Countries That Start With P: Complete List of 10 Nations

There are 10 countries that start with the letter P: Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, and Portugal.

Introduction

The P countries include Pakistan — the world's fifth most populous nation — and tiny Palau, a Pacific island paradise with just 18,000 people. They span four continents and offer extraordinary geographic, cultural, and economic diversity.

This guide covers each P country with essential geographic facts, demographics, and what makes each nation unique on the world stage.

Pakistan

• Capital: Islamabad
• Continent: Asia
• Population: ~240 million
• Area: 881,913 km²

Pakistan is the world's fifth most populous country, with geography ranging from the Karakoram mountains (including K2, the world's second-highest peak) to the Thar Desert and the fertile Indus River valley.

Fun fact: K2 at 8,611 meters is considered the most dangerous mountain in the world to climb, with a fatality rate of about 1 in 4 climbers.

Palau

• Capital: Ngerulmud
• Continent: Oceania
• Population: ~18,000
• Area: 459 km²

Palau is a Pacific island republic of over 500 islands, famous for its pristine marine environments and the jellyfish lake where millions of golden jellyfish have evolved to be stingless.

Fun fact: Palau created the world's first shark sanctuary in 2009, banning all commercial shark fishing in its waters — an area roughly the size of France.

Palestine

• Capital: Ramallah (de facto)
• Continent: Asia
• Population: ~5.4 million
• Area: 6,020 km²

Palestine consists of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, recognized as a state by over 140 UN member nations. It contains some of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, including Jericho, which dates back approximately 11,000 years.

Fun fact: Jericho is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, with evidence of settlement dating to approximately 9000 BC.

Panama

• Capital: Panama City
• Continent: North America (Central America)
• Population: ~4.4 million
• Area: 75,417 km²

Panama is the narrow isthmus connecting North and South America, famous for the Panama Canal — one of the greatest engineering achievements in history, handling about 5% of world trade.

Fun fact: Panama is the only place in the world where you can watch the sun rise over the Pacific Ocean and set over the Atlantic, due to the isthmus's east-west orientation.

Papua New Guinea

• Capital: Port Moresby
• Continent: Oceania
• Population: ~10 million
• Area: 462,840 km²

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries on Earth, with over 840 living languages — roughly 12% of all languages worldwide. Its mountainous interior remained largely unexplored by outsiders until the 20th century.

Fun fact: Papua New Guinea has more languages than any other country, with 840+ living languages spoken by 10 million people — averaging one language for every 12,000 people.

Paraguay

• Capital: Asunción
• Continent: South America
• Population: ~7.4 million
• Area: 406,752 km²

Paraguay is a landlocked South American country bisected by the Paraguay River. It is one of the most bilingual nations in the world — nearly all Paraguayans speak both Spanish and Guaraní, an indigenous language.

Fun fact: Paraguay's Itaipu Dam, shared with Brazil, is one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world and provides nearly 90% of Paraguay's electricity.

Peru

• Capital: Lima
• Continent: South America
• Population: ~34 million
• Area: 1,285,216 km²

Peru is a South American country with three dramatically different geographic zones: the Pacific coast desert, the Andes mountains, and the Amazon rainforest. It was the heart of the Inca Empire, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.

Fun fact: Peru's Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel perched at 2,430 meters in the Andes, was unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham publicized it in 1911.

Philippines

• Capital: Manila
• Continent: Asia
• Population: ~117 million
• Area: 300,000 km²

The Philippines is an archipelago of over 7,600 islands in Southeast Asia, making it the second-largest archipelagic nation after Indonesia. It was the first constitutional democracy in Asia (1898) and has a strong cultural blend of Asian, Spanish, and American influences.

Fun fact: The Philippines is the texting capital of the world, with Filipinos sending an average of 400 million text messages daily — more than the US and Europe combined.

Poland

• Capital: Warsaw
• Continent: Europe
• Population: ~38 million
• Area: 312,696 km²

Poland is a Central European country with a turbulent history — it was partitioned and erased from the map for 123 years (1795–1918) but has emerged as one of Europe's most dynamic economies. Warsaw was almost entirely rebuilt after being 85% destroyed in World War II.

Fun fact: Poland is home to the Białowieża Forest, one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe and home to the continent's largest land animal, the European bison.

Portugal

• Capital: Lisbon
• Continent: Europe
• Population: ~10.3 million
• Area: 92,212 km²

Portugal is the westernmost country in continental Europe and one of the oldest nations in the world, with borders largely unchanged since 1249. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal built the first global maritime empire.

Fun fact: Portugal's Vasco da Gama Bridge, spanning 12.3 km across the Tagus River in Lisbon, is the longest bridge in Europe.

Key Facts

• There are 10 countries that start with the letter P.
• Pakistan is the largest P country by population (~240 million).
• Peru is the largest P country by area (1.29 million km²).
• Palau is the smallest P country by population (~18,000).
• Papua New Guinea has more languages (840+) than any other country.

Fun Facts

• Panama is the only place where you can see the sun rise over the Pacific and set over the Atlantic.
• Portugal and Spain divided the entire non-European world between them in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas.
• Paraguay is one of only two landlocked countries in South America (the other is Bolivia).
• The Philippines' total coastline is approximately 36,289 km — one of the longest in the world.

Final Thoughts

The 10 P countries offer a remarkable journey through geography and history — from the ancient Inca ruins of Peru to the modern skyline of Panama City, from the linguistic diversity of Papua New Guinea to the maritime heritage of Portugal. Each P country tells a unique story of place and people.