What is Country?
{{distinguish|County}} {{About|the geographical term|a list of all countries|List of countries|other uses}} [[File:World location map.svg|280px|thumb|World map with the current political division of countries.]] A '''country''' is a distinct [[territory]] with defined [[border]]s, boundaries, [[Population|people]] and [[government]]. Most countries are [[Sovereign state|sovereign states]] while [[Constituent country|others]] make up one part of a larger state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/country|title = Definition of COUNTRY}}</ref> The people that live in a country are referred to as a [[nation]]. The government that runs the country is called the [[state]]. [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[United Kingdom]], [[United States]], [[Canada]] and other countries. == Number of countries == There is no universally accepted answer as to how many countries in the world there actually are, however the minimum answer is 195, though there are 193 [[United Nations]] members.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/member-states/|title=Member States - United Nations|website=www.un.org}}</ref> This can be developed on even further by adding the constituent countries of the [[United Kingdom]], [[the Netherlands|The Kingdom of the Netherlands]] and the [[Denmark|Kingdom of Denmark]] which could add anywhere from three to eleven more countries. There are multiple [[organisation]]<nowiki/>s that have their own lists of countries, one example being the [[Travellers Century Club]] which recognises 330 countries as of January 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alphabetical List - The Travelers' Century Club|url=https://travelerscenturyclub.org/countries-and-territories/alphabetical-list|publisher=}}</ref> == Disputed countries == [[Palestine]] is classified as a country. However, there is an ongoing dispute over Palestine’s independence with [[Israel]]. There are a number of disputed areas that have declared independence from their parent state and receive limited recognition. For example, [[Kosovo]],