The term state and country are often used synonymously. They refer to a designated area that has it’s own sovereignty with regard to external relations. There are 195 countries in the world with 193 member countries of the United Nations (UN) and 2 non-member observer countries. A non-member has not sought or been accepted into membership and therefore has no vote. Currently Holy See (Vatican City) and State of Palestine are non member countries. Dependencies may have internal governance yet external relations are managed by a country (e.g. Niue and The Cook Islands are part of New Zealand).

Taiwan is currently not recognised as a country by the United Nations. It is represented by the People’s Republic of China. Kosovo declared it’s independence from Serbia in 2008 and has yet to be recognised as such by the UN. Northern Cyprus is a self-declared state that is only recognised by Turkey. Antartica is not a country and is governed by the Antarctic Treaty System.

According to the World Factbook 2018 there are 267 World Entities. Here’s the link to the list of dependencies making up this list above and beyond the 195 countries recognised by the United Nations.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

Atlas represents my love of travel and exploration to expand understanding and for growth. It is also the acronym for Above The Line Accountability Systems. I believe in taking 100% responsibility. You cannot change the event however you have control over your response. To operate above the line means you take and own responsibility and ownership rather than use excuses and blame. This applies in the business setting with our finances and systems.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton