33 out of 35 sovereign states of the Americas are member states of the Organization of American States (OAS); Cuba and Nicaragua are the only exceptions, although they are both former member states.
When formed on 5 May 1948, there were 21 members of the OAS. The organization's membership expanded as other nations in the Americas gained full political independence as sovereign states.
The following jurisdictions are not members of the OAS as each is a dependent territory or overseas territory of another sovereign state. They are grouped under the parent state which has sovereignty over them.
The observer states are: