NATIONS, DEPENDENCIES, AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY

The following information is provided as reference material only. The data do not necessarily correspond to official statistics published by the various states. Status of the World's Nations should not be considered legally definitive.

Diplomatic Relations

The United States has established diplomatic relations with 180 of the listed nations. These are designated by an asterisk (*).

Name of Nation

The short-form name of the nation (printed in bold type) is commonly used; the long form is used for official documents and formal occasions. In a few instances no short form exists; the long form must serve for all usages. Conversely, a long form may not exist or may seldom be used.

Sovereignty

The sovereignty of dependencies and areas of special sovereignty is identified; where required, a note clarifies an entity's political status.

Capitals

For each state the conventionally accepted capital city name, recommended for use on maps, is listed. In the several instances where states have more than one capital, information on each is given. Some dependencies have no capital city and may be administered from another dependency of the same nation. In the case of small multi-island insular states or dependencies, the island on which the capital is located is given, unless it has the same name.

UN Membership

UN membership is indicated by a (+).

Other

Notes

Note 1: In this listing, the term "independent state" refers to a people politically organized into a sovereign state with a definite territory recognized as independent by the US.

Note 2: Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4 codes.

Note 3: With the establishment of diplomatic relations with China on January 1, 1979, the US Government recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of China.

Note 4: "Congo" is the official short-form name for both the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To distinguish one from the other, the U.S. Department of State adds the capital in parentheses. This practice is unofficial and provisional.

Note 5: In 1950 the Israel Parliament proclaimed Jerusalem as the capital. The U.S., like most other countries that have embassies in Israel, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Note 6: Claimed by both the Government of the People's Republic of China and the authorities on Taiwan (see note 3)

Source: Office of The Geographer and Global Issues, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.

Notes

Note 1: Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4 codes.

Note 2: Antarctica consists of the territory south of 60 degrees south latitude. This area includes claims by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the legal status of which remains in suspense under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. The United States recognizes no claims to Antarctica.

Note 3: Chagos Archipelago (including Diego Garcia).

Note 4: U.K.Overseas Territory (also claimed by Argentina).

Note 5: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion are departments (first-order administrative units) of France, and are therefore not dependencies or areas of special sovereignty. They are included in this list only for the convenience of the user. The Department of Guadeloupe includes the nearby islands of Marie-Galante, La Desirade, and Iles des Saintes, as well as Saint Barthelemy and the northern three-fifths of Saint Martin (the rest of which belongs to Netherlands Antilles). The islands of Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island are administered from Reunion; all these islands are claimed by Madagascar, and Tromelin Island is claimed by Mauritius.

Note 6: "French Southern and Antarctic Lands" includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Îles Crozet, and Îles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean, along with the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, "Terre Adélie." The United States does not recognize the French claim to "Terre Adélie" (see note 2).

Note 7 : The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the islands of Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and nearby smaller islands.

Note 8: Under a Sino-British declaration of September 1984, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control on July 1, 1997. It is now a semi-autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People's Republic of China.

Note 9: Administered from Oslo, Norway, through a governor resident in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

Note 10: Under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau signed in 1987, Macau reverted to Chinese control on December 20, 1999. It is now a semi-autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People's Republic of China.

Note 11: Netherlands Antilles comprises two groupings of islands: Curaçao and Bonaire are located off the coast of Venezuela; Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (the Dutch two-fifths of the island of Saint Martin) lie 800 km to the north.

Note 12: South China Sea islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam.

Note 13: The territory of Saint Helena includes the Island group of Tristan da Cunha; Saint Helena also administers Ascension Island.

Note 14: South China Sea islands claimed in entirety by China and Vietnam and in part by the Philippines and Malaysia; each of these states occupies some part of the islands.

Note 15: U.K. military bases on the island of Cyprus.

Note 16: The joint force headquarters under the Commander of the British forces, Cyprus administers both sovereign base areas from Episkopi.

Source: Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.