Countries That Start With W

Sovereign countries (0)

No sovereign UN member state has an English name beginning with W. The letter is one of three — alongside V and X — that come up almost empty in any tally of independent nations. The closest contenders are sub-national entities and dependent territories, all listed in the next section.

The shortage of "W countries" is largely an accident of English transliteration. Place names that begin with a W-like sound in their native languages tend to get rendered with other initial letters in English — for example, the German Wien becomes Vienna, and many transliteration systems convert initial /w/ sounds to V or U.

Territories and other entities

The entries below are not sovereign UN member states, but their English names do begin with W. Two are inhabited dependent or disputed territories; one is a constituent nation of a sovereign state.

Wallis and Futuna

French overseas collectivity

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Western Sahara

Disputed territory in northwest Africa

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Wales

Constituent nation of the United Kingdom — listed under U

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Related letter lookups

The letter W shares its empty status with V and X. Browsing the alphabet is a popular way to teach geography. Try the neighbouring letters:

• Countries That Start With V — Three nations: Vanuatu, Vatican City, and Venezuela (some lists also include Vietnam).
• Countries That Start With X — Zero, like W. The shortest list in the alphabet.
• Countries That Start With Y — Just one (Yemen).

Quick answer for skimmers

Q: How many countries start with W?
A: Zero. No sovereign UN member state has an English name beginning with W.

Q: Is Wales a country?
A: A constituent nation of the United Kingdom, not a sovereign UN member. Wales is listed under U with the United Kingdom for census, postal, and ISO purposes.

Q: What is Western Sahara?
A: A disputed territory in northwest Africa, partially controlled by Morocco and partially by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It is recognized as an independent state by some UN members but not by others, and it is not itself a UN member.

Country profiles mentioned in this post:

Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara United Kingdom