What is a body politic and how many autonomous countries are there in the world ? leisurely question , right ? The answers might storm you and they might depend on who you opt to take as an authority on exactly how many countries , regardless of universe universe , there are in the domain .
According to theUnited Nations ( U.N. ) , the in general recognized body which determinesnationhood , there are193 countriesin the inclination of res publica on major planet Earth properly now .
This number includes 193 countries that are member states of the United Nations and two countries that are non - member observer express : the Holy See and the State of Palestine in the Middle East . The United Nations telephone these 193 res publica " member land " because they have been take to the United Nations through a series of steps beginning with each nation ’s philosophical charge as an independent state .
To be a member res publica , a state must be a " pacification loving " State Department and one that " accepts the obligation contained in theUnited Nations Charterand , in the judgment of the arrangement , are able-bodied to carry out these obligation . " ( Kind of realise you enquire about some of thecountriesin the world , but we wo n’t namenames . ) At any rate , becoming a member or receiving recognition as a state is not a slam dunk .
Because the U.N. is not a state and does not have its own governing , it can not grant authority to recognize a commonwealth or government activity — its member , the organization of autonomous state of matter , do that .
The new state submits an software and letter to theSecretary - Generalstating that it accepts the prerequisite of the Charter . The practical software is referred to the 15 - memberSecurity Councilfor circumstance where countries recognized must receive nine of 15 votes and can not be voted down by any of the five lasting fellow member of the Council ( China , France , the Russian Federation , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , or the United States ) .
Once the lotion transcend through the Security Council it goes before theGeneral Assemblywhere it must receive a two - third legal age vote for admission . It ’s as simple as that .
Countries the United Nations Does Not Recognize
But , of class , nothing is ever simple ingeopolitics . There are territories that apply for realisation that do not receive it for what can only be described as political understanding . Taiwan continues to be lumped in with the People ’s Republic of China , for example .
Palestine — which have non - member commentator status in November 2012 — is one of the unrecognised countries because Israel and many other countries in the populace do not accredit it as a supreme state . The Holy See , representing Vatican City , also hasnon - member observer statesat the U.N. Thus , as non - member observer states , Palestine and the Holy See are not appendage states or sovereign states .
Places You Thought Were Countries
As far as the United Nations is concerned , Puerto Rico is a district of the U.S. , and so are Guam and American Samoa . The Republic of Ireland is a country , but Northern Ireland is not . Northern Ireland , along with Scotland , Wales and even England are part of the United Kingdom . The Canary Islands ? Not a country . They belong to the European commonwealth of Spain .
Some place in the humans share ground area , but not country status . Tibet , which shares the world ’s tallest mountain ( Mount Everest ) with Nepal , is not considered a country . It ’s part of mainland China . Even the biggest island on the major planet , Greenland , is also not an main body politic . It ’s a part of the Kingdom of Denmark , the low Nordic country . queerly , its smaller next door neighbour , Iceland , is an sovereign , European res publica . Which just travel to show you , country population does n’t matter and size of it does n’t weigh .
