Sources and methods

• World Bank Open Data

  Population, GDP, GDP per person, life expectancy and urban share (CC BY 4.0).

• Wikidata

  Coordinates, highest points and region figures (CC0).

• Natural Earth

  Country and region boundaries (public domain). Maps show boundaries as they are controlled on the ground, which is not an endorsement of any claim.

• countries-list

  Capitals, languages, currencies and calling codes (MIT).

• flag-icons

  Flag artwork (MIT).

How we check the numbers

No single dataset is free of mistakes, so we test them against each other. Each country's reported area is compared with the area measured from its map shape, and the closest figure is used. Region totals are added up and compared with the national total. Land borders are worked out from which map shapes touch.

Figures are the latest available, and the year is shown beside them. Regional census years differ from country to country, so regional populations may not add up exactly to the national figure.

Which countries we include

We list 197 countries: the 193 United Nations members, the two observer states, and Kosovo and Taiwan. Including a place is not a statement on any dispute over its status.