Country Beginning with X: Zero Sovereign States in English

You’ve probably been there: a trivia question asks for a country starting with X, and the room goes quiet. That’s because no sovereign state in the world has an official English name beginning with the letter X.

countries starting with x in english: 0 ·
countries containing the letter x: 2 (mexico, luxembourg) ·
languages where x-initial countries exist: 5+ (catalan, galician, etc.) ·
countries starting with z: 2 (zambia, zimbabwe) ·
countries starting with y: 1 (yemen) ·
countries starting with q: 1 (qatar)

Six key figures sum up the global distribution of country names by first letter.

Which country begins with x?

No sovereign state starts with x in english

• There are zero sovereign states starting with x in english (HowStuffWorks, history and trivia publisher).
• World Population Review confirms that no country begins with x (World Population Review, demographic data provider).
• Vedantu’s 2025 update states there is no country whose official English name begins with X (Vedantu, educational platform).

Countries that contain the letter x: mexico and luxembourg

• Mexico and Luxembourg are the only UN member states containing the letter x (QuillBot, writing assistant tool).
• HowStuffWorks also lists only these two (HowStuffWorks).

The pattern: X is the only letter that does not start any country name, and only two countries even include it in their names. For trivia fans, that’s a permanent gap in the alphabet.

Are there countries that start with x and y?

Countries that start with y: just yemen

• Yemen is the only sovereign state beginning with y in english (World Atlas, geography reference).
• HowStuffWorks confirms one country starting with y (HowStuffWorks).

Why yemen is the only y country

• No other territory has achieved UN-recognized sovereignty with a Y name.
• Historical names like Yugoslavia no longer exist as sovereign states.

The implication: Y is nearly as rare as X, with only one representative. That makes Yemen a trivia standout.

What countries start with q?

The list of countries that start with q is extremely short: only qatar

• Qatar is the only sovereign state beginning with q in english (World Atlas, geography reference).
• History.com’s coverage of Qatar confirms its unique status.

Why qatar is unique

• Qatar is a peninsula in the Persian Gulf, capital Doha.
• No other Q-name country exists in modern sovereign lists.

The catch: Q is the third letter with just one country, making it a rare bird in geography quizzes.

Is there a country beginning with z?

Countries that start with z: zambia and zimbabwe

• Zambia and Zimbabwe are the only two sovereign states starting with z in english (World Atlas, geography reference).
• World Atlas lists both as Z countries (World Atlas).

How zambia and zimbabwe got their names

• Zambia derived from the Zambezi River.
• Zimbabwe takes its name from the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe.

What this means: Z is the only letter with more than one country but still just two. Both are in southern Africa, linked by the Zambezi.

Two letters have zero sovereign states, and only a handful have just one or two. Here’s the breakdown.

The pattern: X and W are the only letters with no countries at all, while Y, Q, and O each have a single representative. This scarcity reflects historical naming conventions and geopolitical boundaries (World Atlas, geography reference).

No sovereign states begin with X in English.

— HowStuffWorks editorial team (HowStuffWorks)

X is the only letter in the alphabet not used as the first letter of a country’s name.

— World Population Review (World Population Review)

The only two countries containing the letter X in their English names are Mexico and Luxembourg.

— HowStuffWorks editorial team (HowStuffWorks)

For trivia enthusiasts, geography students, and quiz masters, the absence of an X-named country is a permanent gap in the alphabet. The only way that changes is if a new sovereign state emerges with an X-heavy name—or if existing languages influence English exonyms. Until then, X remains the odd letter out. For trivia enthusiasts, the implication is clear: you’ll never have to memorize an X-country, but you’ll always have a perfect answer for the toughest question.

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For a deeper look at this alphabetical anomaly, see our full analysis of the country that starts with X.

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