120+ countries and nationalities in English

120+ countries and nationalities in English

Let English take you on a spin around the globe with nationality vocabulary!

It's fun to meet people from all around the world. That's the best part of learning languages! By learning the names of countries and nationalities in English, you'll be able to ask and understand where people are from.

Countries and nationalities in English

We've included the names for many of the countries of the world below, divided by continent. Sometimes there are multiple places where a country can be categorized, so this is just one way of classifying by geography, to help you find the word you're looking for!

For the majority of the names of countries in English, you can predict the word for their respective nationalities by adding -an or -ian, for example, the country Italy is associated with the nationality Italian. There are, as always, some exceptions. Some nationalities in English end in -ish or -ese as well.

In English, there are adjectives and noun forms for nationality terms. The adjective forms are the most common, and you can use the adjective either on its own or with a noun like person, a profession, or a similar label.

• I am Mexican. I am a Mexican tourist.
• She is Egyptian. She is an Egyptian engineer.

It's also possible to say you are a / an + the nationality (as in, I am a Mexican), but in some cases it is considered rude or derogatory. (Historically, this phrasing was sometimes used to make broad generalizations about people and places.) Instead, you can always be confident using the adjective form alone or with a noun.

For some nationalities, different forms are used for the noun and adjective-and there are occasionally differences for singular and plural, or for men and women.

Africa

Country	Nationality
Algeria	Algerian
Angola	Angolan
Botswana	Motswana (singular) / Batswana (plural)
Burundi	Burundian
Cameroon	Cameroonian
Chad	Chadian
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Congolese
Egypt	Egyptian
Ethiopia	Ethiopian
Ghana	Ghanaian
Ivory Coast	Ivorian
Kenya	Kenyan
Liberia	Liberian
Libya	Libyan
Madagascar	Madagascan (adjective) / Malagasy (noun)
Mali	Malian
Morocco	Moroccan
Mozambique	Mozambican
Niger	Nigerien
Nigeria	Nigerian
Senegal	Senegalese
South Africa	South African
Sudan	Sudanese
Tanzania	Tanzanian
Zambia	Zambian
Zimbabwe	Zimbabwean

Asia and the Middle East

Country	Nationality
Afghanistan	Afghan
Bangladesh	Bangladeshi
Cambodia	Cambodian
China	Chinese
India	Indian
Indonesia	Indonesian
Iran	Iranian
Iraq	Iraqi
Israel	Israeli
Japan	Japanese
Jordan	Jordanian
Lebanon	Lebanese
Malaysia	Malaysian
Myanmar	Burmese (adjective) / Myanma (noun)
Pakistan	Pakistani
Palestine	Palestinian
The Philippines	Philippine (adjective) / Filipino (neutral, also for men) / Filipina (women)
Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabian (adjective) / Saudi (noun)
Singapore	Singaporean
South Korea	Korean
Sri Lanka	Sri Lankan
Thailand	Thai
United Arab Emirates	Emirati
Vietnam	Vietnamese

Europe

Country	Nationality
Albania	Albanian
Austria	Austrian
Belarus	Belarusian
Belgium	Belgian
Bulgaria	Bulgarian
Croatia	Croatian (adjective) / Croat (noun)
Czechia / Czech Republic	Czech
Denmark	Danish (adjective) / Dane (noun)
England	English
Finland	Finnish (adjective) / Finn (noun)
France	French
Germany	German
Greece	Greek
Hungary	Hungarian
Iceland	Icelandic (adjective) / Icelander (noun)
Ireland	Irish
Italy	Italian
Latvia	Latvian
Lithuania	Lithuanian
Moldova	Moldovan
The Netherlands / Holland	Dutch
Norway	Norwegian
Poland	Polish (adjective) / Pole (noun)
Portugal	Portuguese
Romania	Romanian
Russia	Russian
Scotland	Scottish (adjective) / Scot (noun)
Slovakia	Slovakian (adjective) / Slovak (noun)
Slovenia	Slovenian
Spain	Spanish (adjective) / Spaniard (noun)
Sweden	Swedish (adjective) / Swede (noun)
Switzerland	Swiss
Turkey	Turkish (adjective) / Turk (noun)
Ukraine	Ukrainian
United Kingdom	British (adjective) / Brit (noun) / Briton (noun)
Wales	Welsh

The Americas: North America, Central America, and South America

It is important to note that in English, the region called The Americas is often divided into North America, Central America, and South America (sometimes together called Latin America, which includes Central and South America).

When the nationality term American is used in English, it tends to refer to things and people from the United States and not from other parts of the Americas.

Country	Nationality
Argentina	Argentinian / Argentinean / Argentine
Aruba	Aruban
Bahamas	Bahamian
Bolivia	Bolivian
Brazil	Brazilian
Canada	Canadian
Colombia	Colombian
Costa Rica	Costa Rican
Dominican Republic	Dominican
Ecuador	Ecuadorian
El Salvaldor	Salvadoran / Salvadorian / Salvadorean
Guatemala	Guatemalan
Haiti	Haitian
Honduras	Honduran
Jamaica	Jamaican
Mexico	Mexican
Nicaragua	Nicaraguan
Panama	Panamanian
Paraguay	Paraguayan
Peru	Peruvian
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidadian
United States of America	American
Uruguay	Uruguayan
Venezuela	Venezuelan

Oceania and Australia

Country	Nationality
Australia	Australian
Fiji	Fijian
Kiribati	Gilbertese / Kiribati
Micronesia	Micronesian
Nauru	Nauruan
New Zealand	New Zealander / Kiwi
Palau	Palauan / Belauan
Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinean
Samoa	Samoan
Solomon Islands	Solomon Islander
Tonga	Tongan
Tuvalu	Tuvaluan
Vanuatu	Vanuatuan

How to talk about nationalities in English

Now that you know nationalities in English, you'll need to know how to use them in your English conversations and writing! Here are some important notes:

• How to capitalize. Nationalities are always capitalized in English.
• Don't worry about gender. Only in rare cases is there a difference in the nationality word based on a person's gender.
• Make it plural. To make a nationality plural, add -s or say [nationality] people-for example, Britons or British people. An exception is if the nationality ends in -ese, in which case you'll say [nationality] people, like Chinese people.

Some common questions that you might hear concerning nationalities include:

• Where are you from?
• What country are you from?

You can respond with:

• I am from + [country]: I am from Mexico, I am from Egypt
• I am + [nationality]: I am Mexican, I am Egyptian

You could introduce yourself by saying:

• Hello, I am [name], from [country]: Hello, I am Antonio, from Mexico, Hello, I am Asma, from Egypt
• Hello, I am [name], and I am [nationality]: Hello, I am Antonio, and I am Mexican, Hello, I am Asma, and I am Egyptian

You can also use the nationality word in front of cultural items, such as food or textiles. For example, you can say Thai cuisine, Costa Rican history, and Chinese embroidery.

Let English connect you to the world

There are so many wonderful countries in the world It's worth getting to know their English names and nationalities!

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