Short form name * Long form name - Country code - Capital city
 
A
Afghanistan * Islamic State of Afghanistan - AF - Kabul 
Albania * Republic of Albania - AL - Tirana 
Algeria * Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria - DZ - Algiers 
Andorra * Principality of Andorra - AD - Andorra la Vella  
Angola * Republic of Angola - AO - Luanda  
Antigua and Barbuda - AG - Saint John's  
Argentina * Argentine Republic - AR - Buenos Aires  
Armenia * Republic of Armenia - AM - Yerevan  
Australia * Commonwealth of Australia - AU - Canberra  
Austria * Republic of Austria - AT - Vienna  
Azerbaijan * Azerbaijani Republic - AZ - Baku  

B
Bahamas, The * Commonwealth of The Bahamas - BS - Nassau  
Bahrain * State of Bahrain - BH - Manama  
Bangladesh * People's Republic of Bangladesh - BD - Dhaka  
Barbados - BB - Bridgetown  
Belarus * Republic of Belarus - BY - Minsk  
Belgium * Kingdom of Belgium - BE - Brussels  
Belize - BZ - Belmopan  
Benin * Republic of Benin - BJ - Porto-Novo  
Bhutan * Kingdom of Bhutan - BT - Thimphu  
Bolivia * Republic of Bolivia - BO - La Paz (administrative) / Sucre (legislative/judiciary)  
Bosnia and Herzegowina - BA - Sarajevo  
Botswana * Republic of Botswana - BW - Gaborone  
Brazil * Federative Republic of Brazil - BR - Brasilia  
Brunei * Negara Brunei Darussalam - BN - Bandar Seri Begawan  
Bulgaria * Republic of Bulgaria - BG - Sofia  
Burkina Faso * Burkina Faso - BF - Ouagadougou  
Burma (Myanmar) * Union of Burma - MM - Yangon (Rangoon)  
Burundi * Republic of Burundi - BI - Bujumbura  

C
Cambodia * Kingdom of Cambodia - KH - Phnom Penh  
Cameroon * Republic of Cameroon - CM - Yaoundé  
Canada - CA - Ottawa  
Cape Verde * Republic of Cape Verde - CV - Praia  
Central African Republic * Central African Republic - CF - Bangui  
Chad * Republic of Chad - TD - N'Djamena  
Chile * Republic of Chile - CL - Santiago  
China * People's Republic of China - CN - Beijing  
Colombia * Republic of Colombia - CO - Bogotá (Santafé de Bogotá, D.C.)  
Comoros * Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros - KM - Moroni  
Congo (Brazzaville) * Republic of the Congo - CG - Brazzaville  
Congo (Kinshasa) * Democratic Republic of the Congo - CD - Kinshasa  
Costa Rica * Republic of Costa Rica - CR - San José  
Cote d'Ivoire * Republic of Côte d'Ivoire - CI - Yamoussoukro  
Croatia (Hrvatska) * Republic of Croatia - HR - Zagreb  
Cuba * Republic of Cuba - CU - Havana  
Cyprus * Republic of Cyprus - CY - Nicosia (Lefkosia)  
Czech Republic * Czech Republic - CZ - Prague  

D
Denmark * Kingdom of Denmark - DK - Copenhagen  
Djibouti * Republic of Djibouti - DJ - Djibouti  
Dominica * Commonwealth of Dominica - DM - Roseau  
Dominican Republic * Dominican Republic - DO - Santo Domingo  

E
East Timor - TP - Dili  
Ecuador * Republic of Ecuador - EC - Quito  
Egypt * Arab Republic of Egypt - EG - Cairo  
El Salvador * Republic of El Salvador - SV - San Salvador  
Equatorial Guinea * Republic of Equatorial Guinea - GQ - Malabo  
Eritrea * State of Eritrea - ER - Asmara  
Estonia * Republic of Estonia - EE - Tallinn  
Ethiopia * Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia - ET - Addis Ababa  

F
Fiji * Republic of the Fiji Islands - FJ - Suva  
Finland * Republic of Finland - FI - Helsinki  
France * French Republic - FR - Paris  

G
Gabon * Gabonese Republic - GA - Libreville  
Gambia, The * Republic of The Gambia - GM - Banjul  
Georgia - GE - T'bilisi  
Germany * Federal Republic of Germany - DE - Berlin  
Ghana * Republic of Ghana - GH - Accra  
Greece * Hellenic Republic - GR - Athens  
Grenada - GD - Saint George's  
Guatemala * Republic of Guatemala - GT - Guatemala (City)  
Guinea * Republic of Guinea - GN - Conakry  
Guinea-Bissau * Republic of Guinea-Bissau - GW - Bissau  
Guyana * Co-operative Republic of Guyana - GY - Georgetown  

H
Haiti * Republic of Haiti - HT - Port-au-Prince  
Holy See (Vatican City State) * Holy See - VA - Vatican City  
Honduras * Republic of Honduras - HN - Tegucigalpa  
Hungary * Republic of Hungary - HU - Budapest  

I
Iceland * Republic of Iceland - IS - Reykjavik  
India * Republic of India - IN - New Delhi  
Indonesia * Republic of Indonesia - ID - Jakarta  
Iran * Islamic Republic of Iran - IR - Tehran  
Iraq * Republic of Iraq - IQ - Baghdad  
Ireland - IE - Dublin (City)  
Israel * State of Israel - IL - Jerusalem  
Italy * Italian Republic - IT - Rome  

J
Jamaica - JM - Kingston  
Japan - JP - Tokyo  
Jordan * Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan - JO - Amman  

K
Kazakhstan * Republic of Kazakhstan - KZ - Astana  
Kenya * Republic of Kenya - KE - Nairobi  
Kiribati * Republic of Kiribati - KI - Tarawa  
Korea (North) * Democratic People's Republic of Korea - KP - P'yongyang  
Korea (South) * Republic of Korea - KR - Seoul  
Kuwait * State of Kuwait - KW - Kuwait (City)  
Kyrgyzstan * Kyrgyz Republic - KG - Bishkek  

L
Laos * Lao People's Democratic Republic - LA - Vientiane  
Latvia * Republic of Latvia - LV - Riga  
Lebanon * Lebanese Republic LB Beirut  
Lesotho * Kingdom of Lesotho LS Maseru  
Liberia * Republic of Liberia LR Monrovia  
Libya * Socialist People's
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya LY Tripoli  
Liechtenstein * Principality of Liechtenstein LI Vaduz  
Lithuania * Republic of Lithuania LT Vilnius  
Luxembourg * Grand Duchy of Luxembourg LU Luxembourg  

M
Macedonia * The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia MK Skopje  
Madagascar * Republic of Madagascar MG Antananarivo  
Malawi * Republic of Malawi MW Lilongwe  
Malaysia *   MY Kuala Lumpur  
Maldives * Republic of Maldives MV Male  
Mali * Republic of Mali ML Bamako  
Malta *   MT Valletta  
Marshall Islands * Republic of the
Marshall Islands MH Majuro  
Mauritania * Islamic Republic
of Mauritania MR Nouakchott  
Mauritius * Republic of Mauritius MU Port Louis  
Mexico * United Mexican States MX Mexico City  
Micronesia * Federated States
of Micronesia FM Palikir  
Moldova * Republic of Moldova MD Chisinau  
Monaco * Principality of Monaco MC Monaco  
Mongolia *   MN Ulaanbaatar  
Morocco * Kingdom of Morocco MA Rabat  
Mozambique * Republic of Mozambique MZ Maputo  

N
Namibia * Republic of Namibia NA Windhoek  
Nauru  Republic of Nauru NR Yaren District
(no capital city)  
Nepal * Kingdom of Nepal NP Kathmandu  
Netherlands * Kingdom of the Netherlands NL Amsterdam
The Hague (seat of gov't)  
New Zealand *   NZ Wellington  
Nicaragua * Republic of Nicaragua NI Managua  
Niger * Republic of Niger NE Niamey  
Nigeria * Federal Republic of Nigeria NG Abuja  
Norway * Kingdom of Norway NO Oslo  

O
Oman * Sultanate of Oman OM Muscat  

P
Pakistan * Islamic Republic of Pakistan PK Islamabad  
Palau * Republic of Palau PW Koror  
Palestine  Palestinian Authority/td> -- ?  
Panama * Republic of Panama PA Panama (City)  
Papua New Guinea * Independent State
of Papua New Guinea PG Port Moresby  
Paraguay * Republic of Paraguay PY Asunción  
Peru * Republic of Peru PE Lima  
Philippines * Republic of the Philippines PH Manila  
Poland * Republic of Poland PL Warsaw  
Portugal * Portuguese Republic PT Lisbon  

Q
Qatar * State of Qatar QA Doha (Al-Dawhah)  

R
Romania *   RO Bucharest  
Russia * Russian Federation RU Moscow  
Rwanda * Rwandese Republic RW Kigali  

S
Saint Kitts and Nevis * Federation of Saint
Kitts and Nevis KN Basseterre  
Saint Lucia *   LC Castries  
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *   VC Kingstown  
Samoa * Independent State of Samoa WS Apia  
San Marino * Republic of San Marino SM San Marino  
Sao Tome and Principe * Democratic Republic of
Sao Tome and Principe ST São Tomé  
Saudi Arabia * Kingdom of Saudi Arabia SA Riyadh  
Senegal * Republic of Senegal SN Dakar  
Seychelles * Republic of Seychelles SC Victoria  
Sierra Leone * Republic of Sierra Leone SL Freetown  
Singapore * Republic of Singapore SG Singapore  
Slovakia * Slovak Republic SK Bratislava  
Slovenia * Republic of Slovenia SI Ljubljana  
Solomon Islands *   SB Honiara  
Somalia *   SO Mogadishu  
South Africa * Republic of South Africa ZA Pretoria (administrative)
Cape Town (legislative)
Bloemfontein (judiciary)  
Spain * Kingdom of Spain ES Madrid  
Sri Lanka * Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka LK Colombo  
Sudan * Republic of the Sudan SD Khartoum  
Suriname * Republic of Suriname SR Paramaribo  
Swaziland * Kingdom of Swaziland SZ Mbabane (administrative)
Lobamba (legislative)  
Sweden * Kingdom of Sweden SE Stockholm  
Switzerland * Swiss Confederation CH Bern  
Syria * Syrian Arab Republic SY Damascus  

T
Taiwan *   TW Taipei  
Tajikistan * Republic of Tajikistan TJ Dushanbe  
Tanzania * United Republic of Tanzania TZ Dar es Salaam
Dodoma (legislative)  
Thailand * Kingdom of Thailand TH Bangkok  
Tibet  (Xizang - Under Sovereignty of China) - Lhasa  
Togo * Togolese Republic TG Lomé  
Tonga  Kingdom of Tonga TO Nuku'alofa  
Trinidad and Tobago * Republic of Trinidad and Tobago TT Port-of-Spain  
Tunisia * Republic of Tunisia TN Tunis  
Turkey * Republic of Turkey TR Ankara  
Turkmenistan *   TM Ashgabat  
Tuvalu    TV Funafuti  

U
Uganda * Republic of Uganda UG Kampala  
Ukraine *   UA Kiev  
United Arab Emirates * United Arab Emirates AE Abu Dhabi  
United Kingdom * United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland UK London  
United States * United States of America US Washington D.C.  
Uruguay * Oriental Republic of Uruguay UY Montevideo  
Uzbekistan * Republic of Uzbekistan UZ Tashkent  

V
Vanuatu * Republic of Vanuatu VU Port-Vila  
Venezuela * Republic of Venezuela VE Caracas  
Viet Nam * Socialist Republic of Vietnam VN Hanoi  

Y
Yemen * Republic of Yemen YE Sanaa  
Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) * Federal Republic of Yugoslavia YU Belgrade  

Z
Zambia * Republic of Zambia ZM Lusaka  
Zimbabwe * Republic of Zimbabwe ZW Harare  
  
 
Definition of an independent state
A specialized type of political organization characterized by a full-time, specialized, professional work force of tax-collectors, soldiers, policemen, bureaucrats and the like that exercises supreme political authority over a defined territory with a permanent population, independent from any enduring external political control and possessing a local predominance of coercive power (always supplemented with moral and remunerative incentives as well) great enough to maintain general obedience to its laws or commands within its territorial borders. 

The first known states were created in ancient times in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Mexico and Peru, but it is only in relatively modern times that states have almost completely displaced alternative "stateless" forms of political organization of societies all over the planet. (Roving bands of hunter-gatherers and even fairly sizable and complex tribal societies based on herding or agriculture have existed without any full-time specialized state organization, and these "stateless" forms of political organization have in fact prevailed for all of the prehistory and much of the history of the human species.)