195 sovereign states have been recognized by the United Nations. It includes 193 member states and 2 observer states. Of these, there are no countries that begin with the letter W. However, Wales, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, starts with W. Notable regions that start with W include: 

Places Beginning With the Letter W

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the Great Britain Island and the United Kingdom. The official languages spoken are English and Welsh. Bristol Channel borders the state on the South, England on the East, and the Irish Sea on the North and West. The Welsh nation emerged from Celtic Britons when the Romans withdrew from Britain in the 5th century. Politically, Wales is part of the United Kingdom. In the House of Commons, the lower house of UK parliament, Wales has forty MPs. In the past 250 years, the economy of Wales has rapidly transformed from a predominantly agricultural one to that dependent on the industry. Wales has a moderate climate similar to the rest of the UK.

Western Sahara

Western Sahara remains a disputed region of North Africa. It is partially controlled by Moroccan occupants and self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Mauritania borders Western Sahara to the East and South, Algeria to the Northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the West and Morocco to the North. Politically, Polisario Front and Morocco government contest for the region. Western Sahara’s legality remains unresolved. The major ethnic group in this region is Sahrawis, speaking Hassaniya dialect of Arabic. Economically, Western Sahara is rich in phosphate reserves and fishing waters. It also has few natural resources. The region experiences hot and dry climatic conditions. Rainfall is negligible in most parts of Western Sahara. Vast stretches of sandy desert cover such area.

Western Samoa

Western Samoa is an independent state, having a unitary parliamentary democracy with eleven administrative divisions. It also has two islands: Upolu and Savai’i. The official languages are English and Samoan. The Lapita people discovered the Samoan Islands 3500 years ago. Samoa is among the Commonwealth Nations. The industrial sector produces the largest Gross Domestic Product of 58.4%. It is followed by the services sector at 30.2%. Agriculture follows with 11.4%. Western Samoa experiences tropical climate throughout the year. It has two seasons: the dry season from May to October and the wet season from November to April.

WA Self

Wa Self is a self-administered division in Myanmar (Burma). It is composed of two regions: Southern and Northern. The Southern region borders Thailand and it has a population of 200,000 people. WA Self was officially named by a decree passed on August 20, 2010. The WA government recognizes the sovereignty of its central government above all of Myanmar. The government declared Wa Self to be self-administered by the Wa people. Currently, it is administered by the government of the, "de facto independent Wa State." Its official name is WA Special Region 2. Mandarin-Chinese and Wa are spoken here. In the past, the economy of Wa Self had been relying mostly on opium production. Currently, with Chinese assistance, Wa Self has moved towards growing tea and rubber. Today, WA Self grows 220,000 acres of rubber. The migration of residents from mountains to fertile valleys has contributed to growing of corn, vegetables, and wet rice. The economy of Wa Self depends on China who supports it financially, provides weapons, and civilian advisors.

Alphabet And Countries

There are no recognized sovereign states that begin with the letter W. In fact, W and X are the only alphabetic letters that do not have any countries beginning with that letter. The letters O, Q, and Y begin the names of one country each, composed of Oman, Qatar, and Yemen respectively.