There are a total of 195 countries around the world and dozens of dependent territories. Continents vary significantly in size and number of countries.
Africa
About 27% of the world's countries are located on just one continent: Africa. As of November 2020, Africa has 54 countries on its 30.3 million km² (11.7 million mi²). The countries of Africa are:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Ivory Coast
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Republic of the Congo
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The largest countries in Africa by area are Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan. Algeria is also the tenth-largest globally. The wealthiest of these countries are Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt.
Europe
The next continent with the most countries is Europe. Europe has 51 countries in its 10,186,000 km² (9,932,836 mi²). Five of these countries are transcontinental, located in both Europe and Asia: Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Europe's 51 countries are:
- Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan
- Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria
- Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland, France
- Georgia, Germany, Greece
- Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary
- Iceland, Ireland, Italy
- Kazakhstan, Kosovo
- Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg
- Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro
- Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway
- Poland, Portugal
- Romania, Russia
- San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine, United Kingdom
Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning over 6.599 million mi². The richest European countries are Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. Additionally, five European countries have the highest GDP per capitas: Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, and Iceland.
Asia
Asia has the second-highest number of countries, which is also the most populous continent in the world. Asia has 50 countries, spanning over its 44.5 million km² (17.2 million mi²). Five of these countries are transcontinental, located in both Europe and Asia: Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. Asia is home to over 4.46 billion people, making it the most populous continent. Asian countries include:
- Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan
- Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei
- Cambodia, China, Cyprus
- Timor-Leste
- 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, State of Palestine, Syria
- Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Yemen
The largest countries in Asia are China, India, and Kazakhstan. All three countries are also among the ten largest countries in the world.
North America
Next on the list is North America, which has a total of 23 countries. North America spans over 24,709,000 km² (9,540,000 mi²). North America is home to about 580 million people. The North American countries are:
- 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 of America
The largest countries in North America are Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Canada is also the second-largest country globally, and the U.S. is the third-most populous country.
Oceania
Oceania spans over 8,525,989 km² (3,291,902 mi²) and is home to about 42.9 million people. There are a total of 14 countries in Oceania/Australia. Those countries are:
- Australia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands, Micronesia
- Nauru, New Zealand
- Palau, Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga, Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Oceania's largest countries are Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand.
South America
Finally, the continent with the fewest countries is South America, which has just 12 within its 17,840,000 km² (6,890,000 mi²). The nations on that continent are:
The largest countries in South America are Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.