Countries That Start With P

Sovereign countries (9)

Nine sovereign UN member states have English names beginning with P. They are spread across three continents: Pakistan in South Asia; Palau, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines in the Pacific; Panama, Paraguay, and Peru in Latin America; and Poland and Portugal in Europe.

Pakistan

Islamabad · Asia

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Palau

Ngerulmud · Oceania

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Panama

Panama City · Central America

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Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby · Oceania

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Paraguay

Asunción · South America

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Peru

Lima · South America

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Philippines

Manila · Southeast Asia

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Poland

Warsaw · Europe

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Portugal

Lisbon · Europe

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Territories and other entities ((2))

Inhabited territories, dependencies, and observer states whose English names also begin with P. These are not full sovereign UN member states but each carries its own administrative or diplomatic status.

Pitcairn Islands

British Overseas Territory

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Puerto Rico

U.S. Commonwealth

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Browsing the alphabet is a popular way to teach geography. Try the neighbouring letters:

Countries That Start With O — Just one country — Oman.
Countries That Start With Q — Just one (Qatar), like O.
Countries That Start With A — Eleven nations from Afghanistan to Azerbaijan.

Quick answer for skimmers

Q: How many countries start with P?
A: Nine sovereign UN member states.

Q: Is Puerto Rico a country?
A: No. Puerto Rico is a U.S. Commonwealth, not a sovereign UN member state. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, and the island is represented in Congress only by a non-voting Resident Commissioner.

Q: What is the difference between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia’s Papua region?
A: They share the island of New Guinea. The eastern half is the independent country of Papua New Guinea, sovereign since 1975. The western half consists of Indonesian provinces — Papua and West Papua — which are part of Indonesia, not a separate state.

Country profiles mentioned in this post: