World Map with Country Names
A world map with country names you can actually read: pan and zoom the labelled map below, or work through the full list of all 197 countries, each one named alongside its continent and capital.
Labelled world map
Zoom in and the country names, then regions and cities, come into view.
The live map loads the moment you reach it—keeping the page fast. Tap below if it hasn’t started.
Map tiles & data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Why a labelled map beats a static image
A printed world map with country names has to make a compromise: print every label and the small states become unreadable, or leave them off and the map is incomplete. An interactive map solves this by changing what it labels as you zoom. At the whole-world view you see the largest countries named; zoom into a region and the smaller neighbours, then their regions and cities, appear in turn. Nothing is left off—it is simply revealed at the scale where there is room for it.
That means you can start with the world map above, zoom to a crowded corner such as the Caribbean, the Gulf, West Africa or the Balkans, and read every country name in it without squinting. Scroll or pinch to zoom, drag to pan, and use the list below whenever you would rather search by name than hunt for a shape.
All 197 country names, A to Z
Every country name with its continent and capital. Select a name to open its own labelled map.
How the names are counted and spelled
This site lists 197 sovereign countries: 54 in Africa, 49 in Asia, 45 in Europe, 23 in North America, 12 in South America and 14 in Oceania. Dependencies, overseas territories and disputed areas without recognised statehood are not counted separately, which is why totals differ between world maps that use different definitions.
The names used here are the common English short forms—the version you would say aloud or write on a label, such as South Korea rather than the Republic of Korea. Every country page also records the official long form, so you can see both. A handful of countries are widely known by more than one name; where that happens the page gives the official name in its facts table alongside the short form used on the map.
Labelled, blank and political maps compared
A labelled world map like this one is the right tool when you want to find or check a name. When you want to test what you already know, the blank outline map of the world shows the same borders with the labels removed. When you want the borders and capitals explained rather than just shown, the political map of the world covers what those lines mean and how they change. And when you want capital cities rather than country names, the world map with capitals lists every capital A–Z.
To narrow things down by region first, open a continent map and work through its countries there; to print a named map for a classroom or a wall, frame the map above and use the printable world map guidance for A4, A3 and Letter paper.
Country names by continent
Open a continent for its own labelled map and country list.