Country Without The Letter A In Its Name

When you scan the globe and tally the195 recognized nations, a surprising pattern emerges: several countries do not contain the letter “a” anywhere in their official English names. This observation may seem trivial, yet it opens a window onto linguistic history, colonial influences, and the quirks of translation. In this article we explore the full list, examine why certain states escaped the “a”‑filter, and address common questions that arise when enthusiasts dive into this linguistic curiosity.

The Constraint at a Glance The rule is simple: a country without the letter a in its name must have zero occurrences of the character “a” (case‑insensitive) in its commonly used English designation. This excludes not only the letter itself but also any diacritics that might hide it, such as “å” or “ä”. The constraint applies strictly to the spelling as it appears in standard atlases, United Nations documents, and most reputable reference works.

Countries That Meet the Condition

Below is the complete set of sovereign states whose English names lack the letter “a.” The list is short enough to memorize, yet diverse enough to illustrate global linguistic variety.

Europe

• Andorra – excluded (contains “a”)
• Monaco – included
• Liechtenstein – included
• San Marino – included
• Vatican City – included

Asia

• Japan – included
• Thailand – included - Iran – included
• Myanmar – included
• North Korea – included
• South Korea – included
• Laos – included
• Cambodia – included
• Vietnam – included

Africa

• Mali – included
• Ghana – included (note: “Ghana” contains an “a” but it is not part of the official short‑form; however, the full name “Ghana” does contain “a,” so it is excluded. Correction: Ghana must be excluded; the correct African entries are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland (now Eswatini), Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. All of these do contain “a,” so there are actually no African countries that meet the criterion. This nuance is worth highlighting because many assume at least one African nation qualifies.

Oceania

• Australia – excluded (contains “a”)
• Fiji – included
• Kiribati – included (contains “a” but also “i”; however, the spelling includes “a,” so it is excluded. The correct entry is Papua New Guinea – excluded; Samoa – included; Solomon Islands – excluded; Tonga – included; Tuvalu – included; Vanuatu – included.)

The Americas

• Canada – included
• Chile – included
• Colombia – excluded (contains “a”)
• Cuba – included
• Dominica – excluded (contains “a”)
• Dominican Republic – excluded (contains “a”)
• El Salvador – excluded (contains “a”)
• Grenada – included
• Guatemala – excluded (contains “a”)
• Haiti – included
• Jamaica – included
• Mexico – included - Nicaragua – excluded (contains “a”)
• Panama – included - Paraguay – excluded (contains “a”)
• Peru – included
• Saint Kitts and Nevis – included
• Saint Lucia – included
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – included
• Trinidad and Tobago – included
• United States – included
• Uruguay – included
• Venezuela – excluded (contains “a”)

After careful enumeration, the complete list of countries without the letter “a” comprises the following 30 sovereign states:

1. Monaco 2. Liechtenstein
2. San Marino