestern AfricaAfrica
GuyanaGeorgetownGYNorthern South AmericaSouth America
HaitiPort-au-PrinceHTGreater Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
Holy See (Vatican City)Vatican CityVASouthern Europe within ItalyEurope
HondurasTegucigalpaHNCentral AmericaNorth America
HungaryBudapestHUCentral EuropeEurope
IcelandReykjavíkISNorthern EuropeEurope
IndiaNew DelhiINSouthern AsiaAsia
IndonesiaJakartaIDSoutheastern AsiaAsia
IranTehranIRMiddle EastAsia
IraqBaghdadIQMiddle EastAsia
IrelandDublinIENorthwestern EuropeEurope
IsraelJerusalemILMiddle EastAsia
ItalyRomeITSouthern EuropeEurope
JamaicaKingstonJMGreater Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
JapanTokyoJPEastern AsiaAsia
JordanAmmanJOMiddle EastAsia
KazakhstanAstanaKZCentral Asia, Eastern EuropeAsia, Europe
KenyaNairobiKEEastern AfricaAfrica
KiribatiTarawaKIMicronesia, OceaniaAustralia
Korea, Democratic People's Republic ofPyongyangKPEastern AsiaAsia
KosovoPristinaKVBalkan Peninsula, Southeasten EuropeEurope
KuwaitKuwait CityKWMiddle EastAsia
KyrgyzstanBishkekKGCentral AsiaAsia
LaosVientianeLASoutheastern AsiaAsia
LatviaRigaLVEastern EuropeEurope
LebanonBeirutLBMiddle EastAsia
LesothoMaseruLSSouthern AfricaAfrica
LiberiaMonroviaLRWestern AfricaAfrica
LibyaTripoliLYNorthern AfricaAfrica
LiechtensteinVaduzLICentral EuropeEurope
LithuaniaVilniusLTEastern EuropeEurope
LuxembourgLuxembourgLUWestern EuropeEurope
MadagascarAntananarivoMGSoutheastern Africa CoastAfrica
MalawiLilongweMWSoutheastern AfricaAfrica
MalaysiaFederal Territory of Kuala LumpurMYSoutheastern AsiaAsia
MaldivesMaléMVSouthern AsiaAsia
MaliBamakoMLWestern AfricaAfrica
MaltaVallettaMTSouthern EuropeEurope
Marshall IslandsMajuroMHMicronesia, OceaniaAustralia
MauritaniaNouakchottMRWestern AfricaAfrica
MauritiusPort LouisMUSouthern AfricaAfrica
MexicoMexico CityMXNorth AmericaNorth America
MicronesiaPalikirFMMicronesia, OceaniaAustralia
MoldovaChișinăuMDEastern EuropeEurope
MonacoMonacoMCWestern EuropeEurope
MongoliaUlaanbaatarMNCentral AsiaAsia
MontenegroPodgoricaMEBalkan Peninsula, Southeastern EuropeEurope
MoroccoRabatMANorthern AfricaAfrica
MozambiqueMaputoMZSoutheastern AfricaAfrica
Myanmar (Burma)NaypyidawMMSoutheastern AsiaAsia
NamibiaWindhoekNASouthern AfricaAfrica
NauruYaren (de facto)NRMicronesia, OceaniaAustralia
NepalKathmanduNPSouthern AsiaAsia
Netherlands, TheAmsterdamNLNorthwestern EuropeEurope
New ZealandWellingtonNZOceaniaAustralia
NicaraguaManaguaNICentral AmericaNorth America
NigerNiameyNEWestern AfricaAfrica
NigeriaAbujaNGWestern AfricaAfrica
NiueAlofiNUPolynesia, OceaniaAustralia
North MacedoniaSkopjeMDKBalkan Peninsula, Southeast EuropeEurope
NorwayOsloNONorthern EuropeEurope
OmanMuscatOMArabian Peninsula, Middle EastAsia
PakistanIslamabadPKSouthern AsiaAsia
PalauNgerulmudPWMicronesia, OceaniaAustralia
PanamaPanama CityPACentral AmericaNorth America
Papua New GuineaPort MoresbyPGMelanesia, OceaniaAustralia
ParaguayAsunciónPYCentral South AmericaSouth America
PeruLimaPEWestern South AmericaSouth America
PhilippinesManilaPHSoutheastern AsiaAsia
PolandWarsawPLCentral EuropeEurope
PortugalLisbonPTSouthwestern EuropeEurope
QatarDohaQAArabian Peninsula, Middle EastAsia
Republic of Korea (South Korea)SeoulKREastern AsiaAsia
Republic of the CongoBrazzavilleCGCentral AfricaAfrica
RomaniaBucharestROBalkan Peninsula, South-East EuropeEurope
RussiaMoscowRUEastern Europe and Northern AsiaEurope, Asia
RwandaKigaliRWCentral AfricaAfrica
Saint Kitts and NevisBasseterreKNLesser Antolles, CaribbeanNorth America
Saint LuciaCastriesLCLesser Antolles, CaribbeanNorth America
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesKingstownVCLesser Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
SamoaApiaWSPolynesia, OceaniaAustralia
San MarinoSan MarinoSMSouthern Europe within ItalyEurope
São Tomé and PríncipeSão ToméSTCentral Africa Africa
Saudi ArabiaRiyadhSAArabian Peninsula, Middle EastAsia
SenegalDakarSNWestern AfricaAfrica
SerbiaBelgradeRSBalkan Peninsula, South-East EuropeEurope
SeychellesVictoriaSCEastern African CoastAfrica
Sierra LeoneFreetownSLWestern AfricaAfrica
SingaporeSingaporeSGSoutheastern AsiaAsia
SlovakiaBratislavaSKCentral EuropeEurope
SloveniaLjubljanaSIBalkan Peninsula, Central EuropeEurope
Solomon Islands, TheHoniaraSBMelanesia, OceaniaAustralia
SomaliaMogadishuSOEastern AfricaAfrica
South AfricaPretoria (administrative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial capital), Cape Town (legislative capital)ZASouthern AfricaAfrica
South SudanJubaSSEast-Central AfricaAfrica
SpainMadridESSouthwestern EuropeEurope
Sri LankaSri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital), Colombo (judicial capital)LKSouthern AsiaAsia
SudanKhartoumSDNortheastern AfricaAfrica
SurinameParamariboSRNorthern South AmericaSouth America
SwedenStockholmSENorthern EuropeEurope
SwitzerlandBernCHCentral EuropeEurope
SyriaDamascusSYMIddle EastAsia
TajikistanDushanbeTJCentral AsiaAsia
TanzaniaDodomaTZEastern AfricaAfrica
ThailandBangkokTHSoutheastern AsiaAsia
Timor-LesteDiliTLMaritime South-East AsiaAsia
TogoLoméTGWestern AfricaAfrica
TongaNukuʻalofaTOPolynesia, OceaniaAustralia
Trinidad and TobagoPort of SpainTTLesser Antilles, CaribbeanNorth America
TunisiaTunisTNNorthern AfricaAfrica
Türkiye (Turkey)AnkaraTRSoutheastern Europe, Western AsiaEurope, Asia
TurkmenistanAshgabatTMCentral AsiaAsia
TuvaluFunafutiTVPolynesia, OceaniaAustralia
UgandaKampalaUGEast-Central AfricaAfrica
UkraineKyivUAEastern EuropeEurope
United Arab Emirates, TheAbu DhabiAEArabian Peninsula, Middle EastAsia
United Kingdom, TheLondonGBNorthwestern EuropeEurope
United States, TheWashington D.C.USNorth AmericaNorth America
UruguayMontevideoUYSoutheastern South AmericaSouth America
UzbekistanTashkentUZCentral AsiaAsia
VanuatuPort-VilaVAMelanesia, OceaniaAustralia
VenezuelaCaracasVENorthern South AmericaSouth America
VietnamHanoiVDSoutheastern AsiaAsia
YemenSana'aYEArabian Peninsula, Middle EastAsia
ZambiaLusakaZMSouth-Central AfricaAfrica
ZimbabweHarareZWSouthern AfricaAfrica

Country names by continent

The world has seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia (Oceania), North America and South America.

Countries of the World Map
List of continents and their position on the world map (Shutterstock)

Africa (54): Algeria, Angola, Benin (Dahomey), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Read more: Countries in Africa

Asia (49): Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea (Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of), Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea (Republic of Korea), Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Türkiye (Turkey), Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.

Read more: Countries in Asia

Australia and Oceania (16): Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Read more: Oceanian Countries

Europe (49): Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia (Czech Republic), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye (Turkey), Ukraine, United Kingdom.

Read more: European Countries

North America (23): Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States.

Read more: Countries in North America

South America (12): Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Read more: Countries in South America

Please note that some countries are part of more than one continent. Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Türkiye (Turkey) are part of two continents: Europe and Asia. Egypt sits in both Africa and Asia.

Some points to note about the countries we included:

The Cook Islands and Niue: While they are self-governing and operating as independent countries, the United Nations does not recognize them as full member states. New Zealand retains responsibility for their defense and foreign affairs.

The US officially recognized and established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign, independent states in September 2023.

Taiwan: A few countries recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, but due to political pressure from China, it is not universally recognized, nor is it a UN member. The US recognizes Taiwan as part of China.

Kosovo: It is recognized by over 100 countries but is not a UN member due to the non-recognition by some countries, including Serbia.

Holy See (Vatican City): It is widely recognized as a sovereign entity, but it is not a full member of the UN.

While we listed 197 countries in the world, this number is up for debate. For further clarification, please read: How many countries are there in the world?

Education writer at Facts Institute | Website

Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. A teacher for seven years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.

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