Countries of the world and their official name, short name

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Countries of the world in alphabetic order

A country, often referred to as a nation or a state, encompasses a distinct geographic region governed by a single government. An independent country is not only a self-governed nation with its authorities but also requires international diplomatic recognition of its sovereignty.

The recognition of a country's sovereignty is typically granted by other sovereign states and international organizations. While there isn't a single organization responsible for giving recognition, entities like the United Nations (UN), regional organizations, and individual countries play key roles in acknowledging and establishing diplomatic relations with new states.

World map

The United Nations recognizes 193 member states. Vatican City and Palestine hold the status of permanent observers in the United Nations. Additionally, Kosovo, recognized by 101 UN members, and Taiwan, recognized by 12 UN members and one UN observer, are often included in discussions about countries, despite not being UN members.

Our comprehensive list of world countries includes all UN members and Vatican City which have country flags, short names, and official names of each country.  Discover more about the country by clicking on a country name.

List of countries of the world

SL Name Flag Short Name Official Name View
1 Afghanistan AF The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan View
2 Albania AL The Republic of Albania View
3 Algeria DZ The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria View
4 Andorra AD The Principality of Andorra View
5 Angola AO The Republic of Angola View
6 Antigua and Barbuda AG Antigua and Barbuda View
7 Argentina AR The Argentine Republic View
8 Armenia AM The Republic of Armenia View
9 Australia AU Australia View
10 Austria AT The Republic of Austria View
11 Azerbaijan AZ The Republic of Azerbaijan View
12 Bahamas BS The Commonwealth of the Bahamas View
13 Bahrain BH The Kingdom of Bahrain View
14 Bangladesh BD The People's Republic of Bangladesh View
15 Barbados BB Barbados View
16 Belarus BY The Republic of Belarus View
17 Belgium BE The Kingdom of Belgium View
18 Belize BZ Belize View
19 Benin BJ The Republic of Benin View
20 Bhutan BT The Kingdom of Bhutan View
21 Bolivia BO The Plurinational State of Bolivia View
22 Bosnia and Herzegovina BA Bosnia and Herzegovina View
23 Botswana BW The Republic of Botswana View
24 Brazil BR The Federative Republic of Brazil View
25 Brunei BN Brunei Darussalam View
26 Bulgaria BG The Republic of Bulgaria View
27 Burkina BF Burkina Faso View
28 Burundi BI The Republic of Burundi View
29 Cambodia KH The Kingdom of Cambodia View
30 Cameroon CM The Republic of Cameroon View
31 Canada CA Canada View
32 Cape Verde CV Republic of Cabo Verde View
33 Central African Republic CF The Central African Republic View
34 Chad TD The Republic of Chad View
35 Chile CL The Republic of Chile View
36 China CN The People's Republic of China View
37 Colombia CO The Republic of Colombia View
38 Comoros KM The Union of the Comoros View
39 Congo CG The Republic of the Congo View
40 Congo, Democratic Republic of CD The Democratic Republic of the Congo View
41 Costa Rica CR The Republic of Costa Rica View
42 Croatia HR The Republic of Croatia View
43 Cuba CU The Republic of Cuba View
44 Cyprus CY The Republic of Cyprus View
45 Czech Republic CZ The Czech Republic View
46 Denmark DK The Kingdom of Denmark View
47 Djibouti DJ The Republic of Djibouti View
48 Dominica DM The Commonwealth of Dominica View
49 Dominican Republic DO The Dominican Republic View
50 East Timor TL The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste View
51 Ecuador EC The Republic of Ecuador View
52 Egypt EG The Arab Republic of Egypt View
53 El Salvador SV The Republic of El Salvador View
54 Equatorial Guinea GQ The Republic of Equatorial Guinea View
55 Eritrea ER The State of Eritrea View
56 Estonia EE The Republic of Estonia View
57 Eswatini (fmr. "Swaziland") SZ The Kingdom of Eswatini View
58 Ethiopia ET The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia View
59 Fiji FJ The Republic of Fiji View
60 Finland FI The Republic of Finland View
61 France FR The French Republic View
62 Gabon GA The Gabonese Republic View
63 Gambia GM The Republic of the Gambia View
64 Georgia GE Georgia View
65 Germany DE The Federal Republic of Germany View
66 Ghana GH The Republic of Ghana View
67 Greece GR The Hellenic Republic View
68 Grenada GD Grenada View
69 Guatemala GT The Republic of Guatemala View
70 Guinea GN The Republic of Guinea View
71 Guinea-Bissau GW The Republic of Guinea-Bissau View
72 Guyana GY The Co-operative Republic of Guyana View
73 Haiti HT The Republic of Haiti View
74 Honduras HN The Republic of Honduras View
75 Hungary HU Hungary View
76 Iceland IS The Republic of Iceland View
77 India IN The Republic of India View
78 Indonesia ID The Republic of Indonesia View
79 Iran IR The Islamic Republic of Iran View
80 Iraq IQ The Republic of Iraq View
81 Ireland IE Ireland View
82 Israel IL The State of Israel View
83 Italy IT The Republic of Italy View
84 Ivory Coast CI The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire View
85 Jamaica JM Jamaica View
86 Japan JP Japan View
87 Jordan JO The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan View
88 Kazakhstan KZ The Republic of Kazakhstan View
89 Kenya KE The Republic of Kenya View
90 Kiribati KI The Republic of Kiribati View
91 Kuwait KW The State of Kuwait View
92 Kyrgyzstan KG The Kyrgyz Republic View
93 Laos LA The Lao People's Democratic Republic View
94 Latvia LV The Republic of Latvia View
95 Lebanon LB The Lebanese Republic View
96 Lesotho LS The Kingdom of Lesotho View
97 Liberia LR The Republic of Liberia View
98 Libya LY State of Libya View
99 Liechtenstein LI Principality of Liechtenstein View
100 Lithuania LT The Republic of Lithuania View
101 Luxembourg LU The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg View
102 Macedonia MK The Republic of North Macedonia View
103 Madagascar MG The Republic of Madagascar View
104 Malawi MW The Republic of Malawi View
105 Malaysia MY Malaysia View
106 Maldives MV The Republic of Maldives View
107 Mali ML The Republic of Mali View
108 Malta MT The Republic of Malta View
109 Marshall Islands MH The Republic of the Marshall Islands View
110 Mauritania MR The Islamic Republic of Mauritania View
111 Mauritius MU The Republic of Mauritius View
112 Mexico MX The United Mexican States View
113 Micronesia FM The Federated States of Micronesia View
114 Moldova MD The Republic of Moldova View
115 Monaco MC The Principality of Monaco View
116 Mongolia MN Mongolia View
117 Montenegro ME Montenegro View
118 Morocco MA The Kingdom of Morocco View
119 Mozambique MZ The Republic of Mozambique View
120 Myanmar MM The Republic of the Union of Myanmar View
121 Namibia NA The Republic of Namibia View
122 Nauru NR The Republic of Nauru View
123 Nepal NP The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal View
124 Netherlands NL The Kingdom of the Netherlands View
125 New Zealand NZ New Zealand View
126 Nicaragua NI The Republic of Nicaragua View
127 Niger NE The Republic of the Niger View
128 Nigeria NG The Federal Republic of Nigeria View
129 North Korea KP The Democratic People's Republic of Korea View
130 Norway NO The Kingdom of Norway View
131 Oman OM The Sultanate of Oman View
132 Pakistan PK The Islamic Republic of Pakistan View
133 Palau PW The Republic of Palau View
134 Panama PA The Republic of Panama View
135 Papua New Guinea PG Independent State of Papua New Guinea View
136 Paraguay PY The Republic of Paraguay View
137 Peru PE The Republic of Peru View
138 Philippines PH The Republic of the Philippines View
139 Poland PL The Republic of Poland View
140 Portugal PT The Portuguese Republic View
141 Qatar QA The State of Qatar View
142 Romania RO Romania View
143 Russia RU The Russian Federation View
144 Rwanda RW The Republic of Rwanda View
145 Saint Kitts and Nevis KN Saint Kitts and Nevis View
146 Saint Lucia LC Saint Lucia View
147 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC Saint Vincent and the Grenadines View
148 Samoa WS The Independent State of Samoa View
149 San Marino SM The Republic of San Marino View
150 Sao Tome and Principe ST The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe View
151 Saudi Arabia SA The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia View
152 Senegal SN The Republic of Senegal View
153 Serbia RS The Republic of Serbia View
154 Seychelles SC The Republic of Seychelles View
155 Sierra Leone SL The Republic of Sierra Leone View
156 Singapore SG The Republic of Singapore View
157 Slovakia SK The Slovak Republic View
158 Slovenia SI The Republic of Slovenia View
159 Solomon Islands SB Solomon Islands View
160 Somalia SO The Federal Republic of Somalia View
161 South Africa ZA The Republic of South Africa View
162 South Korea KR The Republic of Korea View
163 South Sudan SS The Republic of South Sudan View
164 Spain ES The Kingdom of Spain View
165 Sri Lanka LK The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka View
166 Sudan SD The Republic of the Sudan View
167 Suriname SR The Republic of Suriname View
168 Sweden SE The Kingdom of Sweden View
169 Switzerland CH The Swiss Confederation View
170 Syria SY The Syrian Arab Republic View
171 Tajikistan TJ The Republic of Tajikistan View
172 Tanzania TZ The United Republic of Tanzania View
173 Thailand TH The Kingdom of Thailand View
174 Togo TG The Togolese Republic View
175 Tonga TO The Kingdom of Tonga View
176 Trinidad and Tobago TT The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago View
177 Tunisia TN The Republic of Tunisia View
178 Turkey TR The Republic of Turkey View
179 Turkmenistan TM Turkmenistan View
180 Tuvalu TV Tuvalu View
181 Uganda UG The Republic of Uganda View
182 Ukraine UA Ukraine View
183 United Arab Emirates AE The United Arab Emirates View
184 United Kingdom GB The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland View
185 United States US The United States of America View
186 Uruguay UY The Eastern Republic of Uruguay View
187 Uzbekistan UZ The Republic of Uzbekistan View
188 Vanuatu VU The Republic of Vanuatu View
189 Vatican City VA Città del Vaticano View
190 Venezuela VE The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela View
191 Vietnam VN The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam View
192 Yemen YE The Republic of Yemen View
193 Zambia ZM The Republic of Zambia View
194 Zimbabwe ZW The Republic of Zimbabwe View

There are 54 countries in Africa, 44 in Asia, 14 in Australia, 47 in Europe, 23 in North America, 12 in South America, and 0 in Antarctica.

Whether you're learning about different places, planning a trip, or just curious, our website is your go-to resource for exploring the diverse countries that make up our world. Join us on this exciting journey as we discover and learn about the countries and cultures that shape our global community.

Last updated on: 4/2/2024

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