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Independent States in the World

Fact Sheet

Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Washington, DC

August 19, 2008

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)