122 names of countries in Spanish

Country names in Spanish can be tricky. As a beginning Spanish learner, it’s easy to mix up the names of countries and the adjectives used to describe people or things from those countries. For example, even native speakers sometimes confuse the names of European countries like Sweden (Suecia) and Switzerland (Suiza) and their associated nationalities (sueco and suizo, respectively). 

But it’s not all bad news. After all, there are two whole continents (North America and South America) where many of the Spanish names for countries are the same as in English. 

To keep it all straight, we’ve put together a solid list of country names in Spanish. We’ve even included the nationalities in Spanish. This is important because sometimes they don’t match!

• Europe
• Asia
• Australia and Oceania
• Africa
• North America
• South America
• A note on gender and nationality in Spanish

Europe

Country names in Spanish for European nations tend to be the most different from English.

Asia

Australia and Oceania

Africa

North America

South America

A note on gender and nationality in Spanish

For female nouns, the nationality must be written accordingly. You do this by adding an “a” at the end (if the word ends in a consonant) or by swapping the final “o” for an “a.” For example:

• Icelandic → islandés/islandesa 
• British → británico/británica

If the nationality already ends in “e,” “a” or “i,” nothing changes. For example:

• Ethiopian → etíope
• Croat → croata
• Moroccan → marroquí

Most of the country names in Spanish

Learning country names in Spanish helps you talk about a lot of topics: politics, travel, where you’re from and more. For many countries, the names in Spanish are not that different. But the nationalities can be a bit trickier. Remember that country names in Spanish are capitalized, but nationalities are not. Now, get out there and impress with your knowledge of language and geography!

Alison Maciejewski Cortez

Alison Maciejewski Cortez is Chilean-American, born and raised in California. She studied abroad in Spain, has lived in multiple countries, and now calls Mexico home. She believes that learning how to order a beer in a new language reveals a lot about local culture. Alison speaks English, Spanish, and Thai fluently and studies Turkish. Her consulting business takes her around the world and she is excited to share language tips as part of the Lingoda team. Follow her culinary and cultural experiences on Twitter.