How many countries are under US sanctions?

The exact count shifts as OFAC adds and removes programs, and it ranges from comprehensive embargoes to narrow targeted measures.

TL;DR

TL;DR: The number of countries under US sanctions is not fixed. OFAC runs both comprehensive programs against a small set of jurisdictions and targeted programs against many more; SanctionsAI screens 16 jurisdictions in its synced data.

Comprehensive vs targeted sanctions

Comprehensive sanctions block nearly all dealings with a specific country. Targeted, or list based, sanctions block named individuals, entities, and transactions rather than a whole country. Most modern programs are targeted, which is why a single country count is misleading and why the SDN List matters more than a static map.

Why the number moves

OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Treasury, adds and removes designations constantly. A person, bank, or wallet can be listed or delisted at any time, so the SDN List changes hour to hour. SanctionsAI syncs its data hourly to keep pace with those changes instead of relying on a quarterly refresh.

What to screen instead of a country list

Rather than memorize a country count, screen each counterparty directly. SanctionsAI checks 19,218 SDN names, 947 OFAC-listed crypto wallets, and 16 jurisdictions in one HTTP call under 100 ms, returning ALLOW or BLOCK before a payment moves. That catches the targeted listings a country level view would miss. In practice, this means checking every counterparty each time rather than maintaining a static list of which countries are off limits. The SDN List changes far more often than any country count does, so the live screen is what keeps you current.