Editorial Manual 

Country names and currencies

Country names and currencies are listed in the United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database (UNTERM). Both the short and formal country names are given. The short form is used for most purposes in the United Nations. The formal name is generally used in legal texts, such as treaties.

The country name is normally given after the name of a city, unless the city is the capital or the host city of a United Nations headquarters (Geneva, New York and The Hague).

Except in communications from Member States, country names should not be used in the possessive form: the population of the Sudan, not the Sudan's population

In communications from Member States issued as United Nations documents, the country designations used by the author of the communication are retained in the edited text, even if they are not consistent with established United Nations terminology. For further information, see "Communications from Member States" in Editorial guidelines/Policy questions.

In reports containing information from Member States that is reproduced as received, the designations used by the Member States are not changed and the following disclaimer is inserted as a footnote on the cover page of the report:

Note: The information provided by Member States has been reproduced as received. The designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area, or of its authorities.

The currency name should be written in full if it is used only once or twice in a document or if there is any possibility of ambiguity. If a currency that is not well known is used several times in a document, its name should appear in full at the first mention, followed by its symbol between parentheses.