Can you name the countries that do not have an 'A' in their most commonly used English Names?

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'A'-Less Countries Quiz

Rating:	Report a mistake
Created by: Booger -
Published: September 14th, 2009
Category: Geography
Plays: 199,427

Tags: Country Quizzes, common, a-less, english, used

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	JohnJF:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:22 GMT	89 points
	Is it a bad sign that my first guess was Australia?

	voljtw:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:26 GMT	27 points
	Why isn't the bonus answer a normal answer...the name people know it by has an a but the official name does not.

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	Maestro:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:31 GMT	45 points
	One of my new all-time favorite sporcle games...I teach Social studies and this is a GREAT way to have kids "see" their geography studies in a different way...FANTASTIC job!

	lezardvaleth:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:31 GMT	31 points
	Tougher than it looks.

	Doctor_Tom:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:33 GMT	45 points
	It's amazing how few countries don't have an a in them.

	Jordan117:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:33 GMT	18 points
	Wow, that was frustrating. The fact that so many countries end in "a" or "ia" certainly doesn't help...

	marpocky:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:38 GMT	43 points
	Another minute or two would have been great. I know there are only 30 answers, but we still have to think through close to 200.

	BamaRainbow:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:42 GMT	5 points
	It's a bit odd to think that one Congo is there but the other isn't, solely because of the official names used to distinguish the two. What's odder is that neither one would be acceptable if the alternate way to distinguish the two were used. (The older, and to my mind easier, way used the name of each country's capital.)

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	WredAguyW:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:45 GMT	-2 points
	Got 21/30, but I found two bonus answers!

	BamaRainbow:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:46 GMT	3 points
	@Jordan117: There's also quite a few -stan countries that really skew the list as well. (The list would be at least 3 longer if not for the -stan.)

	springmom:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:48 GMT	8 points
	My brain stopped working halfway through this...major shut down. Loved the idea of this quiz though.

	MRL:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:49 GMT	18 points
	@voljtw: The reason Cote d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast isn't on the primary part of the list is that the quiz title is about the most commonly used English names -- and "Cote d'Ivoire" is not English. The most commonly used English name, Ivory Coast, contains an A.

	zalagreensbury:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:50 GMT	34 points
	Sounds so easy in theory then you take it and it's like 'Oh, wait I got it...oh no...damn,' lol

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	brianc:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 04:55 GMT	0 points
	well i'm happy with my 21. at least 2 bonus answers here, the one MRL mentioned and East Timor / Timor-Leste

	skellig:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:00 GMT	103 points
	Ironic quiz, given the fact that my son ripped thw 'A' key off our computer yesterday.

	confused:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:07 GMT	25 points
	Asia was almost trivial to go through for a change -- first time I've been grateful for the "stans"!

	Anonymous42:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:20 GMT	5 points
	@voljtw: It seems that the quiz is considering "The Ivory Coast" the most commonly used English name for the country. While Cote d'Ivoire is the "official" name, not all countries are referred to by their so-called official name. Take the U.K. or Macedonia; I have yet to hear someone mention either the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in casual conversation.

	ubernora:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:29 GMT	15 points
	fabulous! I love the ones that make me rack my brains. You get so used to doing it by area or by name...

	Jordan117:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:33 GMT	3 points
	Are there fewer countries that don't have an "e" in their name? You'd think that would be so, since it's the most common letter.

	gracie:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:33 GMT	65 points
	how many times did you start to type in a country, get to an a, then pause and realize your mistake?

	paoletti:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 05:53 GMT	30 points
	I can't wait for the "Z-less countries" quizz!

	twisty:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 06:15 GMT	12 points
	not to nitpick (but what else would these comments be for?) but... Macedonia is the country's official name. It is only because of Greece's objection to that name, the OFFICIAL name of the country, that many states refer to Macedonia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Cote D'Ivoire, on the other hand, specifically states in its constitution that its name is not to be translated into other languages. Given that pronouncing the name in French is far too difficult for English-language speakers (because clearly no French words such as croissant have entered the English language), most people erroneously refer to Cote D'Ivoire as the Ivory Coast, even if this name is incorrect.

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	random_cloud:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 07:31 GMT	18 points
	hey sporcle - thanks for a geography quiz that i can take where i don't have to work out how to spell 'kyrgyzstan' to get an answer....

	y2jdilemma:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 07:35 GMT	17 points
	@random cloud: Kyrgyzstan was my first instinct. I typed it all out and the got to "stan" and was like..."oh" delete delete delete lol Love this quiz.

	Miana90:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 08:18 GMT	0 points
	lol I skipped a starting countries then started with b.. I started typing belarus.. wait no.. bulgaria.. no.. denmark? lol.. it helps that I'm half a sleep as well.

	Bojan:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 08:24 GMT	15 points
	Interesting how I skipped Egypt, because it has an 'a' in my language :)

	micah:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 08:26 GMT	2 points
	Most excellent. Any bonuses besides Cote d'Ivoire and Timor-Leste?

	smarty:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 09:08 GMT	5 points
	i always forget the philippines in quizzes. and i disagree with côte d'ivoire being a bonus, it might be in french but it is the most commonly used name for the country in english speaking countries and thus in english.

	tigerschick:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 09:17 GMT	7 points
	Really like this one! Makes you think really carefully. Got 21 but the postman interupted me with nearly 2 minutes to go! ~ Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ;o) ~

	Steesh:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 09:44 GMT	25 points
	@tigerschick - we'll find out in 9 months whether you were telling the truth or no ;)

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	tigerschick:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 10:19 GMT	14 points
	@ steesh LOL!! :oD @ Kyle - please don't start that old chestnut!

	Niques:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 11:21 GMT	-1 points
	First time I've felt truly pressured by a time limit in a quiz. I got so close with 28. Out of curiosity (as I am not at all versed in the technicalities of its use), could the Holy See not count as a bonus answer? I have seen it used in a list of countries before.

	brownowl:	Sep 14th, 2009 at 11:30 GMT	2 points
	I decided to try and think of at least one or two before starting the timer - good thing I did, as it took me about 5 minutes to think of Greece!