When asked to name a country, most people instinctively think of single-word names such as Italy, Brazil, or Japan. However, a closer look at the world map reveals a surprising number of countries whose common names consist of two, three, or even more words. The following is a list of countries with two or more words in their names.
There is one important distinction to keep in mind: almost every country has a multi-word official name used in legal and diplomatic contexts. If we relied on official names, single-word countries such as France and Thailand would become the French Republic and the Kingdom of Thailand. To keep this guide practical for trivia enthusiasts, geography students, and word game fans, this list includes only countries’ common names, which are the names most commonly used on standard maps, globes, and atlases.
Countries with Two or More Words in Their Names
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)
- Central African Republic
- Costa Rica
- Czech Republic (Czechia)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Marshall Islands
- New Zealand
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Congo
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- San Marino
- São Tomé and Príncipe
- Saudi Arabia
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- The Gambia
- The Bahamas
- Timor-Leste (East Timor)
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Vatican City
Other
- Cook Islands (a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand)
- Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom)
- Sint Maarten (constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
(Also read: Countries with four-letter names)
Two-word country names
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)
- Costa Rica
- Czech Republic (Czechia)
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)
- Marshall Islands
- New Zealand
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Saint Lucia
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- The Gambia
- The Bahamas
- Timor-Leste (East Timor)
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Vatican City
Three-word country names
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Central African Republic
- Papua New Guinea
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United Arab Emirates
Country names with more than three words
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Republic of the Congo
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- São Tomé and Príncipe