How can there be only 195 countries if 204 countries participated in the 2008 beijing olympics?

Question

are there any good websites that explain the territories and countries in detail to explain this anomaly

Answer 1

During the opening ceremonies was "the parade of nations" not "the parade of countries"

Difference between territories and countries?  Click on the link for a quick tutorial.

http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalg...

Answer 2

there are some countries that are dependancies and are not considered countries by the UN.  however,they participated in the olympics nevertheless.  

Even countries like vatican are not consiered countries.  i have listed from wikipedia (link below) 221 countries by population.  

As of May 1, 2008, the United Nations has 192 members (including Montenegro and Serbia - the two newest nations). That number does not include the Vatican, and it doesn't (yet) include Kosovo (disclaimer).

Regarding England, Scotland and Wales, though all are widely considered individual countries, they are all still a part of the United Kingdom (UK), a European country, and therefore included within the United Kingdom on our country list below.

The US State Department recognizes 194 independent countries around the world, but that list of countries reflects the political agenda of the United States of America. As an example, it includes Kosovo, but does not include Taiwan, as China claims that Taiwan (the ROC) is simply a province of China.

Most of the current World Almanacs use 193 countries, which is probably the best answer, but what about Kosovo? (disclaimer) alestine? Greenland? Western Sahara? The political world is constantly changing .

AM

Answer 3

Technically speaking, there are a total of 244 countries in the world, but only 219 are recognized by the United Nations. Some of these are borderless soveign, city/state territories and protectorates of other nations (i.e.singapore, monocco, gilbraltor, etc..) Hope this helps:)

Answer 4

Palestine & Puerto Rico had their own teams. It's probably something like that.

Answer 5

Depends on whether a country is recognized as a single entity.

The Koreas are now, but at one time, they weren't.

If the territory is allowed to send ambassadors to the UN, they are separate.

Usually participants in the Olympics are territories that are significently different than their "owners". Example: Puerto Rico.