Countries That Changed Their Names

Current Name	Former Name	Year Changed	Reason for Change
Algeria	French Algeria	1962	Independence after Algerian War.
Armenia	Armenian SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Bangladesh	East Pakistan	1971	Independence after Bangladesh Liberation War.
Belarus	Byelorussia	1991	Post-Soviet independence.
Benin	Dahomey	1975	Neutral national identity after independence.
Botswana	Bechuanaland	1966	Independence and national rebranding.
Burkina Faso	Upper Volta	1984	Revolutionary political reform.
Burundi	Urundi	1962	End of Belgian colonial administration.
Cambodia	Kampuchea	1989	Political stabilization after Khmer Rouge era.
Cape Verde	Cape Verde Islands	2013	Standardization of Portuguese official name.
Czechia	Czech Republic	2016	Introduction of a shorter official name.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Zaire	1997	Political transition after Mobutu regime.
Djibouti	French Somaliland	1977	Independence from France.
Eswatini	Swaziland	2018	Return to traditional local-language name.
Georgia	Georgian SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Ghana	Gold Coast	1957	Independence from Britain.
Iran	Persia	1935	Government requested use of native name internationally.
Ireland	Irish Free State	1937	New constitution and greater sovereignty.
Kazakhstan	Kazakh SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyz SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Laos	Kingdom of Laos	1975	Communist revolution and establishment of republic.
Mali	French Sudan	1960	Independence from France.
Moldova	Moldavian SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Myanmar	Burma	1989	Post-colonial national identity and military government reform.
Namibia	South West Africa	1990	Independence from South African administration.
Niger	Niger Colony	1960	Independence from France.
North Macedonia	Republic of Macedonia	2019	Resolution of naming dispute with Greece.
Pakistan	Dominion of Pakistan	1956	Became an Islamic republic.
Rwanda	Ruanda	1962	End of Belgian colonial administration.
Samoa	Western Samoa	1997	Simplification of official country name.
Sri Lanka	Ceylon	1972	Removal of colonial-era British name.
Tajikistan	Tajik SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Thailand	Siam	1939	National identity modernization.
Timor-Leste	East Timor	2002	Official adoption after independence.
Turkmenistan	Turkmen SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Türkiye	Turkey	2022	Promotion of Turkish spelling and cultural identity.
Uzbekistan	Uzbek SSR	1991	Collapse of the Soviet Union.
Vietnam	North and South Vietnam	1976	Reunification after Vietnam War.
Zimbabwe	Rhodesia / Southern Rhodesia	1980	Independence from British colonial rule.