Editing Country (section)

=== Name ===
{{see also|List of country-name etymologies}}
[[File:Oceania without Asian country codes.jpg|upright=1.3|alt=Map of Pacific Island countries identified by their two-letter ISO country codes|thumb|A number of non-sovereign entities nevertheless have country codes, such as PF ([[French Polynesia]]) and TK ([[Tokelau]])]]
Most countries have a long [[Toponymy|name]]{{refn|group=note|Also ''official name'', ''formal name'', ''full name'', ''state title'' or ''protocol name'', e.g. Czech Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Hellenic Republic, State of Israel, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Principality of Monaco, Kingdom of Norway, Sultanate of Oman, Swiss Confederation, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America.}} and a short name.{{refn|group=note|Also ''geographical name'', e.g. Czechia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Luxembourg, Monaco, Oman, Norway, Switzerland, Vietnam, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, United States.}}<ref name="United States Department of State 2024 e471">{{cite web | title=United States Department of State | website=United States Department of State | date=17 Jan 2024 | url=https://www.state.gov/independent-states-in-the-world/ | access-date=29 Jan 2024 | archive-date=3 April 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403144919/https://www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> The long name is typically used in formal contexts{{refn|group=note|The long form (official title) is used when the state is targeted as a [[Juridical person|legal entity]]:<br>'''1''': This Decision is addressed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.<br>'''2''': The French Republic is authorised to …<br>'''3''': If the recurrence of the name of a state in the text leads to a preference for using the short form, it can be introduced with the phrase ‘hereinafter referred to as …’.}} and often describes the country's form of government. The short name is the country's common name by which it is typically identified.{{refn|group=note|The short form (short name) is used when the state is referred to geographically or economically:<br>'''1''': Workers residing in France.<br>'''2''': Exports from Greece …}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://style-guide.europa.eu/en/content/-/isg/topic?identifier=annex-a5-list-countries-territories-currencies|title=Publications Office – Interinstitutional Style Guide – Annex A5 – List of countries, territories and currencies|website=publications.europa.eu|access-date=5 September 2020|archive-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528204637/http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames/| title = UNGEGN World Geographical Names| access-date = 5 September 2020| archive-date = 28 July 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110728144249/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames/| url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/iso3list/en/|title=FAO Country Profiles|website=Food and Agriculture Organization|access-date=5 September 2020|archive-date=2 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202012235/http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/iso3list/en/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://style-guide.europa.eu/en/content/-/isg/topic?identifier=7.1.1-designations-and-abbreviations| title = Countries: Designations and abbreviations to use| access-date = 5 September 2020| archive-date = 4 January 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210104160434/https://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370100.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> 
Unlike the short name, the long name can change more often when the government changes.{{refn|group=note|E.g. Kingdom of France, French Republic (but France), Tsardom of Russia, Russian Empire, Russian Republic, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian Federation (but Russia), Kingdom of Romania, Romanian People's Republic, Socialist Republic of Romania (but Romania), German Reich, Greater German Reich, German Democratic Republic, Federal Republic of Germany (but Germany), Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czechoslovak Federal Republic, Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (but Czechoslovakia), Libyan Arab Republic, Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, State of Libya (but Libya).}} 
For certain states, the long form and the short form are identical.{{refn|group=note|E.g. Central African Republic, Dominican Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, Turkmenistan, Ukraine.}}

The name of a country can hold cultural and diplomatic significance. [[Republic of Upper Volta|Upper Volta]] changed its name to [[Burkina Faso]] to reflect the end of French colonization, and the name of [[North Macedonia]] was [[Macedonia naming dispute|disputed]] for years due to a conflict with the similarly named [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] region in [[Greece]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Jonathan |date=2018-01-21 |title=Why do names matter so much? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-42736495 |access-date=2022-07-21 |archive-date=21 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721043621/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-42736495 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Southern Rhodesia]] changed its name to [[Zimbabwe]], [[Northern Rhodesia]] to [[Zambia]], [[Bechuanaland]] to [[Botswana]], the [[Belgian Congo|Congo]] to [[Zaire]] and back again to the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], [[Dahomey]] to [[Benin]], [[Ivory Coast]] to Côte d'Ivoire, Swaziland to [[Eswatini]], Persia to [[Iran]], Ceylon to [[Sri Lanka]], Siam to [[Thailand]], Burma changed its English name to [[Myanmar]], [[Cambodia]] to Kampuchea and back again to Cambodia, Byelorussia to [[Belarus]], Kirghizia to [[Kyrgyzstan]], Moldavia to [[Moldova]], or [[Turkey]] to Türkiye.<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/country-names/timeline-of-country-name-changes-in-hmg-use-1919-to-present Timeline of country name changes in HMG use: 1919 to present]</ref>

The [[International Organization for Standardization]] maintains a [[List of ISO 3166 country codes|list of country codes]] as part of [[ISO 3166]] to designate each country with a [[country code]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=ISO 3166 – Country Codes |url=https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=ISO |language=en |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308003724/https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html |url-status=live }}</ref>  The ISO 3166 standard currently comprises 249 countries, 193 of which are sovereign states that are members of the United Nations.<ref name="Statistics Canada 2018 b784">{{cite web | title=Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest (SCCAI) 2017 | website=Statistics Canada | date=12 Mar 2018 | url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/sccai/2017/introduction | access-date=29 Jan 2024 | archive-date=29 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129073744/https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/sccai/2017/introduction | url-status=live }}</ref>