Longest Country Name

ByAndy

One of the distinctions that the UK holds is that it is the country with the longest name in the world.

The UK’s formal name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which comes in at a total of 56 characters.

That’s a whopping 10 characters longer than the second longest country name in the world – the Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati.

Here is a table listing the five countries with the longest names in the world.

PosCountry NameCharacters
1The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland56
2Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati46
3Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe 45
4The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia41
5The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea41

Longest Country name in Europe

Yes, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the country in Europe with the longest name as well.

This nation encompasses four constituent countries, namely England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom has a rich history and is known for its cultural diversity, iconic landmarks, and influential contributions to various fields such as literature, music, and science. With a population of over 66 million people, the United Kingdom has a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system of governance.

The second longest country name in Europe is the Federal Republic of Germany, with 33 characters in its formal name. It’s closely followed by the Principality of Lichtenstein (29 characters), the Kingdom of the Netherlands (27 characters), the Republic of North Macedonia (25 characters) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (22).

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the longest country name in Europe that doesn’t include the form of government (eg, Kingdom, Federal Republic, Principality or Confederation.)

As you can see from the table, there are quite a few countries in Europe with long names.

Country NameCharacters
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland56
Federal Republic of Germany33
Principality of Liechtenstein29
Kingdom of the Netherlands27
Republic of North Macedonia25
Bosnia and Herzegovina22
Swiss Confederation20
Republic of San Marino20
Principality of Monaco20
Russian Federation19
Kingdom of Belgium19
Republic of Lithuania19
Principality of Andorra19
Republic of Azerbaijan19
Kingdom of Sweden18
Kingdom of Norway18
Republic of Slovenia18
Republic of Bulgaria18
Republic of Armenia18
Republic of Georgia18
Republic of Albania18
Kingdom of Spain17
Republic of Belarus17
Republic of Ireland17
Republic of Croatia17
Republic of Estonia17
Republic of Hungary17
Republic of Austria17
Republic of Finland17
Republic of Iceland17
Republic of Moldova17
Hellenic Republic17
Republic of Cyprus17
Republic of Poland17
Slovak Republic16
Republic of Latvia16
Republic of Turkey16
Republic of Serbia16
Vatican City State16
Republic of Italy16
Czech Republic15
French Republic15
Faroe Islands13
Montenegro10
Portugal8
Romania7

Longest Town Name in the World

The United Kingdom also has the distinction of being home to the town with the longest name in the world. That town is, as many people will already know:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

The town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is located in Wales, on the island of Anglesey and has a population of just over 3,000 people. Some people might argue that it is actually the village in the world with the longest name.

For practical reasons, its name is often shortened to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll or even Llainfair.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch translated into English means: The Llan of Saint Mary in a hollow of white hazel near the rapid whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave”.

Shortest country name

The countries with the shortest names (not messing about with abbreviations) all have four letters in their name. There are quite a lot of four letter country names in the world too. Currently, the list of shortest country names in the world is:

  • Chad
  • Cuba
  • Fiji
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Laos
  • Mali
  • Oman
  • Peru
  • Togo

If you count abbreviations, you could argue that the United Kingdom (UK) has the shortest country name in the world as well as the longest. But that’s a bit of a stretch, and one it would share with many, many other countries.

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