Country/Catalogs

The word country is not defined easily. In its simplest form, a country is just an area of land. However, it is also commonly used to refer to the State that controls the land or to refer to the nation that lives on the land. This is often additionally confused since the territory, state (government) and nation frequently share the same name. So we could consider a country to be the entity that is formed by all three parts, State (government), Nation (people) and territory (land).

However, complications can arise. For example the territory of the islands of Ireland are not coterminous with the territory controlled by a single Irish State. There are clear cultural affinities north and south of a border between two sovereign entities, but almost all the inhabitants of the Irish islands still consider themselves Irish and living in the country of Ireland. In other cases, such as the American aboriginals, the nation remains but has been stripped of its territory. Without territory, it cannot be considered a country.

This list tries to use an inclusive definition. For the most part, it contains internationally recognised countries with a fully autonomous and independent state with recognised territory that is home to the population of that State. However, at the bottom of the page we have also listed some states or territories that are disputed. We have also tried to explain in brief the reason for the dispute.

Some territories, commonly referred to as countries, make up part of a larger State through union. For example Scotland, England and Wales are all commonly known as countries. However, they are not independent of each other. While Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have a level of autonomy through recent devolution of powers, they remain a constituent part of the United Kingdom. Other territories display a high level of autonomy but are considered to belong to or be dependant upon a larger state. We have not listed such territories in column 1 of the table but rather listed them as a division of the parent state.

Widely Recognised Countries

Name	Capital	Currency	Population 2005 (Thousands)	Head of state
Afghanistan	Kabul	Afghani	29,863	President Ashraf Ghanie
Albania	Tirana	Lek	3,130	President Bujar Nishanie
Algeria	Algiers	Algerian dinar	32,854	Abdelaziz Bouteflikae
Andorra	Andorra la Vella	Euro	67	Joan-Enric Vives i Sicília and Emmanuel Macrone
Angola	Luanda	Kwanza	15,941	Click here to add the name
Antigua and Barbuda	Saint John's	East Caribbean dollar	81	Click here to add the name
Argentina	Buenos Aires	Argentine peso	38,747	Click here to add the name
Armenia	Yerevan	Armenian dram	3,016	Click here to add the name
Australia	Canberra	Australian dollar	20,155	King Charles IIIe
Austria	Vienna	Euro	8,189	Click here to add the name
Azerbaijan	Baku	Azerbaijani manat	8,411	Click here to add the name
Bahamas	Nassau	Bahamian dollar	323	Click here to add the name
Bahrain	Manama	Bahraini dinar	727	Click here to add the name
Bangladesh	Dhaka	Taka	141,822	Click here to add the name
Barbados	Bridgetown	Barbadian dollar	270	Click here to add the name
Belarus	Minsk	Belarusian rouble	9,755	Click here to add the name
Belgium	Brussels	Euro	10,419	Click here to add the name
Belize	Belmopan	Belizean Dollar	270	Click here to add the name
Benin	Porto Novo (Official) Cotonou (De facto)	CFA franc	8,439	Click here to add the name
Bhutan	Thimphu	Ngultrum	2,163	Click here to add the name
Bolivia	Sucre (Judicial) La Paz (Administrative)	Boliviano	9,182	Click here to add the name
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	convertible mark	3,907	Click here to add the name
Botswana	Gaborone	Botswana pula	1,765	Click here to add the name
Brazil	Brasilia	Brazilian real	186,405	Click here to add the name
Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan	Bruneian dollar	374	Click here to add the name
Bulgaria	Sofia	Lev	7,726	Click here to add the name
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	CFA franc	13,228	Click here to add the name
Burundi	Bujumbura	Burundi franc	7,548	Click here to add the name
Cambodia	Phnom Penh	Cambodian riel	14,071	Click here to add the name
Cameroon	Yaoundé	CFA franc	16,322	Click here to add the name
Canada	Ottawa	Canadian dollar	32,623	Queen Elizabeth IIe
Cape Verde	Praia	Cape Verdean escudo	507	Click here to add the name
Central African Republic	Bangui	CFA franc	4,038	Click here to add the name
Chad	N'Djamena	CFA franc	9,749	Click here to add the name
Chile	Santiago	Chilean peso	16,295	Click here to add the name
People's Republic of China	Beijing	Renminbi Hong Kong Dollar Macao pataca	1,315,844	Click here to add the name
Colombia	Bogota	Colombian peso	45,600	Click here to add the name
Comoros	Moroni	Comorian franc	798	Click here to add the name
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	Congolese franc	57,549	Click here to add the name
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	CFA franc	3,999	Click here to add the name
Costa Rica	San José	Costa Rican colón	4,327	Click here to add the name
Côte d'Ivoire	Yamoussoukro	CFA franc	18,154	Click here to add the name
Croatia	Zagreb	Kuna	4,551	Click here to add the name
Cuba	Havana	Cuban peso	11,269	Click here to add the name
Cyprus	Nicosia	Euro	835	Click here to add the name
Czech Republic	Prague	Czech koruna	10,220	Click here to add the name
Denmark	Copenhagen	Danish krone	5,431	Click here to add the name
Djibouti	Djibouti	Djibouti franc	793	Click here to add the name
Dominica	Roseau	East Caribbean dollar	79	Click here to add the name
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	Dominican peso	8,895	Click here to add the name
Ecuador	Quito	United States dollar	13,228	Click here to add the name
Egypt	Cairo	Egyptian pound	74,033	Click here to add the name
El Salvador	San Salvador	El Salvador colón United States dollar	6,881	Click here to add the name
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	CFA franc	504	Click here to add the name
Eritrea	Asmara	Nakfa	4,401	Click here to add the name
Estonia	Tallinn	Euro	1,330	Click here to add the name
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	Birr	77,431	Click here to add the name
Fiji	Suva	Fiji dollar	848	Click here to add the name
Finland	Helsinki	Euro	5,249	Click here to add the name
France	Paris	Euro	60,496	Emmanuel Macrone
Gabon	Libreville	CFA franc	1,384	Click here to add the name
Gambia	Banjul	Dalasi	1,517	Click here to add the name
Georgia	Tbilisi	Lari	4,474	Click here to add the name
Germany	Berlin	Euro	82,689	Click here to add the name
Ghana	Accra	Cedi	22,113	Click here to add the name
Greece	Athens	Euro	11,120	Click here to add the name
Grenada	St. George's	East Caribbean dollar	103	Click here to add the name
Guatemala	Guatemala City	Quetzal United States dollar	12,599	Click here to add the name
Guinea	Conakry	Guinea franc	9,402	Click here to add the name
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	CFA franc	1,586	Click here to add the name
Guyana	Georgetown	Guyana dollar	751	Click here to add the name
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	Gourde	8,528	Click here to add the name
Honduras	Tegucigalpa	Lempira	7,205	Click here to add the name
Hungary	Budapest	Forint	10,098	Click here to add the name
Iceland	Reykjavik	Icelandic Króna	295	Click here to add the name
India	New Delhi	Indian rupee	1,103,371	Click here to add the name
Indonesia	Jakarta	Rupiah	222,781	Click here to add the name
Iran	Tehran	Iranian rial	69,515	Click here to add the name
Iraq	Baghdad	Iraqi dinar	28,807	Click here to add the name
Ireland	Dublin	Euro	4,240	Click here to add the name
Israel	Jerusalem	New (Israeli) Sheqel (NIS)	6,725	Click here to add the name
Italy	Rome	Euro	58,093	Click here to add the name
Jamaica	Kingston	Jamaican dollar	2,651	Click here to add the name
Japan	Tokyo	Yen	128,085	Click here to add the name
Jordan	Amman	Jordanian dinar	5,703	Click here to add the name
Kazakhstan	Astana	Tenge	14,825	Click here to add the name
Kenya	Nairobi	Kenyan shilling	34,256	Click here to add the name
Kiribati	South Tarawa	Australian dollar	99	Click here to add the name
North Korea	Pyongyang	North Korean won	22,488	Click here to add the name
South Korea	Seoul	South Korean won	47,817	Click here to add the name
Kuwait	Kuwait City	Kuwaiti dinar	2,687	Click here to add the name
Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	Kyrgyz som	5,264	Click here to add the name
Laos	Vientiane	Kip	5,924	Click here to add the name
Latvia	Riga	Lats	2,307	Click here to add the name
Lebanon	Beirut	Lebanese pound	3,577	Click here to add the name
Lesotho	Maseru	Loti South African rand	1,795	Click here to add the name
Liberia	Monrovia	Liberian dollar	3,283	Click here to add the name
Libya	Tripoli	Libyan dinar	5,853	Click here to add the name
Liechtenstein	Vaduz	Swiss franc	35	Click here to add the name
Lithuania	Vilnius	Litas	3,431	Click here to add the name
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	Euro	465	Click here to add the name
Republic of Macedonia	Skopje	Macedonian denar	2,034	Click here to add the name
Madagascar	Antananarivo	Malagasy ariary Malagasy franc	18,606	Click here to add the name
Malawi	Lilongwe	Malawian kwacha	12,884	Click here to add the name
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	Ringgit	25,347	Click here to add the name
Maldives	Malé	Rufiyaa	329	Click here to add the name
Mali	Bamako	CFA franc	13,518	Click here to add the name
Malta	Valletta	Euro	402	Click here to add the name
Marshall Islands	Majuro	United States dollar	62	Click here to add the name
Mauritania	Nouakchott	Ouguiya	3,069	Click here to add the name
Mauritius	Port Louis	Mauritius rupee	1,245	Click here to add the name
Mexico	Mexico City	Mexican peso	107,029	Click here to add the name
Federated States of Micronesia	Palikir	United States dollar	110	Click here to add the name
Moldova	Chisinau	Moldovan leu	4,206	Click here to add the name
Monaco	Monaco	Euro	35	Click here to add the name
Mongolia	Ulaanbaatar	Tugrik (tögrög)	2,646	Click here to add the name
Montenegro	Podgorica	Euro	620	Click here to add the name
Morocco	Rabat	Moroccan dirham	31,478	Click here to add the name
Mozambique	Maputo	Metecal	19,792	Click here to add the name
Myanmar	Naypyidaw	Kyat	50,519	Click here to add the name
Namibia	Windhoek	Namibian dollar	2,031	Click here to add the name
Nauru	none	Australian dollar	14	Click here to add the name
Nepal	Kathmandu	Nepalese rupee	27,133	Click here to add the name
Netherlands	Amsterdam	Euro	16,299	Click here to add the name
New Zealand	Wellington	New Zealand Dollar	4,028	Click here to add the name
Nicaragua	Managua	Córdoba	5,487	Click here to add the name
Niger	Niamey	CFA franc	13,957	Click here to add the name
Nigeria	Abuja	Naira	131,530	Click here to add the name
Norway	Oslo	Norwegian Krone	4,620	Click here to add the name
Oman	Muscat	Omani riyal	2,567	Click here to add the name
Pakistan	Islamabad	Pakistani rupee	157,935	Click here to add the name
Palau	Melekeok	United States dollar	20	Click here to add the name
Panama	Panama City	Balboa	3,232	Click here to add the name
Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	Kina	5,887	Click here to add the name
Paraguay	Asuncion	Guarani	6,158	Click here to add the name
Peru	Lima	Peruvian sol	27,968	Click here to add the name
Philippines	Manila	Philippine peso	83,054	Click here to add the name
Poland	Warsaw	Polish złoty	38,530	Click here to add the name
Portugal	Lisbon	Euro	10,495	Click here to add the name
Qatar	Doha	Qatari riyal	813	Click here to add the name
Romania	Bucharest	Romanian leu	21,711	Click here to add the name
Russia	Moscow	Ruble	143,202	Click here to add the name
Rwanda	Kigali	Rwandan franc	9,038	Click here to add the name
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	East Caribbean dollar	43	Click here to add the name
Saint Lucia	Castries	East Caribbean dollar	161	Click here to add the name
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	East Caribbean dollar	119	Click here to add the name
Samoa	Apia	Tala	185	Click here to add the name
San Marino	San Marino	Euro	28	Click here to add the name
São Tomé and Príncipe	Sao Tome	Dobra	157	Click here to add the name
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	Sudi Arabian riyal	24,573	Click here to add the name
Senegal	Dakar	CFA franc	11,658	Click here to add the name
Serbia	Belgrade	Serbian dinar Euro	10,503	Click here to add the name
Seychelles	Victoria	Seychelles rupee	81	Click here to add the name
Sierra Leone	Freetown	Leone	5,525	Click here to add the name
Singapore	Singapore	Singapore dollar	4,326	Click here to add the name
Slovakia	Bratislava	Euro	5,401	Click here to add the name
Slovenia	Ljubljana	Euro	1,967	Click here to add the name
Solomon Islands	Honiara	Solomon Islands dollar	478	Click here to add the name
Somalia	Mogadishu	Somali shilling	8,228	Click here to add the name
South Africa	Pretoria (executive) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judicial)	Rand	47,432	Click here to add the name
South Sudan	Juba	South Sudanese pound	8,200+	Click here to add the name
Spain	Madrid	Euro	43,064	Click here to add the name
Sri Lanka	Colombo	Sri Lankan rupee	20,743	Click here to add the name
Sudan	Khartoum	Sudanese dinar	36,233	Click here to add the name
Suriname	Paramaribo	Suriname guilder	449	Click here to add the name
Swaziland	Mbabane	Emalangeni South African rand	1,032	Click here to add the name
Sweden	Stockholm	Swedish krona	9,041	Click here to add the name
Switzerland	Bern	Swiss Franc	7,252	Click here to add the name
Syria	Damascus	Syrian pound	19,043	Click here to add the name
Tajikistan	Dushanbe	Somoni	6,507	Click here to add the name
Tanzania	Dodoma	Tanzanian shilling	38,329	Click here to add the name
Thailand	Bangkok	Bahr	64,233	Click here to add the name
Timor-Leste	Dili	CFA franc	947	Click here to add the name
Togo	Lomé	CFA franc	6,145	Click here to add the name
Tonga	Nuku'alofa	Pa'anga	102	Click here to add the name
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	Trinidad and Tobago dollar	1,305	Click here to add the name
Tunisia	Tunis	Tunisian dinar	10,102	Click here to add the name
Turkey	Ankara	Turkish Lira	73,193	Click here to add the name
Turkmenistan	Ashgabat	Turkmen manat	4,833	Click here to add the name
Tuvalu	Funafuti	Australian dollar	10	Click here to add the name
Uganda	Kampala	Ugandan shilling	28,816	Click here to add the name
Ukraine	Kiev	Hryvnia	46,481	Click here to add the name
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates dirham	4,496	Click here to add the name
United Kingdom	London	Pound sterling	59,668	Click here to add the name
United States of America	Washington	United States dollar	298,213	Click here to add the name
Uruguay	Montevideo	Uruguayan peso	3,463	Click here to add the name
Uzbekistan	Tashkent	Uzbek som	26,593	Click here to add the name
Vanuatu	Port Vila	Vatu	211	Click here to add the name
Vatican City	Vatican	Euro	0.253	Click here to add the name
Venezuela	Caracas	Venezuelan bolivar	26,749	Click here to add the name
Vietnam	Ha Noi	Vietnamese dong	84,238	Click here to add the name
Yemen	Sana	Yemeni rial	20,975	Click here to add the name
Zambia	Lusaka	Zambian kwacha	11,668	Click here to add the name
Zimbabwe	Harare	Zimbabwean dollar	13,010	Click here to add the name

Other less well recognised countries

Some territories effectively behave as independent countries but have, for one reason or another, not received wide recognition, or they are disputed or claimed by another country.

Name	Capital	Currency	Population
China, Republic of	Taipei	Taiwan Dollar	22,858,872
Kosovo	Priština	Euro	2,126,708 (2007 est.)
Northern Cyprus	Nicosia	Turkish New Lira	264,172 (2006)
Palestine	Jerusalem (claimed), Ramallah de facto		3,900,000
Transnistria	Tiraspol	Transnistrian ruble	555,347
Western Sahara	Laâyoune	Moroccan dirham	341,000

Notes and References

• List of recognised counties sourced from UN member states list
• Population data sourced from [# | Add address here]