List of sovereign states

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For non-sovereign countries and nations, see List of non-sovereign countries.
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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 208 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership within the United Nations System: 193 UN member states, 2 UN General Assembly non-member observer states, and 13 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 (18 states, of which there are 6 UN member states, 1 UN General Assembly non-member observer state, and 11 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[es] 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"*.

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

Note that 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.

On the basis of the above criteria, this list includes the following 208 entities:

* 205 states recognised by at least one UN member state
* Two states that satisfy the declarative theory of statehood and are recognised only by non-UN member states: Artsakh and Transnistria
* One state that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is not recognised by any other state: Somaliland

The table includes bullets representing entities which 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:

* States in a free association relationship to another state
* Two entities controlled by Pakistan which are neither sovereign states, dependent territories, or 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

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**"Membership within the UN System" column legend**
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**"Sovereignty dispute" column legend**
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## See also

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* Armorial of sovereign states
* Gallery of sovereign state flags
* ISO 3166-1
* List of adjectival and demonymic forms for countries and nations
* List of administrative divisions by country
* List of associated states
* List of condominiums
* List of countries and dependencies and their capitals in native languages
* List of countries and dependencies by area
* List of countries and dependencies by population
* List of countries by United Nations geoscheme
* List of country-name etymologies
* List of dependent territories
* List of international rankings
* List of ISO 3166 country codes
* List of micronations
* List of national capitals
* List of rebel groups that control territory
* List of states with limited recognition
* List of territorial disputes
* List of territories governed by the United Nations
* Lists of political entities by century
* Lists of state leaders by century
* Member states of the United Nations
* Sovereign state
	+ List of former sovereign states
	+ List of sovereign states and dependent territories by continent
	+ List of sovereign states by date of formation
* Template:Clickable world map
* Terra nullius
* United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories

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## Bibliography

* Template:Cite book
* Countries or areas, codes and abbreviations. Statistics Division, United Nations (1 April 2010).
* Davis, Tim (19 February 2009). World Countries and States List. *TimDavis.com.au*.
* Geographic Names. Department of Public Information, Cartographic Section, United Nations (7 September 2000).
* ISO 3166-1 Country names and code elements. International Organization for Standardization (2010).
* List of countries, territories and currencies. Publications Office of the European Union (4 May 2010).
* The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency (2010).
* Template:Cite book
* The Countries of the World.

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Press Release ORG/1469 (3 July 2006). United Nations Member States. United Nations.
2. ↑ Template:Cite book
3. ↑ Template:Cite book
4. ↑ Template:Cite book
5. ↑ The following bullets are grouped according to the availability of sources for the two criteria ((a) and/or (b)). This arrangement is not intended to reflect the relative importance of the two theories. Additional details are discussed in the state's individual entries.
6. ↑ Template:Cite news
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Template:Cite news
8. ↑ Template:Cite news
9. ↑ Government of Antigua and Barbuda. Chapter 44: The Barbuda Local Government Act. *Laws of Antigua and Barbuda*.
10. ↑ Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica.
11. ↑ Pakistan Worldview, Report 21, Visit to Azerbaijan. Senate of Pakistan Foreign Relations Committee (2008).
12. ↑ Nilufer Bakhtiyar: "For Azerbaijan Pakistan does not recognise Armenia as a country" Template:Webarchive 13 September 2006 [14:03] – Today.Az
13. ↑ Template:Cite news
14. ↑ Europa Template:Webarchive, retrieved 28 February 2011
15. ↑ Bahamas, The | The Commonwealth (en) (15 August 2013).
16. ↑ Lithuanian Foreign Ministry's statement on the situation in Belarus (23 September 2020).
17. ↑ Template:Cite journal
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19. ↑ Constitution of Comoros, Art. 1.
20. ↑ Template:Cite news
21. ↑ Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands : No. 137 of March 23, 1948.
22. ↑ The Greenland Home Rule Act : Act No. 577 of 29 November 1978.
23. ↑ Template:Cite book
24. ↑ Government of Fiji, Office of the Prime Minister (1978). Chapter 122: Rotuma Act. *Laws of Fiji*. University of the South Pacific.
25. ↑ The Gambia profile (14 February 2018).
26. ↑ Constitution of Greece, Art. 105.
27. ↑ Iceland - Culture, History, & People.
28. ↑ Working Paper No. 54 : UNGEGN list of country names (Prepared by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names) (May 2011).
29. ↑ Hvert er formlegt heiti landsins okkar?.
30. ↑ Iraqi constitution Template:Webarchive
31. ↑ Template:Cite journal
32. ↑ Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel.
33. ↑ Disputes: International. CIA World Factbook.
34. ↑ Bell, Abraham (28 January 2008). International Law and Gaza: The Assault on Israel's Right to Self-Defense. *Jerusalem Issue Brief, Vol. 7, No. 29*. Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
35. ↑ Salih, Zak M. (17 November 2005). Panelists Disagree Over Gaza's Occupation Status. University of Virginia School of Law.
36. ↑ Israel: 'Disengagement' Will Not End Gaza Occupation. Human Rights Watch (29 October 2004).
37. ↑ Template:Cite journal
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38. ↑ Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.
39. ↑ Keun Min. Greetings. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.
40. ↑ Federal Foreign Office of Germany (November 2009). Beziehungen zu Deutschland. Government of Germany. For more information, see Foreign relations of the Cook Islands.
41. ↑ Republic of Nauru Permanent Mission to the United Nations. Foreign Affairs. United Nations.
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Article 102, Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs, Supplement No. 8, Volume VI (1989–1994).
43. ↑ Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 1.
44. ↑ Template:Cite news
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47. ↑ Azad Kashmir Day.
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 To Be Published In The Next Issue Of The.
49. ↑ AJ&K History.
50. ↑ Template:Cite book
51. ↑ The Azad Jammu And Kashmir Interim Constitution Act, 1974 (PDF).
52. ↑ Palestine Liberation Organization. Road For Palestinian Statehood: Recognition and Admission. Negotiations Affairs Department.
53. ↑ See the following on statehood criteria:

	* Mendes, Errol (30 March 2010). Statehood and Palestine for the purposes of Article 12 (3) of the ICC Statute 28, 33. "...the Palestinian State also meets the traditional criteria under the Montevideo Convention..."; "...the fact that a majority of states have recognised Palestine as a State should easily fulfil the requisite state practice".
	* Template:Cite journal "It is possible, however, to argue for Palestinian statehood based on the constitutive theory".
	* Template:Cite journal "Whether one applies the criteria of statehood set out in the Montevideo Convention or the more widely accepted constitutive theory of statehood, Palestine might be considered a state."
54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Non-member States and Entities. United Nations (29 February 2008).
55. ↑ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Arab States: Palestine. United Nations.
56. ↑ The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations 40–41 (18 March 2021).
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Statement from UNISFA on the recent spate of attacks in Abyei (18 October 2017).
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Abyei Administration Area Changes Name (29 July 2015).
59. ↑ Bilateral relations of the Holy See. Holy See website.
60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specified (ru). newsru.com (17 November 2006).
61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 Template:Cite book
62. ↑ Template:Cite book
63. ↑ Template:Cite news
64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 64.2 Вице-спикер парламента Абхазии: Выборы в НКР соответствуют всем международным стандартам Template:Webarchive: "Абхазия, Южная Осетия, НКР и Приднестровье уже давно признали независимость друг друга и очень тесно сотрудничают между собой", – сказал вице-спикер парламента Абхазии. ... "...Абхазия признала независимость Нагорно-Карабахской Республики..." – сказал он."
65. ↑ In detail: The foreign policy of Pridnestrovie. Pridnestrovie (26 May 2010).
66. ↑ Regions and territories: Nagorno-Karabakh Template:Webarchive (17 January 2006). BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2006.
67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 Russia recognises Ukraine separatist regions as independent states. *BBC News*.
68. ↑ United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
69. ↑ *"Sijera Leone je 18. država koja je povukla priznanje tzv. Kosova"* − http://www.mfa.gov.rs/
70. ↑ The World Factbook|Cyprus (10 January 2006). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2006.
71. ↑ Template:Cite journal
72. ↑ Template:Cite journal
73. ↑ Template:Cite journal
74. ↑ Template:Cite journal
75. ↑ Somaliland profile (14 December 2017).
76. ↑ Template:Cite journal
77. ↑ Template:Cite news
78. ↑ Template:Cite news
79. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specified (22 March 2017).
80. ↑ Is Taiwan's International Space Expanding or Contracting?. The Diplomat.
81. ↑ Regions and territories: Trans-Dniester

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