Sovereign countries

The countries under study in this reference work are those enjoying internationally recognized sovereignty or independence. There were 192 sovereign countries in the world on 01 January 2003. International recognition of sovereignty is usually, but not strictly, associated with UN membership. Not every sovereign country belongs to the UN, which included 191 members as of 01 January 2003. Furthermore, only sovereign States may join the UN. Those entities which are deemed non-sovereign under international law are not considered in this work. They are nevertheless reported as DEPENDENCIES under variable DIVISIONS.