Countries, Territories, and Dependencies by Continent

“How many countries are there?” sounds simple until you define what a country actually is. Borderline is a geography game, not a diplomatic registry — but it still needs clear, consistent rules.

At-a-glance totals

Definitions

• Country — a sovereign state with broad international recognition.
• Territory — a distinct geographic entity that is not fully sovereign but is widely mapped and recognised.
• Dependency — a non-sovereign area administered by another country (overseas territory, external territory, crown dependency, etc.).

Borderline difficulty levels (exact rules)

• Easy — Targets are selected from a predefined list of larger, well-known countries (e.g., France, Brazil, Japan). No time penalty.
• Medium — Any country/territory larger than Taiwan, excluding a small set of extremely obvious shapes (USA, Australia, Italy, Chile).
• Hard — Any country/territory larger than Taiwan, excluding a much broader set of recognisable shapes (including Russia, China, India, UK, etc.).
• Extreme — Exclusively countries/territories smaller than or equal to Taiwan, focusing on microstates and island nations.

Entities by continent

Africa

Countries

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Territories

Western Sahara (disputed)

Dependencies

British Indian Ocean Territory (UK), Mayotte (France), Réunion (France), Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK), French Southern Territories (France)

Europe

Countries

Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City

Territories

Kosovo (limited recognition)

Dependencies

Åland Islands (Finland), Faroe Islands (Denmark), Gibraltar (UK), Guernsey (UK Crown Dependency), Isle of Man (UK Crown Dependency), Jersey (UK Crown Dependency)

Asia

Countries

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

Territories

Hong Kong (China), Macau (China), Palestine (UN observer state), Taiwan (limited recognition)

Dependencies

Christmas Island (Australia), Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)

North America

Countries

Antigua and Barbuda, 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

Territories

None

Dependencies

Anguilla (UK), Aruba (Netherlands), Bermuda (UK), Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Netherlands), British Virgin Islands (UK), Cayman Islands (UK), Curaçao (Netherlands), Greenland (Denmark), Guadeloupe (France), Martinique (France), Montserrat (UK), Puerto Rico (US), Saint Barthélemy (France), Saint Martin (France), Sint Maarten (Netherlands), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France), Turks and Caicos Islands (UK), U.S. Virgin Islands (US)

South America

Countries

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Territories

None

Dependencies

Falkland Islands (UK), French Guiana (France)

Oceania

Countries

Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Territories

Cook Islands (free association with New Zealand), Niue (free association with New Zealand)

Dependencies

American Samoa (US), French Polynesia (France), Guam (US), New Caledonia (France), Norfolk Island (Australia), Northern Mariana Islands (US), Pitcairn Islands (UK), Tokelau (New Zealand), United States Minor Outlying Islands (US), Wallis and Futuna (France)

Antarctica

Countries

None

Territories

Antarctica (governed under the Antarctic Treaty System)

Dependencies

Bouvet Island (Norway), Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Australia), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK)