If you ask an expert how many countries there are in the world, it becomes a surprisingly complex answer. There’s still many parts of the world that are contested, excluded or ignored depending on what political/cultural/religious background you come from. The United Nations (UN) recognises 193 countries, plus two observer countries (The Vatican and Palestine). Additionally there’s two important ‘countries’ that aren’t recognised by the rest of the world for political reasons; Kosovo and Taiwan. So, for all intents and purposes, let’s say there’s 197 countries - though this is still open to conjecture and further clarification.