Countries That Start With S: All 25 S Countries (Full List, 2026)

There are 25 countries that start with the letter S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, and Switzerland. S has more sovereign nations than any other letter in the alphabet.

Quick facts about the S countries

• Total: 25 sovereign UN member states begin with S — more than any other letter (T is second with 17, M third with 18).
• Largest by area: Sudan (1,861,484 km²), followed by Saudi Arabia (2,149,690 km² — actually larger; Sudan dropped to second when South Sudan separated in 2011).
• Smallest by area: San Marino (61 km²) — also one of the smallest countries in the world.
• Most populous: South Korea (~52 million); Spain (~47 million) is second.
• Least populous: San Marino (~34,000 people), then Saint Kitts and Nevis (~53,000).
• Newest: South Sudan, which gained independence on 9 July 2011 — currently the world's newest UN-recognized country.
• Oldest republic: San Marino claims continuous existence since AD 301.
• Spans every inhabited continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America (Caribbean), South America, Oceania.

Full list of countries starting with S

Below is every S country with capital, region, area, and population. We've grouped them by region for context, but each country is sovereign and independent.

Europe (7 countries)

• San Marino — Capital: San Marino. Area: 61 km². Population: ~34,000. A tiny enclave inside Italy that claims to be the world's oldest surviving republic, founded in AD 301. Mount Titano towers over the country.
• Serbia — Capital: Belgrade. Area: 77,474 km². Population: ~6.6 million. A landlocked Balkan country at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe; the Danube and Sava rivers meet at Belgrade.
• Slovakia — Capital: Bratislava. Area: 49,035 km². Population: ~5.4 million. Carpathian mountains cover much of the country; Bratislava sits on the Danube and is one of only two world capitals (with Vienna) that border two foreign countries.
• Slovenia — Capital: Ljubljana. Area: 20,273 km². Population: ~2.1 million. About 60% forest cover — one of the greenest countries in Europe. Lake Bled and the Julian Alps are its postcard scenery.
• Spain — Capital: Madrid. Area: 505,990 km². Population: ~47 million. The third-most-visited country in the world. Includes the Canary Islands off Africa and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast.
• Sweden — Capital: Stockholm. Area: 450,295 km². Population: ~10.5 million. Has not fought a war since 1814 — one of the longest unbroken peaces of any country. Stockholm is built across 14 islands.
• Switzerland — Capital: Bern. Area: 41,277 km². Population: ~8.8 million. Four official languages (German, French, Italian, Romansh), the Alps cover ~60% of its territory, and it has stayed officially neutral since 1815.

Asia and the Middle East (3 countries)

• Saudi Arabia — Capital: Riyadh. Area: 2,149,690 km². Population: ~37 million. The largest country on the Arabian Peninsula, home to Islam's two holiest cities (Mecca and Medina), and the world's largest oil exporter. Mostly desert, including the Empty Quarter — the world's largest sand desert.
• South Korea — Capital: Seoul. Area: 100,210 km². Population: ~52 million. The most populous S country and the most economically powerful by GDP. Officially the Republic of Korea (ROK); the Korean Peninsula is split with North Korea along the 38th parallel.
• Sri Lanka — Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (commercial capital: Colombo). Area: 65,610 km². Population: ~22 million. An island nation south of India, formerly Ceylon. Renowned for tea, cinnamon (its original name in the spice trade), and Buddhist heritage.

Africa (7 countries)

• São Tomé and Príncipe — Capital: São Tomé. Area: 964 km². Population: ~230,000. The smallest Portuguese-speaking country, made up of two volcanic islands in the Gulf of Guinea on the equator.
• Senegal — Capital: Dakar. Area: 196,722 km². Population: ~18 million. The westernmost country in mainland Africa; Dakar's Cap-Vert peninsula is the African continent's westernmost point.
• Seychelles — Capital: Victoria. Area: 459 km². Population: ~100,000. An archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean; the smallest African sovereign state by both area and population.
• Sierra Leone — Capital: Freetown. Area: 71,740 km². Population: ~8.6 million. Freetown was founded in 1792 as a settlement for freed slaves. Famous for its diamond mines and rainforests.
• Somalia — Capital: Mogadishu. Area: 637,657 km². Population: ~18 million. Has Africa's longest mainland coastline (3,025 km) along the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
• South Africa — Capitals: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial). Area: 1,221,037 km². Population: ~60 million. The only country with three capitals and 12 official languages (the most of any country). The most economically developed country in sub-Saharan Africa.
• South Sudan — Capital: Juba. Area: 644,329 km². Population: ~11 million. The world's newest country, having gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 after decades of civil war.
• Sudan — Capital: Khartoum. Area: 1,861,484 km². Population: ~48 million. Khartoum sits at the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile, where the two rivers merge into the Nile. The Pyramids of Meroë are older than many of Egypt's.

Americas (4 countries)

• Saint Kitts and Nevis — Capital: Basseterre. Area: 261 km². Population: ~53,000. The smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere by both area and population, made up of two Caribbean islands.
• Saint Lucia — Capital: Castries. Area: 617 km². Population: ~180,000. Famous for its twin volcanic peaks, the Pitons, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — Capital: Kingstown. Area: 389 km². Population: ~110,000. A Caribbean nation made of one main island and 32 smaller ones, including Bequia and Mustique.
• Suriname — Capital: Paramaribo. Area: 163,820 km². Population: ~620,000. The smallest sovereign country in South America by area and population, and the only one with Dutch as the official language. Over 90% rainforest cover.

Oceania (4 countries — counting island states)

• Samoa — Capital: Apia. Area: 2,842 km². Population: ~220,000. Skipped a day in December 2011 by switching from the east to the west side of the International Date Line, moving from the last to the first country to see each new day.
• Singapore — Capital: Singapore. Area: 728 km². Population: ~6 million. A global financial city-state and the wealthiest S country by GDP per capita. Strategically positioned at the southern end of the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest waterways. (Asia by continent; included here as an island state.)
• Solomon Islands — Capital: Honiara. Area: 28,896 km². Population: ~720,000. An archipelago of nearly 1,000 islands in the South Pacific. The site of the pivotal WWII Battle of Guadalcanal.

(Singapore is geographically in Asia but is one of only three surviving city-states in the world, alongside Monaco and Vatican City.)

Superlative S countries — biggest, oldest, fastest-growing

• Largest by area: Saudi Arabia, 2,149,690 km² — the 12th-largest country in the world.
• Smallest by area: San Marino, 61 km² — the third-smallest in the world (after Vatican City and Monaco).
• Most populous: South Korea, ~52 million.
• Least populous: San Marino, ~34,000.
• Highest GDP per capita: Singapore — over US$80,000 (one of the top five in the world).
• Lowest GDP per capita: South Sudan and Somalia — both rank among the world's least-developed nations.
• Highest point: Switzerland's Dufourspitze (4,634 m) is the highest peak entirely within an S country, though Saudi Arabia and Spain also have notable mountains.
• Lowest point: Spain's Andalusian salt flats around Cabo de Gata are below sea level, but the deepest point in any S country is Lake Assal in Djibouti — wait, Djibouti is not an S country. Among S countries, Suriname has lowlands at sea level, but no S country has a major below-sea-level depression.
• Most languages: South Africa with 12 official languages.
• Most peaceful (by Global Peace Index): Switzerland, Slovenia, Singapore consistently rank in the top 20 globally.

S countries that often get confused or forgotten

• Suriname is the S country people most often forget — partly because it's small, partly because Dutch makes it the linguistic odd-one-out in South America.
• Slovenia vs Slovakia — these are completely different countries (one borders Italy, the other Hungary), and even US presidents have mixed them up. Slovenia (capital Ljubljana) is the smaller, more western, and more mountainous of the two.
• Sudan vs South Sudan — Sudan and South Sudan have been separate countries since 2011. South Sudan is roughly half the area of pre-split Sudan and is home to most of the oil reserves.
• "Saint" countries — three different Caribbean nations start with "Saint": Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. They are all former British colonies and members of the Commonwealth.
• São Tomé and Príncipe — easy to miss because of the accent marks. It's an island nation off the coast of Central Africa.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries start with the letter S?

There are 25 UN-recognized sovereign states whose names start with S. That's more than any other letter — for comparison, M has 18, T has 17, A has 16, B has 16, and only S, C (17), and B (16) come close to that count.

What is the largest country starting with S?

Saudi Arabia is the largest S country by area at 2,149,690 km², making it the 12th-largest country in the world. Sudan is second at 1,861,484 km² (it dropped from first when South Sudan separated in 2011).

What is the smallest country starting with S?

San Marino at just 61 km² — only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller anywhere in the world.

What is the newest country starting with S?

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011. It is currently the world's newest internationally recognized country.

Are there any S countries in South America?

Yes — Suriname is the only one. It is the smallest sovereign country in South America by both area and population, and the only one whose official language is Dutch.

Is Switzerland or Sweden bigger?

Sweden is much bigger — 450,295 km² versus Switzerland's 41,277 km². Sweden is about 11 times the area of Switzerland.

Why does South Africa have three capitals?

The arrangement was a compromise reached at the time of the Union of South Africa in 1910, splitting the seats of government among formerly separate British colonies and Boer republics. Pretoria houses the executive, Cape Town the parliament, and Bloemfontein the judiciary. It is the only country in the world with three capital cities.

Are Singapore and Sri Lanka islands?

Both are island nations. Singapore is one main island plus around 60 smaller ones, totaling 728 km². Sri Lanka is one large island of 65,610 km² off the southeast coast of India.

Related lists

Looking for other letters? See our companion lists:

• Countries that start with A
• Countries that start with B
• Countries that start with M
• Countries that start with X

Bottom line

The 25 S countries are the largest collection for any letter of the alphabet. They span every inhabited continent and include the world's biggest oil exporter (Saudi Arabia), one of its newest nations (South Sudan), the smallest country in the Americas (Saint Kitts and Nevis), one of its oldest republics (San Marino), one of its most peaceful (Switzerland), one of its most economically powerful per capita (Singapore), and one of its most ecologically diverse (Madagascar — wait, that's an M country; you get the idea). Together they show off the extraordinary diversity of the modern world.