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. 

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When in doubt, you can always say a person from and then the name of the country.

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
Benin Beninese / Beninoise
Botswana Motswana (singular) / Batswana (plural)
Burkina Faso Burkinabé / Burkinese
Burundi Burundian
Cameroon Cameroonian
Chad Chadian
Democratic Republic of the Congo Congolese
Egypt Egyptian
Ethiopia Ethiopian
Ghana Ghanaian
Guinea Guinean
Ivory Coast Ivorian
Kenya Kenyan
Liberia Liberian
Libya Libyan
Madagascar Madagascan (adjective) / Malagasy (noun)
Malawi Malawian
Mali Malian
Morocco Moroccan
Mozambique Mozambican
Niger Nigerien
Nigeria Nigerian
Rwanda Rwandan / Rwandese
Senegal Senegalese
Somalia Somali
South Africa South African
South Sudan South Sudanese
Sudan Sudanese
Tanzania Tanzanian
Tunisia Tunisian
Uganda Ugandan
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)
Nepal Nepalese (adjective) / Nepali (noun)
North Korea North Korean / Korean
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 South Korean / Korean
Sri Lanka Sri Lankan
Syria Syrian
Taiwan Taiwanese
Tajikistan Tajikistani (adjective) / Tajik (noun)
Thailand Thai
United Arab Emirates Emirati
Uzbekistan Uzbekistani (adjective) / Uzbek (noun)
Vietnam Vietnamese
Yemen Yemeni (adjective) / Yemenite (noun)

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
Chile Chilean
Colombia Colombian
Costa Rica Costa Rican
Cuba Cuban
Dominican Republic Dominican
Ecuador Ecuadorian
El Salvador 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.
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Don’t forget! If you aren’t sure about a nationality, you can always say a person from + the name of the country.

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!