How many countries are there?

Alex Zimmerman in London blogs about the number of countries in existence. From This end up:

I was asked this again today. It seems to happen about once a day; I'm not sure why everybody's so curious. I assume they all ask me because I know the name of every country and its capital, a feat which invariably impresses people out of all proportion to the amount of effort it actually takes -- especially considering that these people are all at a university dedicated to studying the less familiar bits of the world. Strictly speaking, there are 191 full members of the United Nations plus the Holy See, which really shouldn't be a country but is anyway.

One could fairly add those states which are recognized by at least one other state but have not gained full international recognition, meaning the Western Sahara, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which is kind of like the Elks Club except they print their own passports.Taiwan presents a slightly different problem, since it is recognized by several states (although fewer than the Sovereign Military Order of Malta), but no state recognizes both it and the PRC -- that is, if Taiwan counts, China doesn't, and vice versa.

The same situation applies to Palestine and Israel.Completely unrecognized states are by their nature uncountable, but those with control over their own territory include Transnistria, Somaliland, Nagorno-Karabach and to some degree Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Of territories that are legally part of another state but have some degree of self-determination, Niue is the closest to being independent. Kosovo is administered by the United Nations but will hopefully become independent soon.And for the last time, Wales is not a country. Nor is Puerto Rico, for that matter