: These are the fully recognized sovereign nations that have voting rights in the UN General Assembly .
There is no single answer to how many countries exist because the definition of a "country" depends on who is being asked. As of , the most widely accepted count is 195 , which includes the 193 member states of the United Nations plus two non-member observer states. The Core Lists how many countries are there in the world
: Organizations like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognize 206 "National Olympic Committees," which includes dependent territories like Puerto Rico and American Samoa that compete as their own nations. : These are the fully recognized sovereign nations
The total can vary significantly based on different levels of international recognition: how many countries are there in the world