This is an outline of the world's political divisions, organized by 1) continent; 2) area of continent if relevant; 3) nation; 4) national subdivision (province, state, department); 5) further subdivisions if they exist.
Formerly a colony of the United Kingdom
Official Name: Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Origin of Name:
Country Code: BS
Capital: Nassau (on Nassau Island)
Origin of Capital Name:
Language: English
Currency: Bahamian Dollar
Telephone Country Code:
Origin of Name:
Country Code: AG
Capital: St. John's
Language: English
Currency: East Caribbean Dollar
Telephone Country Code:
Pronunciation: MEH - hee - ko
Name: From the Mehika people, the group of Aztecs who occupied Tenochtítlan and ruled
the Aztec Empire.
Country Code: MX
Capital: Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal
Languages: Spanish; English also important in some areas, especially along US border, some
native languages
Telephone Country Code: 52
Pronunciation: AH - guahs - kah - lee- EN - teece (the "g" is pronounced softly, but like g, not
j)
Origin of Name: Named after its capital city
Capital: Aguascalientes
Origin of Capital Name: Spanish for "Hot Waters" because of natural hot springs
Pronunciation: BAH - hah - kah- lee - FOR - nyah
Origin of Name: Spanish meaning "Lower California"
Capital: Mexicali
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: BAH - hah - kahl - ee- FOR - nyah - SUR
Origin of Name: Spanish meaning "South Lower California"
Capital: La Paz
Origin of Capital Name: Spanish for "The Peace"
Pronunciation: kahm - PECH - eh
Origin of Name: After the ancient pre-Columbian state of Kimpech
Capital: Campeche
Origin of Capital Name: Same as name of state
Pronunciation: chee - AH - pahs
Origin of Name:
Capital: Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Also simply called "Tuxtla"
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: chee - WAH - wah
Origin of Name: From the name of the capital
Capital: Chihuahua
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: kwah WEE lah
Origin of Name:
Capital: Saltillo
Origin of Capital Name: Spanish for "Little Jump"; probably actually a diminutive of Salta in
Argentina
Colima is a very small state on the Pacific coast
Pronunciation: koh LEE mah
Origin of Name:
Capital: Colima
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: dooh RONG goh
Origin of Name: Named after its capital city
Capital: Durango
Also called Victoria de Durango
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: gwan ah WAH toh
Origin of Name: After the capital city
Capital: Guanajuato
Origin of Capital Name: After the Guanajuato people, a group of Native Americans
Pronunciation: gheh RERR o
Origin of Name: After Vicente Guerrero, a Mexican revolutionary hero
Capital: Chilpancingo
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: ee DAHL go
Origin of Name: Spanish for "Noble"
Capital: Pachuca
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: hall EES koh
Origin of Name:
Capital: Guadalajara
Origin of Capital Name: After the Spanish city of the same name, in turn named from the Arabic
"Wad al Hadjarah," meaning "River of Stones"
Pronunciation: MEH hee koh
Origin of Name: After the Mehika Aztecs who lived at Tenochtitlan
Capital: Toluca
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: mee choh wah KAHN
Origin of Name:
Capital: Morelia
Origin of Capital Name: After José María Morelos y Pavón, hero of the
Mexican Revolution; previously called Valladolid
Pronunciation: moh - RAY - loce
Origin of Name: After Jos María Morelos y Pavón, hero of the Mexican
Revolution
Capital: Cuernavaca
Origin of Capital Name:
Formerly the territory of Tepic; Nayarit since 1917
Pronunciation: nah - YAR - eet
Origin of Name:
Capital: Tepic
Origin of Capital Name:
Includes the Pacific Ocean Tres Marís islands
Pronunciation: NWAY - voh - leh - OHN
Origin of Name: After the Leon province of Spain, literally meaning "New Lion"
Capital: Monterrey
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: wah HAW kah
Origin of Name:
Capital: Oaxaca
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: PWAY blah
Origin of Name: People
Capital: Puebla
Origin of Capital Name: Same as the state
Pronunciation: keh - RET - ah - roh
Origin of Name: Named after its capital city
Capital: : Querétaro
Origin of Capital Name: The city was already ancient at the time of Cristobal Colombo; meaning is
uncertain
Pronunciation: keen - TAH - nah - ROH
Origin of Name: ?After Manuel Jos Quintana, Spanish poet (1772-1857)
Capital: Chetumal
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: sahn - loo - EES - poh - toh - SEE (the u in Luis is very short)
Origin of Name: From the name of the capital city
Capital: San Luis Potosí
Origin of Capital Name: After the old Spanish mission founded at this location, San Luis Rey
(Saint Louis the King), and after a nearby hill, Cerro de Potosí (Hill of Potosí), famed
for its silver mines, which in turn is named after the Potosí area of Bolivia (then part of
Perú), which also was a mining district of reknown.
Pronunciation: SEE - nah - loh - ah
Origin of Name:
Capital: Culiacán
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: soh - NOH - rah
Origin of Name: After a native marble which can be used to make chimes, producing a true ring;
thus, "Sonora" means "sonorous"
Capital: Hermosillo
Origin of Capital Name: Spanish for "Little Beautiful [handsome] One"
Pronunciation: tah - BAHS - koh
Origin of Name: From the Tabasco River (Río Tabasco), now called the Río
Grijalvo
Capital: Villahermosa
Origin of Capital Name: Spanish for "Beautiful Village"
Pronunciation: tah - mah - oo - LEE - pahs
Origin of Name:
Capital: Ciudad Victoria
Origin of Capital Name: Spanish for "Victoria City"
Pronunciation:
Origin of Name: From the ancient Aztec province of Tlaxcala, largely comprising the same
area
Capital:Tlaxcala
Origin of Capital Name: Same as the estado name
Pronunciation: BEHR - ah - krooce
Origin of Name: Spanish for "True Cross"
Capital: Jalapa
Also called Jalapa Enríquez
Origin of Capital Name:
Pronunciation: yoo- kah - TAHN
Origin of Name: Native American language meaning "What did you say?" The story goes that
when the Spaniards first waded ashore on the Yucatán Peninsula, they asked the Native
Americans watching, "What is this place?" The Native Americans, not understanding Spanish,
asked "What did you say?" The Spanish, in their arrogance, assumed that anyone would
understand their meaning, and took it to be the name.
Capital: Mérida
Origin of Capital Name: Named after the Spanish town of the same name, originally (in Latin)
Augusta Emerita
Pronunciation: sah - kah - THE - kahs
Origin of Name: Named after its capital city
Capital: Zacatecas
Origin of Capital Name: After the native Zacatec Indians, who in turn apparently took their name
from the native Zacate grass
Pronunciation: gwah - teh - MAH - lah; the initial g is not fully sounded
Origin of Name: An ancient Native American name, meaning either "land of trees" or "mountain
that vomits water"
Country Code: GT
Capital: (Ciudad de) Guatemala
Language: Spanish
Telephone Country Code: 502
Official name: Republica del Honduras
Pronunciation: ohn - DOO - ross; the r is a Spanish clicked r
Name: Depths (Spanish), for the deep water off the coast
Capital: Tegucigalpa
Language: Spanish
Telephone Country Code: 504
Official name: Republica del Salvador
Pronunciation: ell SAHL - bah - dor; the r is a Spanish clicked r
Meaning of name: The Savior or Republic of the Savior
Capital: San Salvador (Saint Savior)
Language: Spanish
Telephone Country Code: 503
At one time part of Costa Rica, then part of Colombia; split from Colombia with US
assistance
Pronunciation: pah - nah - MAH
Official name: Republica del Panamá
Origin of name: After the Panamá tree, the name of which in turn means either a group of
fish or a group of butterflies
Capital: (Ciudad de) Panamá
Origin of Capital Name: Same as the national name
Official and Principal Language: Spanish
Telephone Country Code: 507
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This page was last revised on November 24, 2000.