Country Name Changes at the Olympic Games
Over time the names of some countries or regions have simply changed. There are many countries that have competed under a different name previously, see the list below.
The countries listed below are different from those that have changed it borders to incorporate other regions, or to split into separate nations. For examples of those, see the list of Past Countries at the Olympics, and also the list of all countries that have ever participated at the Olympic Games.
Where are they now?
- British Guiana: Prior to Guyana's independence in 1966, the country participated under the name British Guiana from 1948 to 1964.
- British Honduras: Belize participated under its former name of British Honduras in 1968 and 1972.
- Burma: Myanmar was known as Burma between 1948 and 1988.
- Cape Verde has been called Cabo Verde since 2013.
- Czech Republic changed its official name to Czechia in 2016.
- Ceylon: Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon between 1948 and 1972.
- Congo Kinshasa: The Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as Congo Kinshasa in 1968.
- Dahomey: Benin was known as Dahomey in 1972.
- FRY Macedonia: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia changed it name to North Macedonia in 2019.
- Gold Coast: Prior to Ghana's independence in 1957, it participated in the 1952 Games as a British colony called the Gold Coast.
- Ivory Coast: Côte d'Ivoire was known as Ivory Coast between 1964 and 1988.
- Northern Rhodesia: Zambia achieved independence on the last day of the 1964 Games, but had participated as Northern Rhodesia during those Games.
- Rhodesia: Prior to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, Southern Rhodesia participated as Rhodesia in 1928, 1960, and 1964.
- Swaziland: up until 2018, Eswatini was known as Swaziland.
- Tanganyika - although Tanganyika and Zanzibar had merged to form Tanzania prior to the 1964 Olympics, at their first Games they competed under the name of Tanganyika.
- Turkey changed its official name in 2022 to Türkiye.
- United Arab Republic: Egypt participated as the United Arab Republic in 1964 and 1968. In 1960, they also competed under that name but in a combined team with Syria.
- Upper Volta: Burkina Faso competed under their old name of Upper Volta in 1972.
- Zaire: The Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as Zaire between 1984 and 1996.
Related Pages
- List of Past Countries at the Olympics
- Number of countries participating at the Olympics for each Olympiad.
- Discontinued Olympic Sports and Events
- List of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
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