The 11 Countries That Start With a in 2024

Discover the 11 countries that start with the letter A, this includes Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, and Azerbaijan.

Of the 195 nations in the world today, eleven have names that begin with the letter A. Over 215 million people live in these eleven nations that are found on six of the world’s seven continents. Only Antarctica doesn’t have a nation that starts with A (which only makes sense since there are no nations on the continent whatsoever). Let’s take a tour of the world’s A-lettered nations, including their geographic locations, how many people live there, the size of these nations, and more.

1. Afghanistan

While Afghanistan is the name commonly used, the nation’s official name is the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The nation is located in Asia. Afghanistan is a landlocked country bordered by Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China. Kabul is Afghanistan’s capital and also the nation’s largest city, with 4.589 million residents.

2. Albania

Albania’s official name is the Republic of Albania. This nation in Southeast Europe is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Its land borders are shared with Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece. Tirana is the Albanian capital and also the nation’s most populous city, with 912,190 residents in the metro area.

3. Algeria

The complete name of the country is the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. The nation is located in North Africa. Its northern border is the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria borders six nations: Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and Morocco. Algiers is the capital city and also the largest Algerian city, with 2,902,000 metro residents.

4. Andorra

The official name of this country is the Principality of Andorra. It is a landlocked microstate on the Iberian Peninsula. France in the north and Spain in the south border this tiny nation. The capital city of Andorra is Andorra la Vella. It is also the nation’s largest city, with a population of 24,200.

5. Angola

The official name of this nation is the Republic of Angola. It is located in southern Africa on the Atlantic coast. Angola shares its land borders with Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. Luanda is the Angolan capital and also the nation’s biggest city, with 9,292,000 residents in the metro.

6. Antigua and Barbuda

This microstate is a sovereign island country that is part of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies. The nation is comprised of several islands, the biggest of which are the two islands of Antigua and Barbuda (hence the nation’s name). The island nation is considered part of the North American continent. St. John’s, on the island of Antigua, serves as the capital and is the most populous city in the nation, with 24,226 people.

7. Argentina

Argentina’s official name is the Argentine Republic. The Atlantic Ocean borders this South American country to the east. Argentina shares its land borders with Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay. The capital city, and also the largest city with 15,490,000 metro area residents, is Buenos Aires. 

8. Armenia

The Republic of Armenia (the nation’s official name) is located in Western Asia. It shares borders with Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The Armenian capital city is Yerevan. It is also the nation’s most populous city, with 1.42 million metro inhabitants.

9. Australia

Australia is the only nation on Earth that spans an entire continent. Officially the Commonwealth of Australia, this nation encompasses the Australian mainland and several islands, including Tasmania. Canberra is the capital city of Australia. Sydney is the largest Australian city, with 5,121,000 residents in the metro area.

10. Austria

Austria is a Central European landlocked nation that shares its borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Vienna is the Austrian capital and also its largest city, with a metro population of 2,890,577.

11. Azerbaijan

The country’s official name is the Republic of Azerbaijan. The nation spans the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The Caspian Sea sits to the east. The nation’s land borders include Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, and Iran. The capital city of Baku is also the nation’s largest city, with a metro population of 5,105,200.

The Most Populated Country That Starts With A  

Argentina is the most populous nation that starts with A. The Argentine population is 46.6 million. Given current population trends, Argentina’s population will grow to 56.8 million by 2060. Argentina’s ten largest metropolitan areas account for about half of the population, with Buenos Aires leading the way. 

The Least Populated Country That Starts With A  

By contrast, the smallest population in a nation that begins with A is the microstate of Andorra. The nation’s total population is 85,500 people. That is far less than one barrio (neighborhood) in the city of Buenos Aires.

Here’s a look at the population breakdown of all the A-lettered nations. All population numbers were provided by the United States Census Bureau.

The Largest Country That Starts With A by Area

Australia is easily the largest country that begins with A, with a land mass of nearly 3 million square miles. It is the sixth-largest country in the world in terms of area, trailing Russia, Canada, the United States, China, and Brazil.

Argentina and Algeria are also in the top-ten largest nations on Earth. Argentina has the eighth-largest land mass of all the world’s nations. It is the second-largest South American nation, behind Brazil.

Algeria is the tenth-biggest nation in the world. It is the largest nation in Africa.

The Smallest Country That Starts With A by Area

The smallest country beginning with A is Antigua and Barbuda, at only 170 square miles. Australia is more than 17,647 times larger than this tiny island nation. However, as small as Antigua and Barbuda is, it is still significantly larger than the world’s smallest nation. The smallest sovereign nation on Earth is Vatican City, at 0.19 square miles.

Here’s how all the letter A nations stack up according to land area.

The Oldest Country That Starts With A 

There is no contest when it comes to the oldest nation that starts with A. Andorra was established in 1278. This makes Andorra 538 years older than the next oldest A-letter country! The First Pariatge of Andorra was a feudal charter signed in Lleida on September 8, 1278. The boundaries of Andorra have remained unchanged since that signing.

The Youngest Country That Starts With A

Armenia is the youngest A-lettered country. It was founded on September 21, 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan was also formed when the Soviet Union broke apart. However, it was a sovereign state from 1918-1920 before being overtaken by the Soviet Union. The nation regained its independence in 1991.

Here’s a look at the founding years for all the nations that begin with A. All of these nations have much deeper histories than can be shown in a chart. The years below simply reflect when the nation came into its current form.

Territories That Begin With A

Along with eleven sovereign nations, three territories begin with the letter A.

American Samoa

This unincorporated United States territory is located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is the only U.S. territory south of the equator. American Samoa is located halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. Five volcanic islands and two coral atolls form American Samoa. Pago Pago is the capital and the largest city in American Samoa, with 11,500 residents. American Samoa is also home to a U.S. national park: The National Park of American Samoa.

Anguilla

This island is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. Along with the main island of Anguilla, there are several smaller islets and cays. The Valley is the capital and the largest town in Anguilla, with around 3,200 residents.

Aruba

Officially known as the Country of Aruba, this island is located in the Caribbean Sea. It is one of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The other constituent countries include Curaçao, Netherlands, and Sint Maarten. Oranjestad is the capital and the largest city in Aruba, with 31,030 residents.

Additional Nation-Letter Trivia

Now that we’ve completed our spin around the countries and territories beginning with A, you might be hungry for more nation-letter trivia.

• Armenia and Azerbaijan are the only two countries beginning with A that share a border.

• With a total of 26, there are more countries with names that begin with S than any other letter of the alphabet.
• There is only one nation that begins with Q (Qutar), one that starts with W (Wales), and one that starts with Y (Yemen).
• There are no nations whose names begin with X. It is the only letter in the alphabet without a nation’s name to its credit.

Summary of the 11 Countries That Start With A

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Oleksii Liskonih