SOCIAL STUDIES FACT CARDS
COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
Copyright © by Toucan Valley Publications, Inc. | Source Citation


COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD DATABASE
Number of Cards
193
Card Description
One card for each country

COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
An Introduction

Countries of the World Fact Cards covers all 193 independent countries of the world. The aim is to provide quick facts and up-to-date information in as parallel a manner as possible, thus facilitating comparative studies. Countries of the World Fact Cards also offers an overview of the history and culture of each country.

The definition of "independent country" is "a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory." The list of recognized independent countries differs somewhat depending upon what agency is compiling it.  The U.S. State Department lists 192 independent countries.  The United States does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, supporting China’s claim that Taiwan is a province of China.  It also does not recognize Yugoslavia, considering that the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has dissolved. Serbia and Montenegro, former Yugoslav republics, have declared themselves to be the "new" Yugoslavia.  While the U.S. accepts the federation of Serbia and Montenegro as an independent country, it does not accept that they are the successor to the former Yugoslavian government, and so uses the name "Serbia and Montenegro" rather than "Yugoslavia" for them.  

We have elected to use the list of independent countries offered in the World Book Encyclopedia, feeling that this best represents the common world view of countries.  We have also elected to use the form of country name used by World Book Encyclopedia (e.g., Ivory Coast instead of Cote d’Ivoire, Vatican City instead of Holy See, Yugoslavia instead of Serbia and Montenegro, Burma instead of Myanmar). 

Vatican City is included as an independent country, but since parallel statistics are not available, it is not included in the rankings for area, population, and gross domestic product.  These rankings are based on a count of 192 countries. 

Cyprus is regarded as a single independent country, though Turkey claims that the northern part is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and recognizes it as independent from the Greek Cyprus. The Western Sahara, formerly part of Morocco and still claimed by that country, has declared itself to be the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.  It is so recognized by about 70 other countries, but not by the United States nor by World Book Encyclopedia.  

Statistics in various countries around the world are gathered in varying ways. The currency and accuracy of statistics available from a country may depend in part on the stability of the government.


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