How Many Countries In The World?

Now that is a question that's somewhat difficult to answer, as there is no one right answer. Many sources offer different answers, and depending on the source, there are 189, 191, 192, 193, 194 or 195 independent countries in the world today.
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As of May 1, 2008, the United Nations has 192 members (including Montenegro and Serbia - the two newest nations). That number does not include the Vatican, and it doesn't (yet) include Kosovo (disclaimer).
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Regarding England, Scotland and Wales, though all are widely considered individual countries, they are all still a part of the United Kingdom (UK), a European country, and therefore included within the United Kingdom on our country list below.
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The US State Department recognizes 194 independent countries around the world, but that list of countries reflects the political agenda of the United States of America. As an example, it includes Kosovo, but does not include Taiwan, as China claims that Taiwan (the ROC) is simply a province of China.
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Most of the current World Almanacs use 193 countries, which is probably the best answer, but what about Kosovo? (disclaimer) Palestine? Greenland? Western Sahara?
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A note regarding Greenland: It voted in favor of increased self-rule in November 2008 and acquired complete responsibility for internal affairs in June 2009. Denmark, however, continues to exercise control of Greenland's foreign affairs, security, and financial policy in consultation with Greenland's Home Rule Government. In that regard, Greenland is still a part of Denmark, and not recognized as an official independent country. In fact, it's a constituent country; a country that is part of another entity, such as a sovereign state. In this case, the country of Denmark.
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The political world is constantly changing and our list of independent nations is shown below. Note that we don't say that our list is the ONLY answer, just that it's our answer.
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dot A complete list of Countries by Continent here!
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dot A complete list of Dependencies and Territories of the world here!

(A)
Afghanistan (Kabul) (AS)
Albania (Tirane) (EU)
Algeria (Algers) (AF)
Andorra (Andorra la Vella) (EU)
Angola (Luanda) (AF)
Antigua and Barbuda (St. John's) (NA)
Argentina (Buenos Aires) (SA)
Armenia (Yerevan) (EU)
Australia (Canberra) (AU)
Austria (Vienna) (EU)
Azerbaijan (Baku) (AS)
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(B)
Bahamas (Nassau) (NA)
Bahrain (Manama) (AS)
Bangladesh (Dhaka) (AS)
Barbados (Bridgetown) (NA)
Belarus (Minsk) (EU)
Belgium (Brussels) (EU)
Belize (Belmopan) (NA)
Benin (Port-Novo) (AF)
Bhutan (Thimphu) (AS)
Bolivia (Sucre) (SA)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) (EU)
Botswana (Gaborone) (AF)
Brazil (Brasilia) (SA)
Brunei (Bander Seri Begawan) (AS)
Bulgaria (Sofia) (EU)
Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou) (AF)
Burma/Myanmar (Yangon) (AS)
Burundi (Bujumbura) (AF)
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(C)
Cambodia (Phnom Penh) (AS)
Cameroon (Yaounde) (AF)
Canada (Ottawa) (NA)
Cape Verde (Praia) (EU - Portugal)
Central African Republic (Bangui) (AF)
Chad (N'Djamena) (AF)
Chile (Santiago) (SA)
China (Beijing) (AS)
Colombia (Bogota) (SA)
Comoros (Moroni) (AF)
Congo (Brazzaville) (AF)
Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa) (AF)
Costa Rica (San Jose) (NA)
Cote d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast (Yamoussoukro) (AF)
Croatia (Zagreb) (EU)
Cuba (Havana) (NA)
Cyprus (Nicosia) (AS) and/or (EU)
Czech Republic (Prague) (EU)
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(D)
Denmark (Copenhagen) (EU)
Djibouti (Djibouti) (AF)
Dominica (Roseau) (NA)
Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo) (NA)
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(E)
East Timor (Dili) (AS)
Ecuador (Quito) (SA)
Egypt (Cairo) (AF)
El Salvador (San Salvador) (NA)
Equatorial Guinea (Malabo) (AF)
Eritrea (Asmara) (AF)
Estonia (Tallinn) (EU)
Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) (AF)
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(F)
Fiji (Suva) (AU - Oceania)
Finland (Helsinki) (EU)
France (Paris) (EU)
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(G)
Gabon (Liberville) (AF)
Gambia (Banjul) (AF)
Georgia (Tbilisi) (EU)
Germany (Berlin) (EU)
Ghana (Accra) (AF)
Greece (Athens) (EU)
Grenada (St. George's) (NA)
Guatemala (Guatemala City) (NA)
Guinea (Conakry) (AF)
Guinea-Bissau (Bissau) (AF)
Guyana (Georgetown) (SA)
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(H)
Haiti (Port-au-Prince) (NA)
Honduras (Tegucigalpa) (NA)
Hungary (Budapest) (EU)
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(I)
Iceland (Reykjavik) (EU)
India (New Delhi) (AS)
Indonesia (Jakarta) (AS)
Iran (Tehran) (AS)
Iraq (Baghdad) (AS)
Ireland (Dublin) (EU)
Israel (Jerusalem) (AS)
Italy (Rome) (EU)
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(J)
Jamaica (Kingston) (NA)
Japan (Tokyo) (AS)
Jordan (Amman) (AS)
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(K)
Kazakstan (Astana) (AS)
Kenya (Nairobi) (AF)
Kiribati (Bairiki) (AU - Oceania)
Korea, North (Pyongyang) (AS)
Korea, South (Seoul) (AS)
Kuwait (Kuwait City) (AS)
Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) (AS)
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(L)
Laos (Vientiane) (AS)
Latvia (Riga) (EU)
Lebanon (Beirut) (AS)
Lesotho (Maseru) (AF)
Liberia (Monrovia) (AF)
Libya (Tripoli) (AF)
Liechtenstein (Vaduz) (EU)
Lithuania (Vilnius) (EU)
Luxembourg (Luxembourg) (EU)
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dot (M)
Macedonia (Skopje) (EU)
Madagascar (Antananarivo) (AF)
Malawi (Lilongwe) (AF)
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) (AS)
Maldives (Male) (AS)
Mali (Bamako) (AF)
Malta (Valletta) (EU)
Marshall Islands (Majuro) (AU - Oceania)
Mauritania (Nouakchott) (AF)
Mauritius (Port Louis) (AF)
Mexico (Mexico City) (NA)
Micronesia (Palikir) (AU - Oceania)
Moldova (Chisinau) (EU)
Monaco (Monaco) (EU)
Mongolia (Ulan Bator) (AS)
Montenegro (Podgorica) (EU)
Morocco (Rabat) (AF) (including Western Sahara)
Mozambique (Maputo) (AF)
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(N)
Namibia (Windhoek) (AF)
Nauru (no official capital) (AU - Oceania)
Nepal (Kathmandu) (AS)
Netherlands (Amsterdam, The Hague) (EU)
New Zealand (Wellington) (AU)
Nicaragua (Managua) (NA)
Niger (Niamey) (AF)
Nigeria (Abuja) (AF)
Norway (Oslo) (EU)
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(O)
Oman (Muscat) (AS)
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(P)
Pakistan (Islamabad) (AS)
Palau (Koror) (AU - Oceania)
Panama (Panama City) (NA)
Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby) (AU)
Paraguay (Asuncion) (SA)
Peru (Lima) (SA)
Philippines (Manila) (AS)
Poland (Warsaw) (EU)
Portugal (Lisbon) (EU)
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(Q)
Qatar (Doha) (AS)
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(R)
Romania (Bucharest) (EU)
Russian Federation (Moscow) (AS)
Rwanda (Kigali) (AF)
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(S)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (Basseterre) (NA)
Saint Lucia (Castries) (NA)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Kingstown) (NA)
Samoa (Apia) (AU - Oceania)
San Marino (San Marino) (EU)
Sao Tome and Principe (Sao Tome) (AF)
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) (AS)
Senegal (Dakar) (AF)
Serbia (Belgrade) (EU)
Seychelles (Victoria) (AF)
Sierra Leone (Freetown) (AF)
Singapore (Singapore City) (AS)
Slovakia (Bratislava) (EU)
Slovenia (Ljubljana) (EU)
Solomon Islands (Honiara) (AU - Oceania)
Somalia (Mogadishu) (AF)
South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein) (AF)
Spain (Madrid) (EU)
Sri Lanka (Colombo) (AS)
Sudan (Khartoum) (AF)
Suriname (Paramaribo) (SA)
Swaziland (Mbabane) (AF)
Sweden (Stockholm) (EU)
Switzerland (Bern) (EU)
Syria (Damascus) (AS)
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(T)
Tajikistan (Dushanbe) (AS)
Tanzania (Dodoma) (AF)
Thailand (Bangkok) (AS)
Togo (Lome) (AF)
Tonga (Nuku'alofa) (AU - Oceania)
Trinidad and Tobago (Port-of-Spain) (NA)
Tunisia (Tunis) (AF)
Turkey (Ankara) (AS) & (EU)
Turkmenistan (Ashgabat) (AS)
Tuvalu (Funafuti) (AU - Oceania)
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(U)
Uganda (Kampala) (AF)
Ukraine (Kiev) (EU)
United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) (AS)
United Kingdom (London) (EU)
United States (Washington D.C.) (NA)
Uruguay (Montevideo) (SA)
Uzbekistan (Tashkent) (AS)
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(V)
Vanuatu (Port-Vila) (AU - Oceania)
Vatican City (na) (EU)
Venezuela (Caracas) (SA)
Vietnam (Hanoi) (AS)
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(Y)
Yemen (Sana) (AS)

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(Z)
Zambia (Lusaka) (AF)
Zimbabwe (Harare) (AF)

Malaysia Flag

http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/
The national flag of Malaysia has fourteen red and white alternate bands of same width. In the hoisting part of the flag there is a blue rectangle. In the middle portion of the rectangle there is a yellow crescent and a yellow star with fourteen points. The fourteen bands represent the federal government and a group of thirteen states and the yellow star symbolizes their unity. The yellow crescent symbolizes Islam religion of Malaysia. The yellow color also is the royal color of the rulers in Malaysia . The name of the Malaysian flag is Jalur Gemilang meaning, stripes of glory.

Malaysia Flag Pictures

For centuries, flags have been used to symbolize everything from nations to basic beliefs. Whether flying high over a castle, a war ship or a local place for worship, flags are used as a simple visual way of communicating. Today, flags are still used every day in many of the same ways they've been used in the past. However, as technology has taken hold new venues have appeared for flags. At FlagPictures.org, we've got royalty free computer wallpaper, cellphone wallpapers, screen savers, cool buddy icons, avatars and more in our vast image library of flags. Whether your downloading vector art such as a printable clip art flag or a royalty free image for use on a website, we've got a huge selection for you to download and do with as you please.

Welcome to the World Flag Database

A New USA Flag Shop

Good news for all our American users - I have entered into a sponsorship deal with United States Flag Store. This means that you can now buy flags from a US supplier, rather than the UK. The "Flag Shop" and "Buy this flag" buttons now all point to the appropriate places on the United States Flag Store. As a bonus, their sponsorship means that I have been able to drop all the popup adverts from the site. In future these should not appear, a change I hope will meet with your approval.

British Flags & Emblems

My book is now available for purchase online. It covers Britain's various national flags and the protocol governing their use, the Royal Arms and Royal Standards, military flags and Colours, flags at sea, Britain's rank insignia and much more. This book is intended for use by Government and Executive departments, British overseas missions, Local Government, schools, corporations, businesses and private individuals. You can buy it online or read a review by Captain Malcolm Farrow RN.


Full index
This is a complete list of all the countries, territories and sub-national regions covered by the database. There are over 260 pages on countries and international organizations. Each page contains basic information on the country, including its formal name, capital city, area, population, currency, languages, and religions. The flags include the national and state flags, ensigns, and sub-national flags.


Single letter indices
Probably the fastest way to find a country is to use the individual alphabetic indices. These include miniature versions of each country's flag. To see the countries starting with a particular letter click on the letters on the left. If you can't find the place you want, try the complete index instead.


Flag Shop
This website is sponsored by United States Flag Store, the largest online vendor of flags and flagpoles. This flag store has an inventory of over 500,000 flags, including the flags of 200 countries, all 50 US states, as well as all US military, decorative and historical flags. All flags are available in a range of different sizes and fabrics. Throughout the site the more popular flags have a "Buy" button below them that will take you straight to a page to purchase that flag. Most order ship in less than 1 business day, and flags can be shipped worldwide. This flag store can also produce any flag on a custom flag basis.