How many Schengen countries are there?

There are 26 Schengen countries, as follows:

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Characteristics of Schengen countries

The purpose of Schengen is to cancel the border control between countries. People with valid status of any member state can move freely in all member States, and friends who travel can legally visit all Schengen countries as long as they have a visa from one of them. It's a bit like the flow between provinces. Border control between six of the seven member countries will be abolished, and holders of valid identity cards or visas of any member country can move freely within the territory of all member countries.