can't give the definite answer yet, but good question: I have a hard time keeping up with the African nations, and the Eastern European splintering. BUT it seems a lot of the name changes are simply the country refusing to accept our old Anglicized version of the names. Burma is now Myanmar, but we still say Burmese. Thailand people are getting to be Thai, though, not "Siamese".

Iran. Myanmar (sort of). If you like you can count the countries that made up the USSR.

There's a whole article on this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_renaming#Countries_and_territories It names, amongst others, Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan), Belarus (formerly Byelorussia), Moldova (formely Moldavia), Namibia (formerly South-West Africa), etc.

Burma changed its name to Myanmar. Abyssinia changed its name to Ethiopia. Persia became Iran. Cambodia changed its name to Kampuchea. Ceylon became Sri Lanka. East Pakistan became Bangladesh. Formosa became Taiwan. There must be others too.

Lagmabeau changed itself to Lambrau but has been so unsucessful in its transition that it wishes to change it self again.

Rhodesia became Zimbabwe The Czeckoslovakia has changed into a number of things = the Czech Republic, Slovakia etc Siam became Thailand....

Yes it is a big deal they have to change their whole identity and anything that identifies their people. The most difficult ones to remember are the African countries they have the horrible habit of changing their names quite often due to tribal issues. These are the ones I can remember: *Benin – Dahomey until 1975 *Burkina Faso former Upper Volta in 1984 *Central African Republic – from Ubangi-Shari 1958 *Democratic Republic of the Congo – first the Belgian Congo, then Zaire between 1971-1997 *Djibouti – formerly French Somaliland, then Afars and Issas until 1977 *Equatorial Guinea – Spanish Guinea until 1968 *Ethiopia – known as Abyssinia/Ethiopia *Ghana – the Gold Coast until 1957 *Guinea Bissau – Portuguese Guinea until 1974 *Malawi – Nyasaland until 1964 *Mali – French Sudan until 1960 *Namibia – formerly South-West Africa *Western Sahara – formerly Spanish Sahara *Zambia – Northern Rhodesia until 1964 *Zimbabwe – changed its name four times between 1910 and 1980.

"Significant name changes The following list shows acts of geographical renaming that have had been of international importance or significance. Countries and territories Bangladesh – East Pakistan until 1971 Belarus – Byelorussia until 1991; also called White Russia. Belize – British Honduras until 1973 Benin – Dahomey until 1975 Burkina Faso from Upper Volta in 1984 Cambodia known as Khmer Republic 1971-1975, Kampuchea 1975-1991 Central African Republic – from Ubangi-Shari on independence in 1958 (called Central African Empire from December 4, 1976 to September 20, 1979) Colombia – New Granada until 1819 Democratic Republic of the Congo – was Zaire between 1971 and 1997; previously Belgian Congo Djibouti – formerly French Somaliland, then Afars and Issas until 1977 East Timor – Portuguese Timor until 1975, since independence in 2002 also known as Timor-Leste Equatorial Guinea – Spanish Guinea until 1968 Ethiopia – historically known as Abyssinia as well as Ethiopia Ghana – the Gold Coast until 1957 Guinea Bissau – Portuguese Guinea until 1974 Guyana – British Guiana until 1966 Indonesia – Netherlands East Indies until 1945 Iran – also known as Persia before 1979 (both names were used in the mid-20th century) Ireland (state) – before 1937 the Irish Free State. Was at one time referred to as Éire and is sometimes referred to by its description of the Republic of Ireland. Some British media still persist in usage of these two names. Jordan – formerly Transjordan Kiribati – known as the Gilbert Islands before independence in 1979 Malawi – Nyasaland until 1964 Mali – French Sudan until 1960 Mexico – New Spain until 1821 Moldova – Moldavia until 1991 Myanmar, in 1988 the military junta changed the name but Burma is still widely used in English (see Names of Burma) Namibia – formerly South-West Africa Samoa – Western Samoa in 1997 Serbia and Montenegro from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 2003. Ultimately split into two nations, Serbia and Montenegro, in 2006. Sri Lanka from Ceylon in 1972 Tajikistan – officially the Republic of Tajikistan from Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (Tajik SSR) in 1991 Thailand – formerly Siam until 1949. Tuvalu – known as the Ellice Islands before independence in 1978 Vanuatu – from New Hebrides in 1980 after gaining independence. Uzbekistan – officially the Republic of Uzbekistan from Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR)in 1991 Western Sahara – formerly Spanish Sahara Zambia – Northern Rhodesia until 1964 Zimbabwe – part of Rhodesia until 1910; then known as Southern Rhodesia until a year before it declared independence in 1965; known as Rhodesia until 1979, then became Zimbabwe-Rhodesia until it assumed the current name in 1980." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_renaming