 There are 50 sovereign states with territory located within the common definition of Europe and/or membership in international European organisations that are near universally recognised internationally.All are either member or observer states of the United Nations (UN), and all except Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City are members of the Council of Europe.44 have their capital city within Europe and (since 2020) 27 of these countries have also been member states of the EU, which means they are highly integrated with each other and share their sovereignty with EU institutions.