Explore key data points about the world’s 196 countries, including population stats, political systems, languages, GDP, and more.

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1. Formerly Swaziland
2. Does not include Hong Kong and Macau
3. Does not include separate Turkish Cypriot–controlled area in the north
4. Does not include Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank
5. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a collective presidency that alternates among three members (one Croat, one Bosniak Muslim, and one Serb).
6. Czechia is now the official short-form name of the Czech Republic.
7. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. As of May 2024, it had been recognized by close to 100 countries, including the U.S.
8. Formerly Macedonia.
9. Figures do not include Crimea, a former Ukrainian territory that was annexed by Russia in 2014.
For area: Encyclopedia Britannica
For population, urban population, percent change in population per year, percent of population under 15 years, life expectancy: Toshiko Kaneda, Charlotte Greenbaum, and Carl Haub, 2022 World Population Data Sheet (Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau, 2022); Reproduced by permission. All rights reserved.
For capital: The World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency) and Google Maps
For date of origin, literacy rate, per capita GDP: The World Factbook
For languages: The World Factbook; World Book Encyclopedia
For political system: Based on annual editions of Freedom in the World (Freedom House), the World Factbook, and news accounts
For head of government: rulers.org, the World Factbook, and news accounts • For HDI: Human Development Report 2023 (United Nations Development Program)
Most figures are the latest available from each source as of May 2023; Heads of Government as of Sept. 1, 2023.