This is a list of sovereign states in the 2020s, giving an overview of states around the world during the period between 1 January 2020 and the present day. It contains 210 entries, arranged alphabetically, with information on the status and recognition of their sovereignty. It includes 195 widely recognized sovereign states, two associated states, and 13 entities which claim an effective sovereignty but are considered de jure constituents of other powers by the general international community.

Excluded from the list above are the following noteworthy entities which either were not fully sovereign or did not claim to be independent:

•  Antarctica, as a whole, had no government and no permanent population. Seven states claimed portions of Antarctica and five of these reciprocally recognised one another's claims.^[10] These claims, which were regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System, were neither recognised nor disputed by any other signatory state.^[11]
• The European Union was a sui generis supranational organisation that had 27 member states (28 members until 31 January 2020). The member states transferred a measure of their legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the institutions of the EU, and as such the EU had some elements of sovereignty, without generally being considered a sovereign state. The European Union did not claim to be a sovereign state and had only limited capacity for relations with other states.
• The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was a former proto-state and current insurgent group primarily in Iraq and Syria, among other nations. ISlL used to be considered a quasi-state, but is no longer considered as such.
• The Sovereign Military Order of Malta was a United Nations observer. The order had bi-lateral diplomatic relations with a large number of states, but had no territory other than extraterritorial areas within Rome and Malta.^[12] The order's Constitution stated: "The Order is a subject of international law and exercises sovereign functions."^[13] Although the order frequently asserted its sovereignty, it did not claim to be a sovereign state. It lacked a defined territory. Since all its members were citizens of other states, almost all of them lived in their native countries, and those who resided in the order's extraterritorial properties in Rome did so only in connection with their official duties, the order lacked the characteristic of having a permanent population.
• The Tigray Region was recognized as a region of Ethiopia. Despite having been at war with the rest of Ethiopia, it was not commonly considered a sovereign state and was more of an insurgency or proto-state.

• List of sovereign states by year
• List of state leaders in 2020
• List of state leaders in 2021
• List of state leaders in 2022
• List of state leaders in 2023
• List of state leaders in 2024