[ComputerGuru]

Guys, he's actually right. There are 204 sovereign states (secondary source, can't find the primary [0]), plus a handful of countries that are disputed (Palestine, Kosovo, etc.)

There just simply aren't 250 countries.

0: http://imgur.com/rNDj4

(At the time of posting, parent was below zero)

[buro9]

Wolfram thinks that Scotland isn't a country ( http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=is+scotland+a+country ) even though it has all of the things required by the definition offered by Wolfram. Even the equivalent of a Foreign Secretary in the Cabinet for External Affairs.

If the definition Wolfram cared to use was "Passport issuing state recognised by other passport issuing states" then we might agree.

[fakeer]

I am sure it used sth official like that. Otherwise the number of countries maybe significantly more than what it is today.

[yskchu]

Maybe they're counting country codes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_calling_codes has 275 in their complete listing; but then, quite a few aren't "countries"

[rdl]

In many uses, it's reasonable to consider a non-sovereign self-governing territory a country. Greenland is a country, Anguilla, Sint Maarten, Aruba, etc. are countries, etc., for the purposes of "Hi. What country do you live in?" informally.

[coob]

As are the 4 constituent countries of the United Kingdom.

[i386]

Palestine is recognised by the UN as a state now.

[ComputerGuru]

Yes, I was actually following that quite closely. However, I don't believe UN recognition is the definition of sovereign state. A country that is permanently occupied is hardly sovereign, no? If they don't have control of their borders, are under blockade, can't police their own, don't have say over who enters and leaves their territory, don't have their own currency, and are being literally split into 3 disjoin, non-connecting pieces (West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza) with no passages between any of the three under their control, is it a sovereign state?

[justincormack]

Being split into disjoint pieces is not a problem. Russia is a country despite having a disjoint piece.

[analog]

States != Countries

The UK is a single state, but comprised of at least three countries. England, Wales, Scotland. Northern Ireland would not count as a 'country' I guess, though Ireland itself obviously is.

[barry-cotter]

Whether Northern Ireland is a country depends on who you're talking to. And possibly the day you talk to them.