Geography
What is a country?
Quick answer
A country is an area of land with its own borders, government and laws. Most lists count 195 countries in the world today.
In one sentence
A country is a piece of land with clear borders, its own government and its own laws, whose people often share a flag, money and sometimes a language.
Explained
Earth's land is split into continents, and each continent (except Antarctica) is split again into countries. A border is the line where one country ends and the next begins. Some borders follow rivers or mountains; others are straight lines drawn on maps.
Each country has a government that makes laws, and usually a capital city where that government works. For example, Nigeria's government is based in Abuja and Canada's is in Ottawa.
How many countries are there? It depends on how you count. The United Nations has 193 member states. Two more, Vatican City and Palestine, are "observer states", which gives the commonly quoted figure of 195. A few other places govern themselves but are not recognised by every country, so you may see other numbers. Countries also change over time: South Sudan became the newest UN member in 2011.
Countries come in very different sizes. Russia is the largest by area. Vatican City is the smallest, and you could walk across it in about 20 minutes. India has the most people, having passed China in 2023.
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Examples
| Country | Continent | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | Africa | Abuja |
| Brazil | South America | Brasília |
| Japan | Asia | Tokyo |
| Germany | Europe | Berlin |
| Australia | Australia / Oceania | Canberra |
| Mexico | North America | Mexico City |
Common mistakes
- Calling a continent a country. Africa, Asia and Europe are continents. Kenya, Japan and Spain are countries.
- Thinking the biggest city is the capital. Lagos is Nigeria's biggest city, but Abuja is the capital. See capital cities.
- Mixing up countries and regions. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are countries within one sovereign state, the United Kingdom. Texas is a state within the USA, not a country.
Quick quiz
Countries
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
Which country is the largest by area?
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Countries and continents worksheets
For grown-ups
Related topics
Continents
Continents are the very large areas of land on Earth. In English-speaking schools you usually learn seven, but some countries count six.
Capital cities
A capital city is the city where a country's government is based. It is not always the biggest city: Nigeria's capital is Abuja, not Lagos.
Maps
A map is a drawing of a place seen from above. A key explains its symbols, a scale shows real distances and a compass shows direction.
Oceans
Oceans are the huge bodies of salt water that cover most of Earth. There are five: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic.
Climate
Climate is the usual pattern of weather in a place over many years, usually 30 or more. Weather is what is happening in the sky today.
Compass directions
The four main compass directions are north, east, south and west. Between them are northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest.