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 You are in: Bureaus/Offices Reporting Directly to the Secretary > Bureau of Intelligence and Research > Intelligence and Research - Releases > Lists for Independent States and Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty 
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Washington, DC
August 19, 2008

Independent States in the World

See also:
Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty
How's That Place Spelled? (GEOnet)
State Department Country Background Notes

Total count of independent states: 194
*  Diplomatic relations with the United States
+ Member of United Nations
!   New change, since previous list

STATE
Short-form name Long-form name FIPS Code
(see note 2)
Capital
Afghanistan *+ Islamic Republic of Afghanistan AF Kabul
Albania *+ Republic of Albania AL Tirana
Algeria *+ People's Democratic Republic of Algeria AG Algiers
Andorra *+ Principality of Andorra AN Andorra la Vella
Angola *+ Republic of Angola AO Luanda
Antigua and
Barbuda *+
(no long-form name) AC Saint John's
Argentina *+ Argentine Republic AR Buenos Aires
Armenia *+ Republic of Armenia AM Yerevan
Australia *+ Commonwealth of Australia AS Canberra
Austria *+ Republic of Austria AU Vienna
Azerbaijan *+ Republic of Azerbaijan AJ Baku
Bahamas, The *+ Commonwealth
of The Bahamas
BF Nassau
Bahrain *+ Kingdom of Bahrain BA Manama
Bangladesh *+ People's Republic
of Bangladesh
BG Dhaka
Barbados *+ (no long-form name) BB Bridgetown
Belarus *+ Republic of Belarus BO Minsk
Belgium *+ Kingdom of Belgium BE Brussels
Belize *+ (no long-form name) BH Belmopan
Benin *+ Republic of Benin BN Porto-Novo
Bhutan + Kingdom of Bhutan BT Thimphu
Bolivia *+ Republic of Bolivia BL La Paz (administrative)
Sucre (legislative/judiciary)
Bosnia and
Herzegovina *+
(no long-form name) BK Sarajevo
Botswana *+ Republic of Botswana BC Gaborone
Brazil *+ Federative Republic of Brazil BR Brasília
Brunei *+ Brunei Darussalam BX Bandar Seri Begawan
Bulgaria *+ Republic of Bulgaria BU Sofia
Burkina Faso *+ Burkina Faso UV Ouagadougou
Burma *+ Union of Burma BM Rangoon
Nay Pyi Taw (administrative)
Burundi *+ Republic of Burundi BY Bujumbura
Cambodia *+ Kingdom of Cambodia CB Phnom Penh
Cameroon *+ Republic of Cameroon CM Yaoundé
Canada *+ (no long-form name) CA Ottawa
Cape Verde *+ Republic of Cape Verde CV Praia
Central
African Republic *+
Central African Republic CT Bangui
Chad *+ Republic of Chad CD N'Djamena
Chile *+ Republic of Chile CI Santiago
China *+ (see note 3) People's Republic of China CH Beijing
Colombia *+ Republic of Colombia CO Bogotá
Comoros *+ Union of the Comoros CN Moroni
Congo (Brazzaville) *+
(see note 4)
Republic of the Congo CF Brazzaville
Congo (Kinshasa) *+
(see note 4)
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
CG Kinshasa
Costa Rica *+ Republic of Costa Rica CS San José
Côte d'Ivoire *+ Republic of Côte d'Ivoire IV Yamoussoukro
Croatia *+ Republic of Croatia HR Zagreb
Cuba + Republic of Cuba CU Havana
Cyprus *+ Republic of Cyprus CY Nicosia
Czech Republic *+ Czech Republic EZ Prague
Denmark *+ Kingdom of Denmark DA Copenhagen
Djibouti *+ Republic of Djibouti DJ Djibouti
Dominica *+ Commonwealth of Dominica DO Roseau
Dominican Republic *+ Dominican Republic DR Santo Domingo
Ecuador *+ Republic of Ecuador EC Quito
Egypt *+ Arab Republic of Egypt EG Cairo
El Salvador *+ Republic of El Salvador ES San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea *+ Republic of Equatorial Guinea EK Malabo
Eritrea *+ State of Eritrea ER Asmara
Estonia *+ Republic of Estonia EN Tallinn
Ethiopia *+ Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia
ET Addis Ababa
Fiji *+ Republic of the
Fiji Islands
FJ Suva
Finland *+ Republic of Finland FI Helsinki
France *+ French Republic FR Paris
Gabon *+ Gabonese Republic GB Libreville
Gambia, The *+ Republic of The Gambia GA Banjul
Georgia *+ Georgia GG Tbilisi
Germany *+ Federal Republic of Germany GM Berlin
Ghana *+ Republic of Ghana GH Accra
Greece *+ Hellenic Republic GR Athens
Grenada *+ (no long-form name) GJ Saint George's
Guatemala *+ Republic of Guatemala GT Guatemala
Guinea *+ Republic of Guinea GV Conakry
Guinea-Bissau *+ Republic of Guinea-Bissau PU Bissau
Guyana *+ Co-operative
Republic of Guyana
GY Georgetown
Haiti *+ Republic of Haiti HA Port-au-Prince
Holy See * Holy See VT Vatican City
Honduras *+ Republic of Honduras HO Tegucigalpa
Hungary *+ Republic of Hungary HU Budapest
Iceland *+ Republic of Iceland IC Reykjavík
India *+ Republic of India IN New Delhi
Indonesia *+ Republic of Indonesia ID Jakarta
Iran + Islamic Republic of Iran IR Tehran
Iraq *+ Republic of Iraq IZ Baghdad
Ireland *+ (no long-form name) EI Dublin
Israel *+ State of Israel IS Jerusalem (see note 5)
Italy *+ Italian Republic IT Rome
Jamaica *+ (no long-form name) JM Kingston
Japan *+ (no long-form name) JA Tokyo
Jordan *+ Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan
JO Amman
Kazakhstan *+ Republic of Kazakhstan KZ Astana
Kenya *+ Republic of Kenya KE Nairobi
Kiribati *+ Republic of Kiribati KR Tarawa
Korea, North + Democratic People's Republic of Korea KN Pyongyang
Korea, South *+ Republic of Korea KS Seoul
Kosovo * Republic of Kosovo KV Pristina
Kuwait *+ State of Kuwait KU Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan *+ Kyrgyz Republic KG Bishkek
Laos *+ Lao People's
Democratic Republic
LA Vientiane
Latvia *+ Republic of Latvia LG Riga
Lebanon *+ Lebanese Republic LE Beirut
Lesotho *+ Kingdom of Lesotho LT Maseru
Liberia *+ Republic of Liberia LI Monrovia
Libya *+ Great Socialist People's
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
LY Tripoli
Liechtenstein *+ Principality of Liechtenstein LS Vaduz
Lithuania *+ Republic of Lithuania LH Vilnius
Luxembourg *+ Grand Duchy of Luxembourg LU Luxembourg
Macedonia *+ Republic of Macedonia MK Skopje
Madagascar *+ Republic of Madagascar MA Antananarivo
Malawi *+ Republic of Malawi MI Lilongwe
Malaysia *+ (no long-form name) MY Kuala Lumpur
Maldives *+ Republic of Maldives MV Male
Mali *+ Republic of Mali ML Bamako
Malta *+ Republic of Malta MT Valletta
Marshall Islands *+ Republic of the
Marshall Islands
RM Majuro
Mauritania *+ Islamic Republic
of Mauritania
MR Nouakchott
Mauritius *+ Republic of Mauritius MP Port Louis
Mexico *+ United Mexican States MX Mexico
Micronesia,
Federated States of *+
Federated States
of Micronesia
FM Palikir
Moldova *+ Republic of Moldova MD Chisinau
Monaco *+ Principality of Monaco MN Monaco
Mongolia *+ (no long-form name) MG Ulaanbaatar

Montenegro *+

Montenegro

MJ

Podgorica

Morocco *+ Kingdom of Morocco MO Rabat
Mozambique *+ Republic of Mozambique MZ Maputo
Namibia *+ Republic of Namibia WA Windhoek
Nauru *+ Republic of Nauru NR Yaren District
(no capital city)
Nepal *+ ! Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal NP Kathmandu
Netherlands *+ Kingdom of the Netherlands NL Amsterdam
The Hague (seat of gov't)
New Zealand *+ (no long-form name) NZ Wellington
Nicaragua *+ Republic of Nicaragua NU Managua
Niger *+ Republic of Niger NG Niamey
Nigeria *+ Federal Republic of Nigeria NI Abuja
Norway *+ Kingdom of Norway NO Oslo
Oman *+ Sultanate of Oman MU Muscat
Pakistan *+ Islamic Republic of Pakistan PK Islamabad
Palau *+ Republic of Palau PS Melekeok
Panama *+ Republic of Panama PM Panama
Papua New Guinea *+ Independent State
of Papua New Guinea
PP Port Moresby
Paraguay *+ Republic of Paraguay PA Asunción
Peru *+ Republic of Peru PE Lima
Philippines *+ Republic of the Philippines RP Manila
Poland *+ Republic of Poland PL Warsaw
Portugal *+ Portuguese Republic PO Lisbon
Qatar *+ State of Qatar QA Doha
Romania *+ (no long-form name) RO Bucharest
Russia *+ Russian Federation RS Moscow
Rwanda *+ Republic of Rwanda RW Kigali
Saint Kitts and Nevis *+ Federation of Saint
Kitts and Nevis
SC Basseterre
Saint Lucia *+ (no long-form name) ST Castries
Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines *+
(no long-form name) VC Kingstown
Samoa *+ Independent State of Samoa WS Apia
San Marino *+ Republic of San Marino SM San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe *+ Democratic Republic of
Sao Tome and Principe
TP São Tomé
Saudi Arabia *+ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia SA Riyadh
Senegal *+ Republic of Senegal SG Dakar

Serbia *+

Republic of Serbia

RI

Belgrade
Seychelles *+ Republic of Seychelles SE Victoria
Sierra Leone *+ Republic of Sierra Leone SL Freetown
Singapore *+ Republic of Singapore SN Singapore
Slovakia *+ Slovak Republic LO Bratislava
Slovenia *+ Republic of Slovenia SI Ljubljana
Solomon Islands *+ (no long-form name) BP Honiara
Somalia *+ (no long-form name) SO Mogadishu
South Africa *+ Republic of South Africa SF Pretoria (administrative)
Cape Town (legislative)
Bloemfontein (judiciary)
Spain *+ Kingdom of Spain SP Madrid
Sri Lanka *+ Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka
CE Colombo
Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative)
Sudan *+ Republic of the Sudan SU Khartoum
Suriname *+ Republic of Suriname NS Paramaribo
Swaziland *+ Kingdom of Swaziland WZ Mbabane (administrative)
Lobamba (legislative)
Sweden *+ Kingdom of Sweden SW Stockholm
Switzerland *+ Swiss Confederation SZ Bern
Syria *+ Syrian Arab Republic SY Damascus
Tajikistan *+ Republic of Tajikistan TI Dushanbe
Tanzania *+ United Republic of Tanzania TZ Dar es Salaam
Dodoma (legislative)
Thailand *+ Kingdom of Thailand TH Bangkok
Timor-Leste *+ Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste TT Dili
Togo *+ Togolese Republic TO Lomé
Tonga *+ Kingdom of Tonga TN Nuku'alofa
Trinidad and Tobago *+ Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago
TD Port-of-Spain
Tunisia *+ Tunisian Republic TS Tunis
Turkey *+ Republic of Turkey TU Ankara
Turkmenistan *+ (no long-form name) TX Ashgabat
Tuvalu *+ (no long-form name) TV Funafuti
Uganda *+ Republic of Uganda UG Kampala
Ukraine *+ (no long-form name) UP Kyiv
United Arab Emirates *+ United Arab Emirates AE Abu Dhabi
United Kingdom *+ United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland UK London
United States + United States of America US Washington, DC
Uruguay *+ Oriental Republic of Uruguay UY Montevideo
Uzbekistan *+ Republic of Uzbekistan UZ Tashkent
Vanuatu *+ Republic of Vanuatu NH Port-Vila
Venezuela *+ Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela VE Caracas
Vietnam *+ Socialist Republic of Vietnam VM Hanoi
Yemen *+ Republic of Yemen YM Sanaa
Zambia *+ Republic of Zambia ZA Lusaka
Zimbabwe *+ Republic of Zimbabwe ZI Harare

OTHER
Short-form name Long-form name FIPS Code (see note 2) Capital
Taiwan (see note 6) (no long-form name) TW Taipei


NOTES
Note 1:   In this listing, the term "independent state" refers to a people politically organized
into a sovereign state with a definite territory recognized as independent by the US.

Note 2:   Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4 codes.

Note 3:   With the establishment of diplomatic relations with China on January 1, 1979, the
US Government recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government
of China and acknowledged the Chinese position that there is only one China and that
Taiwan is part of China.

Note 4:   "Congo" is the official short-form name for both the Republic of the Congo and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.   To distinguish one from the other, the U.S. Department
of State adds the capital in parentheses.   This practice is unofficial and provisional.

Note 5:   Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950. The United States, like nearly all other countries, maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv.

Note 6:   Claimed by both the Government of the People's Republic of China and the authorities
on Taiwan.   Administered by the authorities on Taiwan. (see note 3)

Source:   Office of The Geographer and Global Issues, Bureau of Intelligence and Research,
U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.


How's That Place Spelled?

The GEOnet Names Server (GNS) provides access to the National Imagery and Mapping Agency's (NIMA's) database of foreign geographic feature names.   If you want to see the official U.S. Government spelling of places around the world, go to:

GEOnet Names Server (an interactive search tool)



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