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7 Countries Who Recently Changed Their Names And Why

Throughout history, nations have undergone name alterations for different reasons, indicative of shifts in political dynamics, cultural identity, territorial scope, and alterations in governance.
These modifications frequently seek to reshape national narratives, assert autonomy, or update global perceptions.
In that light, here is a rundown of seven countries around the world that have recently altered their names and the circumstances surrounding them.
Turkey to Turkiye
On June 2, 2022, the United Nations declared that Türkiye would be the official reference for the country previously known as Turkey.
The decision was widely interpreted as Ankara’s strategic effort to rebrand the country and distance it from the avian namesake and any perceived negative connotations attached to it.
In a memo about the name change in 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “Türkiye is the best representation and expression of the Turkish people’s culture, civilization, and values.”
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Holland to the Netherlands
In 2020, the Dutch government opted to abandon the use of “Holland” in favor of its official name, “the Netherlands,” as part of a broader effort to modernize its global image.
The name change is said to be a strategic move to distance the country from its associations with recreational drug use and legal prostitution, factors that have drawn international attention to Amsterdam, located in the province of North Holland.
The Republic of Macedonia to North Macedonia
In 2019, the Republic of Macedonia, previously recognized as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, officially changed its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. Unlike some other country name changes driven by cultural or historical factors, this transformation was primarily motivated by political considerations.
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Following its declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the country chose to adopt the name Macedonia. However, this decision strained relations significantly with neighboring Greece, which also has a region known as Macedonia.
Swaziland to Eswatini
In April 2018, King Mswati III of Swaziland announced during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence that he was renaming the country “the Kingdom of eSwatini”.
The unexpected change to the name eSwatini, meaning “land of the Swazis,” was officially adopted by King Mswati, who had been referring to Swaziland as eSwatini for many years prior.
The King announced that the country was frequently mistaken for the European nation of Switzerland. “Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland,” he said.
Czech Republic to Czechia
Czechia’s decision to adopt the name was driven not by political or cultural considerations, but by marketing motives.
In 2016, the Czech government officially adopted the name Czechia and recommended its use to promote a shorter version in international contexts.
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The decision to propose the new name Czechia stemmed from concerns that “Czech Republic” was often perceived as too long and cumbersome, causing confusion and misunderstandings. Czechia was seen as a more user-friendly and modern alternative.
Cape Verde to Cabo Verde
In 2013, Cape Verde formally transitioned to Cabo Verde, a move advocated by Mario Lucio de Sousa, Minister of Culture. He highlighted the logistical challenges of frequent translations in diplomatic communications and tourism materials.
Intending to achieve a cohesive global identity, Cabo Verde officially requested the adoption of its new name in all United Nations languages, except for the longer form, Republica de Cabo Verde.
Cabo Verde aims to establish its identity through unique offerings, such as organic wines cultivated from volcanic soils.
Ceylon to Sri Lanka
In 1972, the island nation of Ceylon rebranded itself as Sri Lanka, drawing from the Sinhalese language, and declared itself a republic.
This change aimed to better represent the country’s multicultural identity and distance itself from its colonial history under British rule.
Although Sri Lanka officially changed its name from Ceylon upon gaining independence from British rule in 1972, it wasn’t until 2011 that the country formally removed the colonial name Ceylon from government use.
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Eswatini Jails 10 Africans Deported From US

The African kingdom of Eswatini said it received and jailed 10 more deportees from the United States on Monday as part of a US scheme to expel undocumented migrants.
Eswatini took in a first group of five men in July, with Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan also accepting US deportees in recent months in a programme criticised by rights groups.
The tiny southern African nation agreed in May to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity”, according to a deal signed with the United States and seen by AFP.
Its correctional services department said in a statement Monday it “confirms the arrival of ten (10) third country nationals from the United States of America”.
It did not give details but said they had been “securely accommodated in one of the country’s correctional facilities” and the government would “facilitate their orderly repatriation”.
A US-based attorney representing some of the deportees said the new group included “three Vietnamese, one Filipino, one Cambodian”.
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The lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen, represents two of the Vietnamese nationals who arrived Monday.
“One of my clients … tried to assert a reasonable fear of harm being deported to Eswatini, but ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ignored him and put him on the plane anyways,” he told AFP.
He also represents a Vietnamese and a Laotian who were part of the first group which also included nationals from Cuba, Jamaica and Yemen.
– ‘Legal black hole’ –
The deal that Eswatini signed with the United States on May 14 says that the US deportees may include third country nationals “with criminal backgrounds and/or who are designated suspected terrorists”.
Washington said the first group of men had been convicted of crimes in the United States, including child rape and murder, but their lawyers told AFP that all five had long finished serving their sentences.
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Eswatini jailed them in its maximum security Matsapha Correctional Centre which is notorious for holding political prisoners and for overcrowding.
One of them, a 62-year-old Jamaican who had reportedly completed a sentence for murder in the United States, was sent back to his country around two weeks ago.
Nguyen said Eswatini was a “legal black hole” and the deportees were denied legal counsel.
His two clients had been detained since mid-July without a charge, he said.
“I cannot call them. I cannot email them. I cannot communicate through local counsel because the Eswatini government blocks all attorney access,” he told AFP.
Lawyers and civil society groups in Eswatini have gone to court to challenge the legality of the detentions.
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A local lawyer on Friday won a court ruling allowing him to visit the four men still detained, but the government immediately appealed, suspending the ruling.
US President Donald Trump has overseen a drastic expansion of the practice of deporting people to countries other than their nation of origin, notably by sending hundreds to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
But rights experts have warned the deportations risk breaking international law by sending people to nations where they face the risk of torture, abduction and other abuses.
Human Rights Watch last month urged African governments to refuse to accept US deportees and to terminate deals already in effect, saying they violated global rights law.
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland and landlocked by neighbours South Africa and Mozambique, has been led by King Mswati III since 1986 and his government has been accused of human rights violations.
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Russian Strikes Kill Five In Ukraine, Cause Power Outages

Russian strikes Sunday on Ukraine killed five people and badly damaged energy infrastructure, temporarily severing power supplies to tens of thousands and prompting neighbouring Poland put ground defence on high alert.
Russia has stepped up strikes on energy networks, increasing fears Moscow would resume its widespread campaign of attacks on power facilities, which have plunged millions into darkness in past winters.
Russian forces fired 496 drones and 53 missiles at Ukraine, the majority of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian air force.
“Sadly, five people were killed. My sincere condolences to everyone who lost loved ones to this terror,” Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Strikes killed four people near Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine and is hundreds of kilometers from the front line, and has been largely spared the attacks that have hit cities further east.
“Near Lviv, an entire family of four was killed in their home, including a teenage girl,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.
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Emergency services released photos showing firefighters battling flames in a destroyed building, and helping elderly residents to safety.
Attacks also killed one person in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and wounded people near the eastern front, local authorities said.
“Russians once again targeted our infrastructure -– everything that ensures normal life for our people,” Zelensky said.
The strikes cut power to over 110,000 subscribers across several regions, Ukraine’s emergency services said, with the hardest hit being Zaporizhzhia.
– ‘Gas, heat and light’ –
Overnight, more than 73,000 people in Zaporizhzhia were left without electricity, regional head Ivan Fedorov said, though power had been partially restored by the afternoon.
Ukraine’s state-run gas company Naftogaz network also reported damage to its network.
“These maniacal terrorist strikes are aimed solely at one thing — depriving Ukrainians of gas, heat, and light,” Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said in a statement.
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The Russian army said it launched an attack “against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensured their operation.”
Russian attacks have also rattled Ukraine’s European allies after a spate of alleged Russian airspace violations into Europe.
NATO boosted its defences along its eastern borders throughout the month as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defences with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.
Overnight Poland’s armed forces said on X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country’s airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.
Ukraine also said Russia was intensifying a campaign of air strikes on its railway network in an attempt to isolate frontline communities ahead of winter.
Russia launched drones at two passenger trains in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian officials.
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Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration Plan, Targets 150,000 Yearly Deportations

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has unveiled an aggressive immigration reform plan aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants annually, in what she described as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” in border policy. The announcement was made in a video message posted on her X account on Sunday.
The plan, dubbed the Radical Borders Plan, envisages the establishment of a new Removals Force modelled after the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which would replace the current Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit. According to Badenoch, the Removals Force will have a mandate to remove all illegal entrants, foreign criminals, and undocumented migrants, while also monitoring illegal work. She stated, “My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported.”
Badenoch sharply criticised previous administrations, accusing both Conservative and Labour governments of failing to manage the migration crisis effectively. “Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, in just a year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, billions wasted. It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it,” she said.
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The proposed plan includes several controversial measures. Asylum claims from illegal entrants would be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the United Kingdom withdrawn from the European Convention on Human Rights. Badenoch added that all new illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal obstacles to mass removals removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens. She also pledged to “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” which she said would save taxpayers billions and restore public confidence in the UK’s border controls.
The Removals Force, if approved, will operate with an annual budget of £1.6 billion, double that of the current Immigration Enforcement unit, funded by savings from the closure of asylum hotels and other measures within the asylum system. The force will have sweeping powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior warning, and will integrate closely with the police. Priority for removals will include new illegal entrants, foreign criminals, failed asylum seekers, visa over-stayers, and others identified as residing in the UK illegally.
In an interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch faced criticism for her refusal to specify the destinations to which deported migrants would be sent. She responded, “I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.” When pressed further, she added, “They will go back to where they came from.”
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According to the Conservative Party document detailing the plan, the proposed measures are intended to increase removals from the current 34,000 per year to approximately 150,000, marking a five-fold increase in enforcement activity. The party argues that the reforms are necessary to address what it describes as uncontrolled migration and to strengthen public trust in the country’s border system.
Badenoch’s announcement has intensified the ongoing debate in the UK over immigration policy, balancing border security with human rights considerations. Critics have expressed concern over the repeal of the Human Rights Act and the use of facial recognition technology without oversight, while supporters have welcomed the proposed measures as a decisive step in tackling illegal immigration.
The Radical Borders Plan is expected to be submitted for parliamentary consideration in the coming months, with its implementation contingent on legislative approval and coordination with existing law enforcement structures.
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