Country names
Spellings of country names as recommended by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN).
- From:
- Ministry of Defence
- Published
- 1 July 2014
- Last updated
-
2622OctoberSeptember20232025 — See all updates
Documents
Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use
CSV, 6.186.21 KB
Details
PCGN works in conjunction with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to determine the list of country names and official state titles for use by all government departments. Country names usually reflect current British usage. The official state title, (ie. the form used in formal, legal or diplomatic contexts), where different, is shown and reflects the name used by the state itself. It is translated into English where necessary.
The list is arranged alphabetically by country name.
This information is also contained in the FCDO’s geographical names index.
Updates to this page
Published 1 July 2014
Last updated 2622 OctoberSeptember 2023
+ show2025
href="#full-history">+ show all updates
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Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2025-10-03 11:30
Updated ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present’.
2025-09-22 16:30
Updated ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’ and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present’.
2023-10-26 14:10
Updated Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present.
2023-01-19 10:51
Updated ‘Micronesia’ country name under ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’.
2022-10-21 14:31
Changed Republic of Iceland to Iceland in ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’ and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2022’.
2022-06-21 11:26
Updated country names lists and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2020’.
2022-05-03 14:03
Updated the names list.
2022-04-29 11:34
‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2020’ updated.
Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use
CSV, 6.186.21 KB
Details
PCGN works in conjunction with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to determine the list of country names and official state titles for use by all government departments. Country names usually reflect current British usage. The official state title, (ie. the form used in formal, legal or diplomatic contexts), where different, is shown and reflects the name used by the state itself. It is translated into English where necessary.
The list is arranged alphabetically by country name.
This information is also contained in the FCDO’s geographical names index.
Updates to this page
Published 1 July 2014
Last updated 2622 OctoberSeptember 2023
+ show2025
href="#full-history">+ show all updates
-
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2025-10-03 11:30
Updated ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present’.
2025-09-22 16:30
Updated ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’ and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present’.
2023-10-26 14:10
Updated Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present.
2023-01-19 10:51
Updated ‘Micronesia’ country name under ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’.
2022-10-21 14:31
Changed Republic of Iceland to Iceland in ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’ and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2022’.
2022-06-21 11:26
Updated country names lists and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2020’.
2022-05-03 14:03
Updated the names list.
2022-04-29 11:34
‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2020’ updated.
Details
PCGN works in conjunction with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to determine the list of country names and official state titles for use by all government departments. Country names usually reflect current British usage. The official state title, (ie. the form used in formal, legal or diplomatic contexts), where different, is shown and reflects the name used by the state itself. It is translated into English where necessary.
The list is arranged alphabetically by country name.
This information is also contained in the FCDO’s geographical names index.
Updates to this page
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2025-10-03 11:30
Updated ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present’.
2025-09-22 16:30
Updated ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’ and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present’.
2023-10-26 14:10
Updated Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present.
2023-01-19 10:51
Updated ‘Micronesia’ country name under ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’.
2022-10-21 14:31
Changed Republic of Iceland to Iceland in ‘Country names: The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British official use’ and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2022’.
2022-06-21 11:26
Updated country names lists and ‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2020’.
2022-05-03 14:03
Updated the names list.
2022-04-29 11:34
‘Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to 2020’ updated.