Country is a defined geographic territory under the authority of an independent government. The term may also be used to refer to the government of such a territory. A country may also be called a nation or a state. In 2020, there were 196 countries in the world, more than ever before. The number of countries has increased since the mid-1900’s. The increase came partly from colonies gaining independence. In addition, large countries, such as the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, split up. In size, the countries of the world range from the Vatican City, which covers 1/6 square mile (0.4 square kilometer), to Russia, which covers 6,601,670 square miles (17,098,246 square kilometers).
There are 9 huge countries in the world. Each of these countries has an area of more than 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers). There are 66 large countries with areas from 100,000 to 1 million square miles (260,000 to 2.6 million square kilometers). There are 30 countries with areas from 40,000 to 100,000 square miles (104,000 to 260,000 square kilometers). There are 59 countries with areas from 3,000 to 40,000 square miles (7,800 to 104,000 square kilometers). Thirty-two small countries cover areas of less than 3,000 square miles (7,800 square kilometers) each.
For lists of the countries of the world, see World (table: Independent countries of the world). See also the various continent articles such as Africa (table: Independent countries).
See also Nation.
