Countries that changed their names
Short answer: the biggest recent changes are Swaziland to Eswatini (2018), Macedonia to North Macedonia (2019), Czech Republic to Czechia as the short name (2016) and Turkey to Türkiye at the UN (2022). Many flag quiz apps were built before these changes and still show the old names.
Recent name changes
- Eswatini (formerly Swaziland, 2018): the flag did not change, only the name.
- North Macedonia (formerly the Republic of Macedonia, 2019): the result of the Prespa agreement with Greece.
- Czechia (short name for the Czech Republic, 2016): both names are correct; Czechia is the official short form.
- Türkiye (Turkey, 2022): the UN and many governments now use Türkiye in English.
- Cabo Verde (Cape Verde, 2013) and Timor-Leste (East Timor): the official forms used by the UN.
Why quiz apps show old names
Most quiz apps type country names into their own word lists once and rarely update them. Every new name means re-translating dozens of languages, so old names linger for years.
Learn them in Flagloop
Flagloop takes country names from your phone's language data instead of a fixed word list, so you see the current names in your own language. Every flag page shows the capital and continent, and the default list is the 195 countries recognised at the UN (members plus Vatican City and Palestine).
FAQ
What was Eswatini called before?
Swaziland. The king announced the change in 2018 to mark 50 years of independence.
Why is it North Macedonia now?
After an agreement with Greece in 2018, the Republic of Macedonia became the Republic of North Macedonia in 2019.
Is it Türkiye or Turkey?
Since 2022 the United Nations uses Türkiye at the government's request. Many languages still use their own name for the country.