Names of Countries in Their Own Languages

Map of Europe showing the names of countries in their native languages.
Map of Europe showing the names of countries in their native languages.

Presently, there are more than 190 member states of the United Nations as well as Vatican City, which is also recognized as being sovereign. Aside from that, there are other countries that are not recognized or have limited recognition. Each of these countries has an English name as well as the native name depending on the national language. In some cases, a country can have more than one name if there is more than one national language or if there are multiple major groups with differing languages. For example, a country like Belgium has three names since it has three major languages namely Dutch, German, and French.

Select Country Names in the Their Only Languages

Bosnia and Herzegovina

This country has three official/native languages, which translates to three names for the nation. The three languages are Bosnian, Croatian (Cyrillic script), and Serbian. The three corresponding names for the country are Bosna i Hercegovina, Херцеговина, and Босна и. Aside from the common English variation, other names are Bosnia–Herzegovina or simply Bosnia (informal). At times, it can also be abbreviated to B&H. The nation is located in the southeastern region of Europe in the Balkan Peninsula.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

This nation has four names based on the native languages, which are French, Kongo, Lingala, Swahili, and Luba-Katanga. Abbreviated as the DRC, its respective native names are République démocratique du Congo, Repubilika ya Kôngo ya Dimokalasi, Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki, Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, and Ditunga dia Kongu wa Mungalaata. Other names for it are DR Congo, the Congo, East Congo, DROC, and Congo-Kinshasa. The nation, which lies in Central Africa, may at times be referred to its former name of Zaire.

India

India is one of the largest countries in the world by population, which means it has several language groups spoken by the 1.3 billion people living there. Located in Asia, India has more than ten languages that use different scripts. Examples of these languages include Assamese, Tamil, Punjabi, Hindi, English, Gujarati, and others. This high number of languages also means an equally high number of names for the nation such as Bhārat, Bharôt, Bhāratadēsam, the Republic of India, Bhāratam, and others.

Saudi Arabia

Also located in Asia, Saudi Arabia (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) only uses Arabic, which is part of the Arabic script. In Arabic, the name of the kingdom is Al-‘Arabiyyah as Sa‘ūdiyyah (المملكة العربية السعودية). In the Middle East region, this nation is the largest with an area of about 830,000 square miles.

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland also has a number of languages namely English, Welsh, Scots, Scots Gaelic, Irish, and Cornish. Aside from the English name, the others include Y Deyrnas Unedig and Rìoghachd Aonaichte. Common English variations are simply Britain or the UK.

Name Variations

For most of the names in native languages, there are relationships between the names. The most notable example is the case of India whose names look similar even to an individual who does not understand the languages.

Names of Countries in Their Own Languages

RankCountry Name (English)Language(s)Country Name (Native Tongue)
1AfghanistanDari, PashtoافغانستانAfghanestan
2AlbaniaAlbanianShqipëria
3AlgeriaArabic, BerberDzayer
4AndorraCatalanAndorra
5AngolaKongo, PortugueseAngola
6Antigua and BarbudaEnglishAntigua and Barbuda
7ArgentinaSpanishArgentina
8ArmeniaArmenianHayastán
9AustraliaEnglishAustralia
10AustriaGermanÖsterreich
11AzerbaijanAzerbaijaniAzərbaycan
12The BahamasEnglishThe Bahamas
13BahrainArabic, BerberالبحرينAl-Bahrayn
14BangladeshBengaliBangladesh বাংলাদেশ
15BarbadosEnglishBarbados
16BelarusBelarusianBielaruś, Беларусь
17BelgiumDutch, French, GermanBelgië, Belgique, Belgien
18BelizeEnglishBelize
19BeninFrenchBénin
20BhutanDzongkhaDruk Yul, འབྲུག་ཡུལ
21BoliviaAymara, Guaraní, Quechua, SpanishWuliwya, Volívia, Buliwya, Bolivia
22Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnian, Serbian, CroatianBosnia I Hercegovína, Босна и Херцеговина
23BotswanaEnglish, TswanaBotswana
24BrazilPortugueseBrasil
25BruneiMalayBrunei بروني
26BulgariaBulgarianBulgariya, България
27Burkina FasoFrenchBurkina Faso
28BurundiFrench, KirundiBurundi, Uburundi
29CambodiaKhmerKampuchea កម្ពុជា
30CameroonEnglish, FrenchCameroon, Cameroun
31CanadaEnglish, FrenchCanada
32Cape VerdePortugueseCabo Verde
33Central African RepublicFrench, sangoRépublique Centrafricaine, Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka
34ChadArabic, FrenchTchad, تشاد
35ChileSpanishChile
36ChinaMandarin ChineseZhōngguó 中国
37ColombiaSpanishColombia
38ComorosArabic, French, Shikomorجزر القمر Comores Koromi
39Republic of the CongoFrench, LingalaRépublique du Congo, Republíki ya Kongó
40Democratic Republic of the CongoFrench, Lingala, SwahiliRépublique démocratique du Congo, Republíki ya Kongó, Demokratíki Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo
41Costa RicaSpanishCosta Rica
42Côte d'IvoireFrenchCôte d'Ivoire
43CroatiaCroatianHrvatska
44Cuba SpanishCuba
45CyprusGreek, TurkishΚύπρος Kıbrıs
46CzechiaCzechČesko
47DenmarkDanishDanmark
48DjibutiArabic, Frenchجيبوتي Djibouti
49Dominica RepublicSpanishRepública Dominicana
50East TimorPortuguese, TetumTimor-Lester, Timor Lorosa'e
51EcuadorSpanishEcuador
52EgyptArabicمصرMisr
53El SalvadorSpanishEl Salvador
54Equatorial GuineaSpanishGuinea Ecuatorial
55EritreaArabic, TigrinyaIritriya إرتريا Ertra
56EstoniaEstonianEesti
57EswatiniEnglish, SwaziEswatini, eSwatini
58EthiopiaAmharicItyop'ia ኢትዮጵያ
59FijiEnglish, Fijian, Fiji HindiFiji, Viti, फ़िजी
60FinlandFinnish, SwedishSuomi, Finland
61FranceFrenchFrance
62GabonFrenchRépublique gabonaise
63The GambiaEnglishThe Gambia
64GeorgiaGeorgianSak'art'velo საქართველო
65GermanyGermanDeutschland
66GhanaAkan, English, Ewe, TwiGaana, Ghana, Gana, Gana
67GreeceGreekHellas Ελλάς
68GrenadaEnglishGrenada
69GuatemalaSpanishGuatemala
70GuineaFrench, Manika, PularGuinée, Gine, Gine
71GuyanaEnglishGuyana
72HaitiFrench, Haitian CreoleHaïti, Ayiti
73 HondurasSpanishHonduras
74Hong KongEnglish, CantoneseHong Kong, Heung Gong, 香港
75 HungaryHungarianMagyarország
76IcelandIcelandicÍsland
77IndiaAssamese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Konkai, Malayalam, Marthi, Nepalese, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, TeluguBharôt ভাৰত, Bharôt ভারত, India, Bhārat ભારત, Bhārat भारत, Bhārata ಭಾರತ, Bhārat भारत, Bhāratam ഭാരതം, Bhārat भारत, Bhārat भारत, Bharôtô ଭାରତ, Bhārat ਭਾਰਤ, Bhāratam भारतम्, Bārata பாரதம், Bhāratadēsam భారత దేశం
78IndonesiaBahasa IndonesiaIndonesia
79IranPersianĪrān ایران
80IraqArabic, KurdishAl-'Iraq العراق
81IrelandEnglish, IrishIreland, Éire
82IsraelArabic, HebrewIsraʼiyl إسرائيل, Yisra'el ישראל
83ItalyItalianItalia
84JamaicaEnglishJamaica
85JapanJapaneseNippon 日本
86JordanArabic Al-'Urdun الأردن
87KazakhstanKazakh, Russian Qazaqstan Қазақстан, Kazakhstán Казахстан
88KenyaEnglish, SwahiliKenya
89North KoreaKoreanChosŏn 조선 Bukchosŏn 북조선
90South KoreaKoreanHanguk 한국 Namhan 남한
91KosovoAlbanian, SerbianKosova, Косово
92KuwaitArabicDawlat ul-Kuwayt دولة الكويت
93KyrgyzstanKyrgyz, Russian Kyrgyzstan Кыргызстан, Kirgizija Киргизия
94LaosLaoLao ປະເທດລາວ
95LatviaLatviaLatvija
96LebanonArabic, FrenchLubnān لبنان, Liban
97LesothoEnglish, SesothoLesotho
98LibyaBerber, ArabicLibya, Lībiyā ليبيا
99LiechtensteinGermanLiechtenstein
100LithuaniaLithuanianLietuva
101LuxembourgFrench, German, LuxembourgishLuxembourg, Luxemburg, Lëtezebuerg
102MadagascarFrench, MalagasyMadagascar, Madagasikara
103MalawiChichewa, EnglishMalaŵi, Malawi
104MalaysiaMandarin Chinese, Malay, TamilMǎláixīyà 马来西亚, Malaysia, மலேசியா
105MaldivesDhivehiDhivehi Raajje
106MaliBambara, FrenchMali, Mali
107MaltaEnglish, MalteseMalta, Malta
108Marshall IslandsEnglish, MarshalleseMarshall Islands, Aorōkin M̧ajeļ
109MauritaniaArabic, BererMuritan / Agawec, Mūrītānyā موريتانيا
110MauritiusEnglish, French, Mauritian CreoleMauritius, Maurice, Moris
111MexicoNahuatl, SpanishMēxihco, México
112Federated States of MicronesiaEnglishFederated States of Micronesia
113MoldovaRomanianMoldova
114MonacoFrench, MonégasqueMonaca, Múnegu
115MongoliaMongolia Mongol Uls Монгол Улс
116MontenegroMontenegrinCrna Gora Црна Гора
117MoroccoArabic, BerberAl-maɣréb المغرب, Amerruk / Elmeɣrib
118MozambiquePortugueseMoçambique
119MyanmarBurmeseMyanma မြန်မာ
120NamibiaAfrikaans, Engish, Damara, German, HereroNamibia, Namibia, Namibia, Namibia, Namibia
121NepalDavanagari, NepaleseNepāl नेपाल
122The NetherlandsDutch, West FrisianNederland, Nederlân
123New ZealandEnglish, MāoriNew Zealand, Aotearoa
124NicaraguaSpanishNicaragua
125NigerFrenchNiger
126NigeriaEnglish, Hausa, Igbo, YorubaNigeria, Nijeriya, Naigeria, Nàìjíríà
127North MacedoniaMacedonianSeverna Makedonija Северна Македонија
128NorwayNorwegianNorge
129OmanArabic‘Umān عُمان
130PakistanEnglish, UrduPākistān پاکستان
131PalauEnglish, PalauanPalau, Belau
132PalestineArabicFilasṭīn فلسطين
133PanamaSpanishPanamá
134Papua New GuineaEnglish, Hiri Motu, Tok PisinPapua New Guinea, Papua Niugini, Papua Giugini
135ParaguayGuaraní, SpanishParaguái, Paraguay
136PeruAymara, SpanishPiruw, Perú
137PhilippinesEnglish, FilipinoPhilippines, Pilipinas
138PolandPolishPolska
139PortugualPortuguesePortugal
140QatarArabicQaṭar قطر
141RomaniaRomanianRomânia
142RussiaRussianRossiâ Россия
143RwandaEnglish, French, Kinyarwanda, SwahiliRwanda
144Saint Kitts and NevisEnglishSaint Kitts and Nevis
145Saint LuciaEnglishSaint Lucia
146Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesEnglishSaint Vincent and the Grenadines
147SamoaEnglish, SamoanSamoa, Sāmoa
148San MarinoItalianSan Marino
149São Tomé and PrincipePortugueseSão Tomé e Principe
150Saudi ArabiaArabicAl-‘Arabiyyah as Sa‘ūdiyyah المملكة العربية السعودية
151SenegalFrenchSénégal
152SerbiaSerbianSrbija Србија
153SeychellesEnglish, French, Seychellois CreoleSeychelles, Seychelles, Sesel
154Sierra LeoneEnglishSierra Leone
155SingaporeEnglish, Malay, Mandarin Chinese, TamilSingapore, Singapura, 新加坡, சிங்கப்பூர்
156SlovakiaSlovakSlovensko
157SloveniaSloveneSlovenija
158Solomon IslandsEnglih, Neo-SolomonicSolomon Islands, Solomon Aelan
159SomaliaArabic, SomaliSoomaaliya aş-Şūmāl, الصومال
160South AfricaAfrikaans, English, isiZulu, isiXhoas, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, Tsonga, Swazi, NdebeleSuid-Afrika, South Africa, iNingizimu Afrika, uMzantsi Afrika, Afrika-Borwa, Afrika Borwa, Aforika Borwa, Afurika Tshipembe, Afrika Dzonga, iNingizimu Afrika, iSewula Afrika
161South SudanEnglish, Dinka, SwahiliSouth Sudan, Paguot Thudän, Sudan Kusini
162SpainSpanish, Catalan, BasqueEspaña, Espanya, Espainia
163Sri LankaSinhala, TamilSri Lankā ශ්‍රී ලංකාව இலங்கை
164SudanArabicAs-Sudan السودان
165SwedenSwedishSverige
166SwitzerlandFrench, German, Italian, RomanshSuisse, Schweiz, Svizzera, Svizra
167SyriaArabicSuriyah سورية
168TajikistanTajiki-PersianTojikistan Тоҷикистон
169TanzaniaEnglish, SwahiliTanzania
170ThailandThai Mueang Thai, Prathet Thai, Ratcha-anachak Thai เมืองไทย, ประเทศไทย, ราชอาณาจักรไทย
171TogoEwe, French, KabiyeTogo, Togo, Togo
172TongaEnglish, TonganTonga
173Trinidad and TobagoEnglishTrinidad and Tobago
174TunisiaArabic,BerberTunes, تونس
175TurkmenistanTurkmenTürkiye
176TuvaluEnglish, TuvaluanTuvalu
177UgandaEnlish, SwahiliUganda
178UkraineUkrainianUkraїna Україна
179United Arab EmiratesArabic Al-’Imārat Al-‘Arabiyyah Al-Muttaḥidah الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة
180United KingdomEnglish, Welsh, Scots, IrishUnited Kingdom, Y Deyrnas Unedig, Rìoghachd Aonaichte, Ríocht Aontaithe
181United StatesEnglish, SpanishUnited States, Estados Unidos
182UruguaySpanishUruguay
183UzbekistanUzbekO‘zbekiston Ўзбекистон
184VanuatuFrenchVanuatu
185Vatican CityItalian, latinCittà del Vaticano, Civitas Vaticana
186VenezuelaSpanishVenezuela
187VietnamVietnameseViệt Nam
188YemenArabicAl-Yaman اليمن
189ZambiaBemba, Chewa, EnglishZambia
190ZimbabweEnglish, ShonaZimbabwe
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