Total count of independent states: 195
* Diplomatic relations with the United States
+ Member of United Nations
! New change, since previous list
Source: Office of The Geographer and Global Issues, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C
NOTES
Note 1: In this listing, the term “independent state" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory recognized as independent by the US.
Note 2: Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) Standard two-letter and three-letter codes. GENC is the replacement standard for FIPS 10-4 and is the U.S. Government profile of the ISO 3166 international country code standard. For more information on GENC please see https://nsgreg.nga.mil/genc/discovery.
Note 3: With the establishment of diplomatic relations with China on Jan. 1, 1979, the US Government recognized the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China.
Note 4: “Congo" is the official short-form name for both the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To distinguish one from the other, the U.S. Department of State adds the capital in parentheses. This practice is unofficial and provisional.
Note 5: Claimed by both the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the authorities on Taiwan. Administered by the authorities on Taiwan. (see note 3)
Source: U.S Department of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
