About Endonyms
An endonym is the name for a place, site or location in the language of the people who live there. These names may be officially designated by the local government or they may simply be widely used.
This map depicts endonyms of the countries of the world in their official or national languages. In cases where a country has more than one national or official language, the language that is most widely used by the local population is shown.
Some world language facts:
- The most common official or national language in the world is English, with 86 countries or territories. These jurisdictions represent roughly one-third the number of total countries and approximately 30% of the planet's land area.
- After English, the most common official languages are French, Spanish and Arabic.
- Combined, these four languages are used in some official form in 157 countries, about two-thirds of all countries. The small corner maps on the poster below show where these languages are used.
Greetings Visitors!
Since its publication, news of the Endonym Map has traveled far and wide. It has been featured on many popular websites and has received visitors from almost every country on the planet. I've enjoyed reading the discussions across the Internet and social media, as well as the emails I have received. I am pleased that the map has gotten a mostly positive, sometimes enthusiastic, response.
I am also aware that this map in its current form has flaws. Cartography is an iterative process and no single map will ever be absolutely correct. No matter how hard we try, we can always measure how far from perfect our attempts land. Your suggestions for corrections and updates are being noted and catalogued for possible use in future versions.
One big change I am exploring is the inclusion of minority language endonyms in some fashion. I would love to put all three official languages for Belgium on the map, or both Ireland and Éire for that matter. But with the limited space on a fixed map, there's just not room to do it fairly for all countries. And it bugs me to no end that places like South Africa and India have a dozen or so recognized languages, but there's only room on the map for one. But I am working on it and hopefully will come to a solution soon.
In the meantime, please enjoy the map!
Explore the Map
Answers, Errata and Discussion
A map of this nature taps into some deep notions of personal identity and can arouse strong nationalist passions. Indeed, I've received many (mostly polite) questions and comments asking why a particular language was used for a label, where a particular name came from or why certain features were included or excluded from the map. The section below explains in greater detail why the map looks the way it does. It also mentions a few mistakes that will be corrected in the next edition of the map.
Where do the country names come from?
The vast majority of names come from the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographic Names and the U.N.'s database of country names. Other sources include the CIA World Fact Book, Wikipedia and various government websites.
X isn't a country.
The map includes disputed territories if they have established de facto sovereignty over their territory, regardless of international recognition.
Also, labels may imply that some areas are sovereign countries when they are not. Such instances are noted in the Errata below.
X isn't a native language.
The Endonym Map expressly does not use the word "native" to describe the languages shown. These languages are local in that they are used officially or by the largest percentage of the local population. Because it is a map of countries (as opposed to peoples), it should more properly be read as a map of languages likely to be used for official business.
It is important to note that an endonym may not necessarily come from an area's indigenous language. Indeed, as a lasting effect of European colonialism, indigenous languages are often minority languages. The intent of this map is not to show place names in their "original" languages, but with the languages that are currently in use. In that sense, many of these names are native (i.e. used by local natives). But because of the potential for ambiguity and confusion, this map does not and will not refer to them that way.
Further, because many of these countries did not exist until Europeans carved up their borders, there may not be an indigenous name for them.
Where are Wales and Scotland?
The map shows top-level sovereignty based on ISO 3166 definitions (which are based on publication from the United Nations). Because this is an international map, countries are labeled with the face they show the world. The United Kingdom faces the world as a single entity (save for matters of football), thus it is labeled with the name it uses for international relations.
Ireland should be labeled in Irish as Éire.
Both "Ireland" and "Éire" are endonyms for the country. But because English is the more widely used language there, Ireland was chosen to be the label. Based on the 2006 census, only 30-40% of the population considers itself competent in the Irish language, with less than 10% using the language on an everyday basis.
For similar reasons, Isle of Man is labeled in English rather than Manx.
If you're going to use English, Ireland should be "Republic of Ireland".
The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948 provides an official description of the state as the Republic of Ireland. But the Irish constitution states the name is simply Ireland (or Éire), and it would require a constitutional amendment to change it.
On a similar note, Iceland is sometimes referred to as the Republic of Iceland (Lýðveldið Ísland), even by the United Nations. However, the word "republic" is written in lowercase letters in the Icelandic constitution. Thus, as with Ireland, "republic" is used as a descriptor and is not part of the name proper.
Antarctica?
If penguins could speak, what would they call it?
As politically-neutral territory, Antarctica does not have an endonym per se. However, among the territorial claimants, the majority of the continent is composed of English-speaking countries. English is also used as the lingua franca among various research stations there.
Where's the pronunciation guide?
The scope of this map is limited to writing systems. If you wish to find a pronunciation or romanization of a country's name, I recommend starting at its Wikipedia entry.
Errata
Known errors. A special thank you to all the commenters and correspondents who helped me identify these. I apologize for them and they will be fixed.
- Fiji is mis-labeled as "Republic of the Fiji Islands". The country changed its name to "Republic of Fiji" in 2011.
- The map implies that Tasmania is a separate country. The island is in fact a state of Australia.
- The Andaman and Nicobar Islands west of Thailand are a Union Territory of India and should be labeled as such.
- The island group north of Maldives are the Lakshadweep Islands. They are also a Union Territory of India.
- Alaska should be labeled "Alaska (U.S.A)".
- The British Virgin Islands should be labeled as "The Virgin Islands". The "British" designation is not part of the territory's official name.
- Despite its similarity to Portuguese, Spanish is not a historically significant language in Brazil. Upon further probing, sources used to make that claim cannot be verified. Brazil should not be shaded on the Hispanofonia corner map.
- Although English is the only official language in Sierra Leone, 90+% of its population understands Krio. As with Haiti, it should be labeled in two languages. I have not been able to find a full Krio translation of "Republic of Sierra Leone" however. Sierra Leone is called Salone in Krio.
- English is the dominant language of government, business and media in South Africa and is considered more politically neutral. Zulu, however, has many more speakers there and a Zulu endonym should have been included: iRiphabliki yaseNingizimu Afrika
- The Maldives script was flipped when the map rendered. It should be read right-to-left like so:
- The font for Bangladesh did not render properly. It should read like so:
Links
For a more detailed discussion of African names and indigenous languages, see African Country Names in Indigenous Languages at GeoCurrents.
Contact
If you've read this far and you still have questions, comments, corrections, compliments or insults, send them to [email protected].
Changelog
2013 edition changes
The world is an ever-changing place and hey, cartographers make mistakes. The 2013 edition of the Endonym Map contains the following changes and updates:
- In 2012, Hungary passed a new constitution which shortened the country's name from "Republic of Hungary" to just "Hungary". The map reflects the new name in Hungarian.
- The previous edition of the map showed the name of Mongolia in Mongolian script. Though the script is official, its use is considered more traditional. The Cyrillic alphabet is more widely used there, so the map now shows the name of the country in Cyrillic.
- The "Channel Islands" in the English Channel have been separated into their proper names as the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey.
- A Pacific island that was discovered to not actually exist has been removed.
- The endonym of Haiti is now shown both in French and Haitian Creole. This is because French is the dominant written language, while Haitian Creole is by more commonly spoken.
- Various typographic and cartographic fixes and clean up.
2014-03-08
This page now uses Leaflet to power the map, resulting in a smaller data footprint and faster load times.
Languages shown on map
| Country Formal Name (in English) | Language shown |
|---|---|
| Republic of Abkhazia | Abkhaz |
| Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | Persian |
| Aland Islands (Finland) | Swedish |
| Republic of Albania | Albanian |
| People's Democratic Republic of Algeria | Arabic |
| Territory of American Samoa (USA) | Samoan |
| Principality of Andorra | Catalan |
| Republic of Angola | Portuguese |
| Anguilla (UK) | English |
| Antigua and Barbuda | English |
| Argentine Republic | Spanish |
| Republic of Armenia | Armenian |
| Aruba (Netherlands) | Dutch |
| Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australia) | English |
| Commonwealth of Australia | English |
| Republic of Austria | German |
| Republic of Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani |
| Commonwealth of the Bahamas | English |
| Kingdom of Bahrain | Arabic |
| People's Republic of Bangladesh | Bengali |
| Barbados | English |
| Baykonur Cosmodrome | Russian |
| Republic of Belarus | Russian |
| Kingdom of Belgium | Dutch |
| Belize | English |
| Republic of Benin | French |
| The Bermudas (UK) | English |
| Kingdom of Bhutan | Dzongkha |
| Plurinational State of Bolivia | Spanish |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian |
| Republic of Botswana | Tswana |
| Federative Republic of Brazil | Portuguese |
| British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) | English |
| British Virgin Islands (UK) | English |
| State of Brunei Darussalam | Malay |
| Republic of Bulgaria | Bulgarian |
| Burkina Faso | French |
| Republic of Burundi | Kirundi |
| Kingdom of Cambodia | Khmer |
| Republic of Cameroon | French |
| Canada | English & French |
| Republic of Cabo Verde | Portuguese |
| Cayman Islands (UK) | English |
| Central African Republic | Sango |
| Republic of Chad | Arabic |
| Republic of Chile | Spanish |
| People's Republic of China | Chinese |
| Clipperton Island (France) | French |
| Republic of Colombia | Spanish |
| Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros | Comorian |
| Republic of the Congo | French |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | French |
| Cook Islands (New Zealand) | English |
| Coral Sea Islands Territory | English |
| Republic of Costa Rica | Spanish |
| Republic of Croatia | Croatian |
| Republic of Cuba | Spanish |
| Curaçao (Netherlands) | Papiamento |
| Republic of Cyprus | Greek |
| Northern Cyprus | Turkish |
| Czech Republic | Czech |
| Kingdom of Denmark | Danish |
| Republic of Djibouti | Arabic |
| Commonwealth of Dominica | English |
| Dominican Republic | Spanish |
| Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste | Portuguese |
| Republic of Ecuador | Spanish |
| Arab Republic of Egypt | Arabic |
| Republic of El Salvador | Spanish |
| Republic of Equatorial Guinea | Spanish |
| State of Eritrea | Tigrinya |
| Republic of Estonia | Estonian |
| Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | Amharic |
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) (UK) | English |
| Faroe Islands (Denamrk) | Faroese |
| Republic of the Fiji Islands | Figian |
| Republic of Finland | Finnish |
| French Republic | French |
| Territory of French Polynesia (France) | French |
| Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (France) | French |
| Gabonese Republic | French |
| Republic of the Gambia | English |
| Gaza Strip | Arabic |
| Georgia | Georgian |
| Federal Republic of Germany | German |
| Republic of Ghana | English |
| Gibraltar (UK) | English |
| Bailiwick of Guernsey (UK) | English |
| Hellenic Republic | Greek |
| Greenland (Denmark) | Kalaallisut |
| Grenada | English |
| Territory of Guam (USA) | English |
| Republic of Guatemala | Spanish |
| Republic of Guinea | French |
| Republic of Guinea Bissau | Portuguese |
| Cooperative Republic of Guyana | English |
| Republic of Haiti | French and Haitian Creole |
| Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Australia) | English |
| Republic of Honduras | Spanish |
| Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) | Chinese |
| Hungary | Hungarian |
| Republic of Iceland | Icelandic |
| Republic of India | Hindi |
| Republic of Indonesia | Indonesian |
| Islamic Republic of Iran | Persian |
| Republic of Iraq | Arabic |
| Ireland | English |
| Isle of Man (UK) | English |
| State of Israel | Hebrew |
| Italian Republic | Italian |
| Republic of Cote D'Ivoire | French |
| Jamaica | English |
| Japan | Japanese |
| Bailiwick of Jersey (UK) | English |
| Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | Arabic |
| Republic of Kazakhstan | Kazahk |
| Republic of Kenya | English |
| Republic of Kiribati | Gilbertese |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea | Korean |
| Republic of Korea | Korean |
| Republic of Kosovo | Albanian |
| State of Kuwait | Arabic |
| Kyrgyz Republic | Kyrgyz |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | Lao |
| Republic of Latvia | Latvian |
| Lebanese Republic | Arabic |
| Republic of Lesotho | Sesotho |
| Republic of Liberia | English |
| Libya | Arabic |
| Principality of Liechtenstein | German |
| Republic of Lithuania | Lithuanian |
| Grand Duchy of Luxembourg | Luxembourgish |
| Macau Special Administrative Region (China) | Chinese |
| Republic of Macedonia | Macedonian |
| Republic of Madagascar | Malagasy |
| Republic of Malawi | Chichewa |
| Malaysia | Malay |
| Republic of Maldives | Dhivehi |
| Republic of Mali | French |
| Republic of Malta | Maltese |
| Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (USA) | English |
| Republic of the Marshall Islands | Marshalese |
| Islamic Republic of Mauritania | Arabic |
| Republic of Mauritius | English |
| United Mexican States | Spanish |
| Federated States of Micronesia | English |
| Republic of Moldova | Romanian |
| Principality of Monaco | French |
| Mongolia | Mongolian |
| Montenegro | Montenegrin |
| Montserrat (UK) | English |
| Kingdom of Morocco | Arabic |
| Republic of Mozambique | Portuguese |
| Republic of the Union of Myanmar | Burmese |
| Nagorno-Karabakh Republic | Armenian |
| Republic of Namibia | English |
| Republic of Nauru | Nauruan |
| Kingdom of Nepal | Nepali |
| Kingdom of the Netherlands | Dutch |
| Netherlands Antilles | Dutch |
| Territory of New Caledonia (France) | French |
| New Zealand | English |
| Republic of Nicaragua | Spanish |
| Republic of Niger | French |
| Federal Republic of Nigeria | English |
| Niue (New Zealand) | Niuan |
| Territory of Norfolk Island (Australia) | English |
| Kingdom of Norway | Norweigan |
| Sultanate of Oman | Arabic |
| Islamic Republic of Pakistan | Urdu |
| Republic of Palau | Palaun |
| Republic of Panama | Spanish |
| Independent State of Papua New Guinea | Tok Pisin |
| Republic of Paraguay | Guaraní |
| Republic of Peru | Spanish |
| Republic of the Philippines | Filipino |
| Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands (UK) | English |
| Republic of Poland | Polish |
| Portuguese Republic | Portuguese |
| Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (USA) | Spanish |
| State of Qatar | Arabic |
| Romania | Romanian |
| Russian Federation | Russian |
| Rwandese Republic | Kinyarwanda |
| Saint Barthelemy (France) | French |
| Saint Helena (UK) | English |
| Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis | English |
| Saint Lucia | English |
| Saint Martin (France and Netherlands) | French & Dutch |
| Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France) | French |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | English |
| Independent State of Samoa | Samoan |
| Republic of San Marino | Italian |
| Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe | Portuguese |
| Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | Arabic |
| Republic of Senegal | French |
| Republic of Serbia | Serbian |
| Republic of Seychelles | English |
| Republic of Sierra Leone | English |
| Republic of Singapore | English |
| Slovak Republic | Slovak |
| Republic of Slovenia | Slovene |
| Solomon Islands | English |
| Federal Republic of Somalia | Somali |
| Republic of Somaliland | Somali |
| Republic of South Africa | English |
| Republic of South Ossetia | Ossetian |
| South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands (UK) | English |
| Republic of South Sudan | English |
| Kingdom of Spain | Spanish |
| Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | Sinhala |
| Republic of the Sudan | Arabic |
| Republic of Suriname | Dutch |
| Kingdom of Swaziland | Swati |
| Kingdom of Sweden | Swedish |
| Swiss Confederation | German |
| Syrian Arab Republic | Arabic |
| Republic of China | Chinese |
| Republic of Tajikistan | Tajik |
| United Republic of Tanzania | Swahili |
| Kingdom of Thailand | Thai |
| Togolese Republic | French |
| Kingdom of Tonga | Tongan |
| Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria) | Russian |
| Republic of Trinidad and Tobago | English |
| Republic of Tunisia | Arabic |
| Republic of Turkey | Turkish |
| Turkmenistan | Turkmen |
| Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) | English |
| Tuvalu | English & Tuvaluan |
| Republic of Uganda | English |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian |
| United Arab Emirates | Arabic |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | English |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | English |
| United States of America | English |
| Virgin Islands of the United States | English |
| Oriental Republic of Uruguay | Spanish |
| Republic of Uzbekistan | Uzbek |
| Republic of Vanuatu | Bislama |
| State of the Vatican City | Italian |
| Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | Spanish |
| Socialist Republic of Vietnam | Vietnamese |
| Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands | French |
| West Bank | Arabic |
| Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) | Arabic |
| Republic of Yemen | Arabic |
| Republic of Zambia | English |
| Republic of Zimbabwe | English |