This list gives 50 countries in Europe and their capitals using a broad geographic and political definition of Europe. The total depends on how you treat the Europe–Asia boundary and partially recognized states, so the counting rules are explained below.
- 50 in this list: the 44 sovereign-country entries in the UN’s Europe grouping, with Vatican City represented there as the Holy See, plus Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Türkiye.
- Kosovo: discussed separately below because recognition of its independence is disputed. Adding it separately to this list produces 51 entries.
- Europe is not the European Union: the EU has 27 member countries.
List of 50 Countries in Europe and Their Capitals
The countries are listed alphabetically. The table includes the six additional countries named above; it does not count dependent territories or Kosovo as additional rows. See the notes for Amsterdam, Bern and other easily confused entries.
| Country | Capital |
|---|---|
| Albania | Tirana |
| Andorra | Andorra la Vella |
| Armenia | Yerevan |
| Austria | Vienna |
| Azerbaijan | Baku |
| Belarus | Minsk |
| Belgium | Brussels |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo |
| Bulgaria | Sofia |
| Croatia | Zagreb |
| Cyprus | Nicosia |
| Czechia | Prague |
| Denmark | Copenhagen |
| Estonia | Tallinn |
| Finland | Helsinki |
| France | Paris |
| Georgia | Tbilisi |
| Germany | Berlin |
| Greece | Athens |
| Hungary | Budapest |
| Iceland | Reykjavík |
| Ireland | Dublin |
| Italy | Rome |
| Kazakhstan | Astana |
| Latvia | Riga |
| Liechtenstein | Vaduz |
| Lithuania | Vilnius |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg |
| Malta | Valletta |
| Moldova | Chișinău |
| Monaco | Monaco |
| Montenegro | Podgorica |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam |
| North Macedonia | Skopje |
| Norway | Oslo |
| Poland | Warsaw |
| Portugal | Lisbon |
| Romania | Bucharest |
| Russia | Moscow |
| San Marino | San Marino |
| Serbia | Belgrade |
| Slovakia | Bratislava |
| Slovenia | Ljubljana |
| Spain | Madrid |
| Sweden | Stockholm |
| Switzerland | Bern (federal city) |
| Türkiye (Turkey) | Ankara |
| Ukraine | Kyiv |
| United Kingdom | London |
| Vatican City | Vatican City |
Why Europe’s Country Count Varies
Europe and Asia form one continuous landmass. Their boundary is a geographic convention, and a statistical region is not the same thing as a political or cultural definition of Europe. A useful country list therefore needs to state its scope.
The 44-country statistical starting point
The United Nations M49 classification groups countries and areas into regions for statistical use. Counting the sovereign-country entries in its four European subregions, while excluding dependencies and other separately listed areas, gives 44: 10 in Eastern Europe, 10 in Northern Europe, 15 in Southern Europe and 9 in Western Europe. Russia is included in this total. The Southern Europe entry called Holy See corresponds to the Vatican entry used in this country list.
How this article reaches 50
We add Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Türkiye. M49 assigns Kazakhstan to Central Asia and the other five to Western Asia. They appear in broader European lists because of transcontinental geography or political and cultural connections.
Kazakhstan has territory on both sides of the conventional Europe–Asia boundary; Türkiye also spans the two continents. The treatment of Georgia and Azerbaijan depends partly on where the boundary is drawn through the Caucasus. Armenia and Cyprus are often included in political definitions of Europe. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia and Türkiye are all Council of Europe members. Membership of that organization is a separate question from the geographic classification.
Where Kosovo fits
Kosovo’s capital is Pristina. Kosovo is recognized as independent by many countries, but not by Serbia or all UN members. We give it this separate note rather than quietly treating recognition as settled. Counting Kosovo separately alongside the 50 rows above gives 51. The UN M49 explanation treats Kosovo within Serbia for that statistical standard, in the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999); this is not a universal rule for every atlas or school curriculum.
Dependencies and autonomous territories are not extra sovereign countries in this table. The United Kingdom is counted once, rather than counting England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as four separate sovereign states.
Capital Names and Special Cases
- Netherlands: Amsterdam is the capital. The government and parliament are in The Hague, which is a separate city. The EU’s Netherlands profile makes this distinction explicitly.
- Switzerland: Bern is the federal city and functions as the de facto capital. Switzerland does not designate a de jure capital in the usual sense, as explained by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
- Ukraine: use Kyiv. “Kiev” is an older spelling derived from Russian; Kyiv follows Ukrainian usage.
- Kazakhstan: the current capital name is Astana. Older lists may show Nur-Sultan.
- Türkiye: its capital is Ankara, not Istanbul. The table also includes the familiar English name Turkey to help readers find it.
- Montenegro: Podgorica is the capital. Cetinje has the distinct status of Old Royal Capital.
- Vatican City: the city-state is listed once. Vatican City State and the Holy See are closely connected but distinct entities; “Holy See” is the name used in M49, not an additional country to count beside Vatican City.
Common spellings without diacritics, such as Reykjavik and Chisinau, refer to Reykjavík and Chișinău respectively.
More Country and Capital Lists
For other regions, continue with these GeographyPin reference lists. Each region’s inclusion rules should be read alongside its headline count.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there 44, 50 or 51 countries in Europe?
Those totals use different rules. The 44-country count follows the sovereign-country entries in UN M49 Europe. This article reaches 50 by adding Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Türkiye. Counting Kosovo separately raises this particular list to 51.
Does Europe have 50 European Union members?
No. The European Union has 27 member states. Europe is a continent; the EU is a political and economic union that includes only some European countries.
Is Moscow a European capital?
Yes. Moscow is in the European part of Russia, even though Russia extends far into Asia.
Is Amsterdam or The Hague the capital of the Netherlands?
Amsterdam is the capital. The Hague is the seat of the government and parliament.
Is Bern the capital of Switzerland?
Bern performs that role, but its official designation is federal city. It is best described as Switzerland’s de facto capital.
Why is Vatican City included but not counted again as the Holy See?
This is a country-and-capital reference list. Vatican City is the territorial city-state; the Holy See is the distinct sovereign authority associated with it. Counting both as separate rows would misrepresent this list’s scope.
What Did We Learn Today?
A list of Europe’s countries is only useful when its counting rules are clear. This one has 50 country-and-capital pairs, explains the six additions to the 44-country statistical starting point, and addresses Kosovo separately. Remember the key capital distinctions: Amsterdam versus the seat of government in The Hague, Bern’s federal-city status, Kyiv’s spelling and Astana’s current name.
Sources & Data Notes
Checked November 9, 2026. The 50-entry scope is this article’s stated convention, not a UN declaration that Europe has exactly 50 countries. M49 is a statistical classification and also includes non-sovereign areas. Its European subregions were counted after excluding those areas; the six additions are identified above.
- UN Statistics Division, M49 standard and questions and answers: regional assignments and treatment of Kosovo.
- Spain’s National Geographic Institute, countries and capitals: a cross-check for country–capital pairs. This reference still contains the former name Nur-Sultan, so Kazakhstan’s current official source takes precedence for Astana.
- Council of Europe member states and EU member states: different institutional memberships, not interchangeable continent counts.
- European Union, Netherlands country profile and Swiss FDFA, political system: capital and seat-of-government distinctions.
- U.S. Board on Geographic Names statement on Kyiv; Astana city administration; and Chișinău municipal investment profile: names and capital references.
- Government of Montenegro, country fact sheet: Podgorica and Cetinje’s different roles.
- French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Kosovo profile: Pristina and the recognition dispute.
- Holy See, general information on Vatican City State: the distinction between Vatican City State and the Holy See.
English conventional names are used where familiar, with selected local diacritics retained. The table does not imply that every listed capital lies within a single physical definition of Europe.
