Two Chinas, two Koreas, two Sudans, and don't call it Turkey anymore. Maybe you were just too busy to read the news when Eswatini retired their old name. But it's not too late to catch up on changing geopolitics.
* The People's Republic of China is a state in the Asian mainland, while the Republic of China is on the island of Taiwan.
* You don't hear about Swaziland anymore, and that's because it's been the Kingdom of Eswatini since 2018, which reflects the name commonly used in the Swazi language.
* The Korean Peninsula contains two countries, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. You know them as North and South Korea. Both claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula.
* Just south of Sudan, you'll find South Sudan, which declared its independence in 2011.
* After a 27-year argument with Greece over their name, the Republic of North Macedonia formally adopted its name after a 2018 agreement with Greece and an ensuing referendum. The agreement stipulated that North Macedonia would remove Alexander the Great's name from the Skopje airport.
* It's Turkiye now, you turkey. In 2022, the Turkish government requested that the United Nations begin using Turkiye instead of the anglicized Turkey as part of an international rebranding effort. Among the reasons for the change: They were tired of the association with the bird.
* There is no single country named Serbia and Montenegro anymore, but there's a Serbia and there's a Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina remains intact, however.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
