Renamed countries
From Conservapedia
Some renamed countries are well known in the West:
- Persia => Iran - the language is still called Persian
- Siam => Thailand - they speak Siamese or Thai
- East Pakistan => Bangladesh - formed after the partition of India, over Gandhi's protest, and independent from Pakistan in 1971.
Others may have escaped all but the best geography students
Contents
Middle East
| Former name | Current name | Year of change |
|---|---|---|
| Muscat & Oman | Oman | 1970 |
| Transjordan | Jordan | 1949 |
| Trucial States | United Arab Emirates | 1971 |
Africa
| Former name | Current name | Year of change |
|---|---|---|
| Abyssinia | Ethiopia | |
| Basutoland | Lesotho | 1966 |
| Bechuanaland | Botswana | 1966 |
| Belgian Congo | Zaire | 1960 |
| Congo Free State | Belgian Congo | 1908 |
| Dahomey | Benin | 1975 |
| German East Africa (part) | Tanganyika | |
| German East Africa (part) | Ruanda-Urundi | 1923 |
| Malgasy Republic | Madagascar | 1960 |
| Northern Rhodesia | Zambia | |
| Nyasaland | Malawi | |
| Rhodesia & Southern Rhodesia | Zimbabwe | 1980 (Rhodesia 1965) |
| Ruanda-Urundi (part) | Burundi | 1961 |
| Ruanda-Urundi (part) | Rwanda | 1961 |
| South West Africa | Namibia | 1990 |
| Spanish Sahara | Western Sahara | |
| Tanganyika & Zanzibar | Tanzania | |
| Upper Volta | Burkina Faso | |
| Zaire | Democratic Republic of Congo |
Asia
| Former name | Current name | Year of change |
|---|---|---|
| Burma | Myanmar | 1989 |
| Ceylon | Sri Lanka | 1972 |
| Dutch East Indies | Indonesia | 1949 |
| East Pakistan | Bangladesh | 1971 |
| Siam | Thailand | 1939-45 and again in 1949 |
| French Indochina | Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam | 1953 |
| Malaya | Malaysia | 1963 |
| Malaysia (part) | Singapore | 1965 |
| Kampuchea (1975) | Cambodia | 1991 |
Pacific
| Former name | Current name | Year of change |
|---|---|---|
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | Tuvalu & Kiribati | 1978 & 1979 |
| New Hebrides | Vanuatu | 1980 |
