List of countries and territories by the United Nations geoscheme

This is a list of countries and territories by the United Nations geoscheme, including 193 UN member states, two UN observer states (the Holy See[note 1] and the State of Palestine), two states in free association with New Zealand (the Cook Islands and Niue), and 49 non-sovereign dependencies or territories, as well as Western Sahara (a disputed territory whose sovereignty is contested) and Antarctica.

In total, 248 countries and territories have been listed. Not included in the list are eight de facto states (whose sovereignty are not recognised by the United Nations), the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), and four uninhabited territories (the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Clipperton Island, the Coral Sea Islands, and Navassa Island).

Kosovo and Taiwan (listed as Taiwan Province of China) have been separately listed for strictly statistical purposes.[1]

Lists

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The United Nations geoscheme was created for statistical analysis and consists of six continental regions, 22 geographical subregions, and two intermediary regions.[2]

The United Nations Statistics Division created and maintains the M49 – Standard country or area codes for statistical use.[3] The codes are listed from smallest to largest region, left to right.

Current entries

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Entries for strictly statistical purposes

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Country or Area Geographical subregion Intermediary region Continental region UNSD M49 Codes
 Taiwan Province of China [Taiwan][note 4] Eastern Asia Asia 158 < 030 < 142 < 001
 Kosovo Southern Europe Europe 412 < 039 < 150 < 001

Former entries

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Country or Area Geographical subregion Intermediary region Continental region UNSD M49 Codes
 Channel Islands Northern Europe Europe 830 < 154 < 150 < 001
 Sark Northern Europe Europe 680 < 154 < 150 < 001

Notes

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  1. ^ The sovereign entity with statehood over the territory of the Vatican City State.
  2. ^ North America is not an official intermediary region.
  3. ^ A disputed territory with undetermined political status.[4] Formerly Spanish Sahara up to 1976, administration is currently split between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, both of which claim the entire territory. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic's administrative control is limited to approximately 30% of the territory, with the remaining 70% of the territory occupied by Morocco.[5] The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara is the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the territory (see Western Sahara conflict).
  4. ^ The national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is not permitted to be used in all institutions within the United Nations System.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "UNSD: Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49) – Questions & Answers". Retrieved 2024-05-03. The status of Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999). As a result, within the 'Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49)', Kosovo is currently considered part of Serbia (numerical code 688). However, for strictly statistical purposes, the numerical code 412 can be used to represent this area. … On the 25th October 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (2758) to recognize the representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. As a result, within the M49, Taiwan Province of China is considered part of China (numerical code 156). However, for strictly statistical purposes, the numerical code 158 can be used to represent this area.
  2. ^ UNSD: Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49) – Recent changes – Footnote 13
  3. ^ "M49 – Standard country or area codes for statistical use". United Nations Statistics Division. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. ^ BBC News: Western Sahara profile
  5. ^ City Population: Western Sahara (disputed territory)
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