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Myanmar -

The nation in Southeast Asia was formerly known as Burma, and some countries still refer to it by this name.

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Philippines -

The Philippines used to be a part of the Spanish East Indies. It gained independence in 1898 and was named the Philippines.

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Ethiopia -

Ethiopia and Eritrea were united as Abyssinia before 1974.

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Bangladesh -

This country in South Asia was formerly known as Eastern Bengal and Assam, then East Bengal, East Pakistan, and currently, Bangladesh.

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Sri Lanka -

From the time it was colonized by the British Empire, this country was known as Ceylon.

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Lesotho -

Basutoland, now an enclaved nation, was formerly a British Crown colony.

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Belarus -

From 1920 until 1991, the nation was called Byelorussia, or "White Russia."

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Moldova -

Moldova was previously known as Bessarabia.

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Iraq -

Iraq was given complete independence in 1932 and was officially called Iraq, having previously been known as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia.

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Belgium -

Belgium has undergone numerous name changes throughout history. It was previously referred to as the Duchy of Brabant, Burgundian Netherlands, and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

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Benin -

The country in West Africa once went by Dahomey.

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Zimbabwe -

Zimbabwe, like other countries, has undergone multiple name changes in the past, including Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia, and Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

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Bolivia -

Prior to 1825, the country was called Upper Peru.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina -

Until 1853, this nation was known as Bosnia.

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Zambia -

This landlocked country was called Northern Rhodesia until 1964.

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Vanuatu -

Vanuatu was previously recognized as New Hebrides before its renaming.

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Tuvalu -

This island nation in Polynesia was formerly called the Ellice Islands.

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Suriname -

The country in South America was previously called Dutch Guiana.

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Togo -

Togo was formerly a section of French Togoland, a colonial League of Nations that existed from 1916 to 1960.

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Thailand -

The country formerly known as Siam became Thailand in 1949.

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Singapore -

Temasek was an initial name given to Singapore before adopting its current name in 1819.

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Papua New Guinea -

Papua New Guinea has gone through a few name modifications. It was previously referred to as the Territory of Papua and Territory of New Guinea, and later as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

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Netherlands -

This country was previously called the County of Holland, the Dutch Republic, and the Batavian Republic.

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Belize -

Belize was formerly known as British Honduras.

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Namibia -

Namibia was previously referred to as German Southwest Africa and Southwest Africa before changing its name in 1990.

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Mexico -

Mexico used to be a part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, but in 1821, it underwent a name change after a war of independence.

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Mali -

Before 1960, Mali was known as French Sudan, named by its European colonizers.

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Jordan -

The region known as the Emirate of Transjordan was later renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949. Today, it's simply known as Jordan.

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Australia -

This nation was previously referred to as New Holland and New South Wales.

See also: Did you know these countries were named after people?

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