Did anyone watch the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games back on Friday July 27th and worryingly thought I don’t think I’ve heard of that country before.
There are 196 countries in the world which we have categorised into 8 regions.
Asia (27 countries)
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
Middle East, North Africa, and Greater Arabia (23 countries)
Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan*, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel**, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
* The former republics of the Soviet Union are typically lumped into one region, even twenty years after independence. In this listing, they’ve been placed where most appropriate.
** Israel may be located in the Middle East but it is certainly an outsider and perhaps better belongs attached to Europe, like its seaward neighbour and European Union member state, Cyprus.
Europe (48 countries)
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland*, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland**, Vatican City.
* Iceland straddles the Eurasian plate and the North American plate so geographically it is halfway between Europe and North America. However, its culture and settlement is clearly European in nature.
** The United Kingdom is the country composed of the constituent entities known as England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
North America (3 countries)
Canada, Greenland*, Mexico, United States of America.
* Greenland is not yet an independent country.
Central America and the Caribbean (20 countries)
Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.
South America (12 countries)
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Sub-Saharan Africa (48 countries)
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Australia and Oceania (15 countries)
Australia, East Timor*, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
* While East Timor lies on an Indonesian (Asian) island, its eastern location requires that it be located with the Oceania nations of the world.
This list is courtesy of href="http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/officiallist.htm">About.com Geography
