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

Continent Countries Territories Dependencies Total entities
Africa 54 1 5 60
Europe 44 1 6 51
Asia 46 4 2 52
North America 23 0 18 41
South America 12 0 2 14
Oceania 14 2 10 26
Antarctica 0 1 3 4
Total 193 9 46 248

Definitions

Borderline difficulty levels (exact rules)

Entities by continent

Map of Africa

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)

Map of Europe

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)

Map of Asia

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)

Map of North America

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)

Map of South America

South America

Countries

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

Territories

None

Dependencies

Falkland Islands (UK), French Guiana (France)

Map of Oceania

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)

Map of Antarctica

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)