South Sudan is now UN's 193rd member

How many countries are there in the world?

The United Nations (before this news) lists 192 members and often, that is considered the number of countries around the world. The US Department of State on the other hand, reflective of their political agenda, counts 195 independent countries.

Now, here's something to add to the continuing confusion in one of the the most common questions in geography. South Sudan is finally admitted into the United Nations as the 193rd member. The newly independent state with Juba as its capital was officially welcomed and acknowledged into the international community after UN General Assembly President Joseph Deiss banged a gavel that signaled South Sudan's UN membership approval by acclamation.

South Sudan has a population of approximately eight million people. It is expected to have control of more than 75% of Sudan's daily oil production though it remains as one of the poorest and least developed areas in the world. South Sudan has no refineries to process and market their oil so they would have to rely on the north's pipelines, at least temporarily.


So for the question: "how many countries are there all in all?" It is safe to peg the number at 196. To make it more specific, the answer is 195 by US Department of State count, 193 by UN membership, and 196 with Taiwan recognized as a territory separate from China—which most Asian nations do.