Updated: Mar. 25, 2022
There are 195 countries in the world, but only 24 out of 26 alphabet letters begin their names. See if you can guess which letters are missing.
Put your thinking caps on, globe-savvy readers. Can you name a country that starts with every letter in the English alphabet? Some might come to you right away, like Australia, Brazil, and Canada. Others could be trickier, like Kenya or Luxembourg.
While you could go on like this for all 195 countries,you won’t solve it for all 26 letters in the alphabet. In fact, no matter how long you muse and mull over this puzzling problem, there are two letters that no countries in the world start with. See if you can guess which ones they are.
Ready for the answer? Drum roll, please: Turns out, no countries in the world start with the letters W or X. (If this was too easy, see how many U.S. states you can identify on a completely blank map.)
Some might be quick to point out that Wales, which is considered a country, starts with the letter W. But Wales is actually part of a larger “sovereign state,” the UK, and is not a member of the United Nations (UN). As a result, it is often not included in official totals of countries. Other countries that aren’t included: these 15 countries that existed 100 years ago—but don’t anymore.
If you guessed Y, you were close—but you probably forgot about Yemen, which is the only country in the world that starts with the letter Y. Meanwhile, Oman is the only country that starts with the letter O. Other rare letters include Q and Z; no countries but Zambia and Zimbabwe begin with the letter Z, while Qatar is the lone country that starts with Q. Now that you’ve got this trivia down, see if you can ace this U.S. state capital quiz. Good luck!
FAQs
Drum roll, please: Turns out, no countries in the world start with the letters W or X.
What are 2 countries that start with Z? ›
There are two countries in the world that begin with the letter Z: Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Do any countries start with W? ›
There are three country in the world that begins with the letter “W” : Wallis-and-Futuna, Western Sahara and Wales. These countries represent different regions and cultures, each with its own unique characteristics and significance.
What are two countries without letter A? ›
Greece, Fiji, Sweden, Kosovo, Cyprus, Egypt, Yemen, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Belize, Chile, Mexico, Brunie, Burundi, Congo, Morocco, Lesotho, Belgium, Benin, Togo, Peru.
What letters are not the first letter of a country? ›
Some alphabet letters have been used predominantly in naming countries such as B and S. However, some letters like Q have been used in naming only one country. The two letters of the alphabet that do not begin the name of a country are X and W.
What 2 letters do no countries start with? ›
In fact, no matter how long you muse and mull over this puzzling problem, there are two letters that no countries in the world start with. See if you can guess which ones they are. Ready for the answer? Drum roll, please: Turns out, no countries in the world start with the letters W or X.
What are 2 countries that start with R? ›
Countries that start with "R"
| # | Country | Area (Km²) |
|---|
| 1 | Russia | 16,376,870 |
| 2 | Romania | 230,170 |
| 3 | Rwanda | 24,670 |
In short names, there is Cyprus, Comoros, DRC, Morocco, Djibouti, Burundi, Togo, Congo, Fiji, and Kosovo. However if we use only official names, there is only one country on the whole planet that has no A's and E's, and that country is the Kingdom of Morocco.
What country starts with Q? ›
Out of the world's 195 countries, only one starts with the letter “Q”: Qatar. A mere 8% of all languages use the /q/ sound, although English speakers often pronounce it as /k/ (like in "Kangaroo"), which appears in 90% of the world's 3,000 languages and dialects.
What country starts with the letter Y? ›
Which countries start with the letter “Y”? There is only one country that starts with the letter “Y”: Yemen.
Answer: C or c, the third letter in the modern English alphabet. It is a rounded form of the Greek letter gamma. It is pronounced 'se-e' exactly like the word sea which means the great mass of salt water covering the greater part of earth's surface.
Which is the only letter not in a US state? ›
Q is the right answer.
Is there a country that starts with O? ›
There is only one country in the world that start with the letter O. Oman is the only country in the world that starts with the letter O.
What are 2 countries that start with J? ›
What country starts with Y? ›
Which countries start with the letter “Y”? There is only one country that starts with the letter “Y”: Yemen.
What countries begin with F? ›
Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana and French Polynesia are the 7 countries beginning with the letter "F".
How many countries are in A to Z? ›
There are 195 countries in the world today. This total comprises 193 countries that are member states of the United Nations and 2 countries that are non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine.
