You'd think counting the nations on this planet would be easy. Just look at a map, right? Well, honestly, it’s a total mess. Depending on who you ask—the UN, a professional traveler, or a government official in a disputed territory—the number changes.
If you are looking for a list of all countries alphabetically, you probably want the definitive 2026 version. But before we get to the "A to Z," we need to address the elephant in the room. There are 193 UN member states. Then you’ve got two "observer" states: the Holy See (Vatican City) and Palestine.
That makes 195. But wait.
What about the Cook Islands? Niue? Taiwan? Kosovo? It gets complicated fast. For most people, the 195-country list is the gold standard, so that’s what we’re going with here.
The List of All Countries Alphabetically (Updated 2026)
Basically, if you're trying to check off a bucket list or finish a geography project, this is the current, fact-checked lineup. I've used the common English names because nobody actually says "Magyarország" when they mean Hungary.
A
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
B
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
C
- Cabo Verde (Don't call it Cape Verde anymore; they officially requested the change!)
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the (Congo-Kinshasa)
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czechia (The government really wants you to use this instead of "Czech Republic")
D
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
E
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Eswatini (Formerly Swaziland)
- Ethiopia
F
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
G
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
H
- Haiti
- Holy See (Vatican City)
- Honduras
- Hungary
I
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
J
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
K
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
L
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
M
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar (Burma)
N
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands (Remember, Holland is just a region, not the whole country!)
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
O
- Oman
P
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
Q
- Qatar
R
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
S
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
T
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Türkiye (They officially changed the spelling from Turkey in 2022)
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
U
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
V
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Y
- Yemen
Z
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Why Is This List So Controversial?
I know what you're thinking. "Wait, where’s Taiwan?" or "What about Greenland?"
This is where geography gets political and, frankly, kinda annoying. Greenland is a massive landmass, but it’s an autonomous territory of Denmark. It’s not a "country" in the sovereign sense.
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Then there’s Taiwan.
Technically, Taiwan (The Republic of China) operates as a fully independent nation with its own military and passports. However, because of some very intense geopolitics involving the People's Republic of China, it isn't a member of the UN. Most official lists of all countries alphabetically leave it off to avoid a diplomatic nightmare.
And don't even get started on the "constituent countries" of the UK. Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern Ireland often compete as separate nations in sports like soccer (the World Cup), but for the UN, they all sit under one seat: The United Kingdom.
Recent Name Changes You Probably Missed
Countries change their names like people change their profile pictures. Well, maybe not that often, but it happens more than you'd think.
In 2018, the King of Swaziland announced the country would now be called Eswatini. Why? Mostly to celebrate 50 years of independence, but also because people kept getting it confused with Switzerland. Imagine the mail mix-ups.
Then you have Türkiye. In 2022, President Erdoğan insisted the world stop using "Turkey" because of the bird association. They wanted something that represented the culture better.
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Czechia is another one. The government spent a lot of money on a "rebranding" campaign because "The Czech Republic" was too long for sports jerseys. People are still stubborn about it, though.
The "Microstate" Problem
When looking at a list of all countries alphabetically, you'll see names like Nauru or Tuvalu.
Nauru is so tiny you can walk around the entire country in a few hours. Tuvalu is literally sinking into the ocean due to rising sea levels. Yet, on this list, they have the same "sovereign weight" as giants like China or the USA.
It’s easy to skip over the small ones, but these tiny nations are often where the most interesting legal and environmental battles happen. For instance, the Marshall Islands is a world leader in advocating for climate policy because their very existence depends on it.
The Problem with "Official" Lists
Most people don't realize there isn't one "God-tier" list.
The Olympic Committee recognizes 206 "National Olympic Committees." This includes places like Puerto Rico and American Samoa, which are definitely not independent countries but are allowed to compete under their own flags.
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The FIFA list is even bigger—211 members! They include places like Gibraltar and Faroe Islands.
So, if you’re using this list for a pub quiz, stick to the 195. If you’re a traveler trying to visit "every country," you might want to follow the Nomad Mania or Sovereign States guidelines, which can go as high as 266 territories depending on how you define "place."
Actionable Insights for Using This List
If you are using this list for data entry, travel planning, or education, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Check the "C"s and "K"s: People often look for "Congo" and miss that there are two distinct nations. Also, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are frequently misspelled—double-check those "y"s.
- Alpha-Sorting Logic: Decide if you are sorting by the common name (North Korea) or the formal name (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). This list uses common names because it's what humans actually type into search engines.
- The "The" Factor: Does "The Bahamas" go under T or B? Usually, "The" is ignored in alphabetical sorting, so you'll find it under B. The same goes for The Gambia and The Netherlands.
The world is constantly shifting. Borders move, names change, and new nations occasionally appear (like South Sudan did in 2011). Keep your lists updated and remember that geography is less about lines on a map and more about the people living within them.
Next Steps for Accuracy
To ensure your records stay current, cross-reference this list with the UN's "Protocol and Liaison Service" once a year. If you're building an app or a database, always use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes (like US, GB, JP) rather than just names; names change, but codes are much more stable.