There are 17 sovereign countries that start with the letter B: Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, and Burundi. They span every inhabited continent and include the world's fifth-largest country (Brazil), the only carbon-negative nation (Bhutan), and Europe's smallest republic by population (n/a — that one's San Marino, but Belgium does have NATO and the EU's de facto capital).
Quick facts about countries beginning with B
- Total: 17 UN-recognized sovereign states beginning with B. (Some lists round up to 18 by counting Burma as separate from Myanmar — but Burma was renamed Myanmar in 1989, so it's not a separate B country.)
- Largest by area: Brazil (8,515,767 km²) — the 5th-largest country in the world.
- Smallest by area: Barbados (430 km²).
- Most populous: Bangladesh (~175 million) — and the most densely populated of any B country.
- Least populous: Barbados (~288,000), narrowly ahead of the Bahamas.
- Continents covered: Africa (Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi), Asia (Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei), Europe (Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria), North America (Bahamas, Barbados, Belize), South America (Bolivia, Brazil) — every inhabited continent except Oceania.
- Landlocked B countries: Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, and Burundi.
- Island B countries: Bahamas, Bahrain, and Barbados.
Bahamas
- Capital: Nassau
- Continent: North America (Caribbean)
- Population: ~400,000
- Area: 13,943 km²
The Bahamas is an archipelago of over 700 islands and cays in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida. Only about 30 islands are inhabited. Tourism and offshore banking are the primary economic drivers.
Fun fact: The Bahamas' Exuma Cays are famous for swimming pigs that greet tourists on the beach — a viral sensation that has become a major tourist attraction.
Bahrain
- Capital: Manama
- Continent: Asia (Middle East)
- Population: ~1.5 million
- Area: 778 km²
Bahrain is a small island kingdom in the Persian Gulf, connected to Saudi Arabia by the 25-kilometer King Fahd Causeway. It was the first Gulf state to discover oil in 1932 and has since diversified into banking and tourism.
Fun fact: Bahrain is home to the Tree of Life, a 400-year-old mesquite tree that thrives in the middle of the desert with no apparent water source.
Bangladesh
- Capital: Dhaka
- Continent: Asia
- Population: ~175 million
- Area: 147,570 km²
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with 175 million people in an area roughly the size of Iowa. The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta dominates the landscape, making it extremely vulnerable to flooding and cyclones.
Fun fact: The Sundarbans, shared with India, is the world's largest mangrove forest and home to the endangered Royal Bengal tiger.
Barbados
- Capital: Bridgetown
- Continent: North America (Caribbean)
- Population: ~288,000
- Area: 430 km²
Barbados is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean, famous for its rum production, cricket heritage, and coral beaches. It became a republic in 2021 after removing the British monarch as head of state.
Fun fact: Barbados is considered the birthplace of rum — Mount Gay Rum has been produced on the island since 1703, making it the oldest rum brand in the world.
Belarus
- Capital: Minsk
- Continent: Europe
- Population: ~9.4 million
- Area: 207,600 km²
Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, often called "Europe's last dictatorship." It is heavily forested, with forests covering about 40% of the country, and contains parts of the Białowieża Forest — one of the last remnants of primeval European forest.
Fun fact: The Białowieża Forest, shared with Poland, is home to Europe's largest land animal, the European bison (wisent), saved from near-extinction.
Belgium
- Capital: Brussels
- Continent: Europe
- Population: ~11.6 million
- Area: 30,528 km²
Belgium is a small Western European country known for its medieval cities, chocolate, waffles, and beer. Brussels serves as the de facto capital of the European Union and NATO headquarters.
Fun fact: Belgium has over 1,500 varieties of beer and is the world's largest exporter of chocolate, producing over 220,000 tonnes annually.
Belize
- Capital: Belmopan
- Continent: North America (Central America)
- Population: ~410,000
- Area: 22,966 km²
Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America, with a Caribbean coastline that includes the second-largest barrier reef in the world. Ancient Maya ruins dot its interior jungles.
Fun fact: The Great Blue Hole off Belize's coast is a giant marine sinkhole over 300 meters across and 125 meters deep, visible from space and a top diving destination.
Benin
- Capital: Porto-Novo
- Continent: Africa
- Population: ~13.3 million
- Area: 112,622 km²
Benin is a narrow West African country stretching from the Atlantic coast inland to the Sahel. It was home to the powerful Kingdom of Dahomey, known for its elite all-female military unit, the Amazons.
Fun fact: Benin is considered the birthplace of Vodun (Voodoo), which remains widely practiced alongside Christianity and Islam.
Bhutan
- Capital: Thimphu
- Continent: Asia
- Population: ~790,000
- Area: 38,394 km²
Bhutan is a small Himalayan kingdom between China and India, famous for measuring national success by Gross National Happiness rather than GDP. It is the world's only carbon-negative country, absorbing more CO2 than it produces.
Fun fact: Television and the internet were not introduced in Bhutan until 1999, making it one of the last countries to go online.
Bolivia
- Capital: Sucre (constitutional) / La Paz (administrative)
- Continent: South America
- Population: ~12.2 million
- Area: 1,098,581 km²
Bolivia is a landlocked South American country with dramatic geography ranging from the Andes mountains to the Amazon rainforest. La Paz, at 3,640 meters elevation, is the highest administrative capital in the world.
Fun fact: Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat at 10,582 km², so perfectly flat that it is used to calibrate satellite altimeters.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Capital: Sarajevo
- Continent: Europe
- Population: ~3.2 million
- Area: 51,197 km²
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Balkan country with a complex political structure resulting from the 1990s Yugoslav Wars. Its landscape is dominated by rugged mountains and the emerald-green Neretva River.
Fun fact: Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics, and the old bobsled track on Mount Trebević, scarred by the 1990s war, has become a popular street art destination.
Botswana
- Capital: Gaborone
- Continent: Africa
- Population: ~2.6 million
- Area: 581,730 km²
Botswana is a landlocked Southern African country known for the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari Desert, and some of the best wildlife viewing on the continent. It has one of Africa's most stable democracies and fastest-growing economies.
Fun fact: The Okavango Delta is the world's largest inland delta, flooding annually in the middle of the Kalahari Desert and creating a wildlife paradise.
Brazil
- Capital: Brasília
- Continent: South America
- Population: ~217 million
- Area: 8,515,767 km²
Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world by both area and population, and the largest in South America. It contains about 60% of the Amazon rainforest and has the longest continuous coastline in the Americas at over 7,400 km.
Fun fact: Brazil borders every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador — a total of 10 nations.
Brunei
- Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan
- Continent: Asia
- Population: ~450,000
- Area: 5,765 km²
Brunei is a tiny, oil-rich sultanate on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Its citizens enjoy free healthcare, free education, and no income tax, funded by vast petroleum and natural gas reserves.
Fun fact: The Sultan of Brunei's palace, Istana Nurul Iman, is the world's largest residential palace with 1,788 rooms.
Bulgaria
- Capital: Sofia
- Continent: Europe
- Population: ~6.5 million
- Area: 110,879 km²
Bulgaria is a southeastern European country on the Black Sea coast, known for its diverse geography including mountains, plains, and coastline. It has one of the oldest cultures in Europe, with Thracian artifacts dating back over 6,000 years.
Fun fact: Bulgaria is the world's largest producer of rose oil, used in perfumery, producing about 85% of the global supply from its famous Rose Valley.
Burkina Faso
- Capital: Ouagadougou
- Continent: Africa
- Population: ~22.7 million
- Area: 274,200 km²
Burkina Faso is a landlocked West African country whose name means "Land of the Honest People." It is one of the poorest countries in the world but has a rich cultural heritage, including the FESPACO film festival, Africa's largest.
Fun fact: The capital's name, Ouagadougou, is one of the most distinctive city names in the world and is often abbreviated to "Ouaga" by locals.
Burundi
- Capital: Gitega
- Continent: Africa
- Population: ~13 million
- Area: 27,834 km²
Burundi is a small, densely populated landlocked country in East Africa, bordering Lake Tanganyika. Despite being one of the poorest nations, it has a rich drumming tradition — the Royal Drummers of Burundi are world-famous.
Fun fact: Burundi shares the source of the Nile with neighboring Rwanda — the Ruvyironza River in southern Burundi is considered the most distant source of the Nile.
Superlative B countries — biggest, oldest, most surprising
- Largest by area: Brazil, 8,515,767 km² — fifth-largest country in the world.
- Smallest by area: Barbados, 430 km².
- Most populous: Bangladesh, ~175 million people in 147,570 km² — among the most densely populated countries on Earth at ~1,200 people per km².
- Highest GDP per capita: Brunei, fueled by oil and gas exports.
- Only carbon-negative nation: Bhutan absorbs more CO₂ than it emits, thanks to forest cover of around 71% of its territory.
- Highest point: Bolivia's Sajama at 6,542 m, plus Bhutan's Gangkhar Puensum at 7,570 m (also the world's highest unclimbed mountain — climbing it is forbidden by Bhutanese law).
- Most landlocked of the landlocked: Bolivia, the only B country to have lost its coast (to Chile in the 1879–1884 War of the Pacific) and still actively claim it back.
- Most multilingual: Belgium with three official languages — Dutch, French, and German.
Frequently asked questions
How many countries start with the letter B?
There are 17 UN-recognized sovereign states whose names start with B. Older lists sometimes show 18 by including "Burma," but Burma was officially renamed Myanmar in 1989 and is now an M country, not a B.
What is the largest country starting with B?
Brazil at 8,515,767 km² — the fifth-largest country in the world by area, the largest in South America, and the most populous nation in the Americas after the United States.
What is the smallest country starting with B?
Barbados, at just 430 km² — a Caribbean island roughly two-thirds the size of Singapore. Bahrain (778 km²) is the smallest B country in Asia.
Are there any B countries in Oceania?
No. Oceania is the only inhabited continent without a B country. Every other continent has at least three.
Is Burma a separate country from Myanmar?
No — they are the same country. The military government renamed Burma to Myanmar in 1989. Some publications still use "Burma" out of historical convention or political objection to the renaming, but it is not a separate state and should not be counted twice in any list of countries.
What are the landlocked B countries?
Six: Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, and Burundi.
What are the island B countries?
Three: Bahamas, Bahrain, and Barbados. Brunei sits on the island of Borneo (shared with Malaysia and Indonesia) but is not technically an island state.
Related lists
Looking for other letters?
- Countries that start with A
- Countries that start with C
- Countries that start with M
- Countries that start with S (the largest list)
Bottom line
The 17 B countries cover an astonishing cross-section of the world: the fifth-largest nation (Brazil), the only carbon-negative one (Bhutan), one of the densest (Bangladesh), one of the world's oldest cultures (Bulgaria, with Thracian artifacts dating back 6,000 years), and Africa's "Land of the Honest People" (Burkina Faso). They span every inhabited continent except Oceania, and together demonstrate just how varied the modern world is.
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