Quiz: Can You Name All the Countries That Start With 'A'? It's Surprisingly Hard

The Earth is home to a total of 195 countries. 193 are member countries of the United Nations, and two—Vatican City and Palestine—are recognized as independent nations. Out of all these nations, just 11 start with the letter ‘A’. How many of them can you identify? Give your geography knowledge a spin with this quiz and see how fast you can name them all!

How many did you get? Are you an expert geographer, or do you possibly need to spend some more time with a world map? Regardless, read more about the countries of our world that start with the letter ‘A’ below—spoilers for the quiz ahead, of course!

The Countries of the World That Start With ‘A’

Once again: spoilers for the quiz ahead, so if you haven’t taken it yet, scroll up and get started!

The 11 countries that start with ‘A’ are…drumroll…Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, and Azerbaijan. 

Afghanistan is a landlocked country also known as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Due to its location along many thriving trade routes, this nation has long been the object of empires’ desire to lay claim to it. However, its mountainous, desert-dense terrain has also made it challenging for those who have sought to control it.

Albania is a country in Southern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula, near the Adriatic Sea. Algeria, meanwhile, is Africa’s largest country. Located in North Africa, it contains a large swath of the blazing Sahara Desert, where some of Earth’s hottest temperatures have been recorded. 

Andorra is a small European country located in the south of the Pyrenees Mountains and bordered by France and Spain. Angola is a country on the southern edge of Africa with a diverse natural landscape and a complex colonial past. Antigua and Barbuda are located in the Caribbean Sea and are both islands that together form an independent state, known for their hundreds of sandy beaches. 

Argentina covers most of southern South America. The eighth-largest country in the world, its diverse landscape includes everything from tundra to mountains and forests. Armenia is a landlocked nation in Transcaucasia, located between Turkiye, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. Australia is both the planet’s smallest continent and one of its largest countries, and is between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Austria is a European country in the Alps. Finally, Azerbaijan is a country located in Transcaucasia, which has long had tense relations with its neighbor Armenia. 

Now you know a little bit more about the nations that start with ‘A’! But you might notice that one country is not listed here…a nation sometimes known as America. 

Is It America or the United States?

Actually, it’s both! The official name of the nation sometimes known as America is the United States of America. This name was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on September 9, 1776. Prior to that, it had been known as “Twelve United English Colonies of North America,” the “United Colonies of North America,” and some other names. Because of this, in official contexts, the USA is definitively a ‘U’ country, not an ‘A’ country.

The name America comes from the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, who was one of the first Europeans to propose that the lands Christopher Columbus reached in 1492 were not actually part of Asia, but rather were a separate continent. A map created in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller labeled the new continent “America.”

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