Countries Beginning with D: Complete List and Key Facts

Anyone who’s ever tried naming all the world’s countries knows the feeling of getting stuck on certain letters — the letter D turns out to be one of the quieter ones, with only five sovereign states sharing that starting letter, each with its own geography and story.

Number of countries starting with D: 5 ·
Largest D country by area: Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,345,410 km²) ·
Smallest D country by area: Dominica (750 km²) ·
Most populous D country: Democratic Republic of the Congo (116.5 million) ·
Least populous D country: Dominica (65,511)

The table below summarizes the most important metrics.

Which countries start with the letter D?

List of countries starting with D

Five sovereign countries are universally recognized as beginning with the letter D. That list includes a vast Central African nation, a Scandinavian kingdom, a small Horn of Africa state, a Caribbean island, and a Caribbean nation that shares an island with Haiti. Here they are with their capitals, areas, and populations:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo — Capital: Kinshasa; Area: 2,345,410 km²; Population: 116.5 million (Worldometer)
• Denmark — Capital: Copenhagen; Area: 42,430 km²; Population: 6.0 million (World Atlas (geography reference))
• Djibouti — Capital: Djibouti City; Area: 23,180 km²; Population: 1.2 million (Flaggeo (geography flag and capital database))
• Dominica — Capital: Roseau; Area: 750 km²; Population: 65,511 (Worldometer)
• Dominican Republic — Capital: Santo Domingo; Area: 48,670 km²; Population: 11.6 million (Worldometer)

The implication: the D countries span three continents and a wide range of sizes — from the continent-sized DRC to the tiny island of Dominica.

How many countries start with D?

According to the standard United Nations list of 195 member states, exactly five countries begin with the letter D (United Nations (international membership body)). A sixth, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), appears on some alphabetical lists that include all self‑declared sovereign states, but it is not a UN member and is typically filed under “Korea, Democratic People’s Republic” (World Atlas).

Why this matters: the answer depends on whether you count only UN members or include all sovereign entities. For most reference sources, five is the accepted number.

Capitals and key facts for each D country

Each D country has a unique capital city:

• Kinshasa (DRC) — the third largest city in Africa
• Copenhagen (Denmark) — on the island of Zealand (Flaggeo)
• Djibouti City (Djibouti) — a major port on the Gulf of Aden
• Roseau (Dominica) — on the west coast of the island
• Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) — the oldest European settlement in the Americas

The D countries cover a remarkable range of scale, from continent-sized DRC to the small island of Dominica.

Which countries start with the letter F?

List of countries starting with F

There are more countries beginning with F than with D. The list includes Fiji, Finland, France, and also Federated States of Micronesia (often listed under “Micronesia”). Others such as Faroe Islands (a Danish territory) are not sovereign. So the count is around four to six depending on whether you count full sovereign states only (Worldometer).

Comparison: The number of F‑starting countries (about five) is roughly equal to D‑starting countries. The distribution of letters across the alphabet means some letters have many (S has over 20) while others have only one (Q).

The distribution of countries by starting letter is uneven, and D and F happen to have similar counts despite different frequencies in English.

Can you list all countries in alphabetical order?

Complete alphabetical list of 195 recognized countries

The United Nations recognizes 195 member states. Alphabetical lists group them by starting letter — from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Each letter has a different number of countries: for instance, S and M have the most, while Q and X have the fewest (United Nations). An exhaustive list is available from the UN or from data aggregators like Worldometer.

The pattern: The number of countries per letter is highly uneven. D has only five, but the entire list covers 195 entries across 26 letters.

How many countries are in A to Z?

All 195 UN member states can be arranged A‑Z. The distribution is well documented: letters like S (over 25 countries) and M (over 15) dominate. D and F each have around five. The full alphabetical list is a standard reference tool for geography quizzes and data sorting.

Why this matters: Knowing how many countries share each starting letter helps in educational contexts, database classification, and trivia.

What’s the world’s smallest country?

Smallest country by area: Vatican City

Vatican City, an independent city‑state surrounded by Rome, holds the record for smallest country by area (0.44 km²) and by population (approximately 800) (Wikipedia (encyclopedic reference)). Among D countries, Dominica is the smallest at 750 km² — nearly 1,700 times larger than Vatican City.

Smallest country by population: also Vatican City

With fewer than 1,000 residents, Vatican City is the least populous sovereign state. For comparison, the least populous D country — Dominica — has 65,511 people, more than 80 times Vatican City’s population (Worldometer).

Who is the 3 biggest country?

The three largest countries by area are Russia (17.1 million km²), Canada (9.98 million km²), and the United States (9.83 million km²) (CIA World Factbook (government intelligence data)). None of the D countries come close; the largest D country, DRC, ranks 11th globally.

The takeaway: Among D countries, the size range is enormous — DRC is roughly 3,130 times larger than Dominica. But even DRC is dwarfed by the top three global giants.

Which country has the lowest population?

Country with the lowest population: Vatican City

As noted, Vatican City has about 800 residents — the lowest of any UN observer state (CIA World Factbook (Holy See entry)). Among D countries, the lowest is Dominica with 65,511.

Country with the highest population: India

India, with over 1.4 billion people, is the world’s most populous country (United Nations Population Division). The most populous D country, DRC, ranks 16th globally with 116 million.

Least crowded country: Greenland (autonomous territory)

Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, has a population density below 0.1 people per km². If we consider only sovereign states, Mongolia (2.1 people per km²) is the least dense independent country (Worldometer (population density data)).

Which country has only 800 people?

Vatican City is the only sovereign entity with a population around 800 (Wikipedia). Among D countries, the smallest population belongs to Dominica.

Comparison of D countries

Five nations, one letter, and a dramatic range — the table below shows how they stack up against each other.

The contrast: DRC is 3,000 times larger than Dominica and has nearly 2,000 times its population. The Caribbean pair (Dominica and Dominican Republic) differ by a factor of 60 in area and 180 in population.

Frequently asked questions

For anyone researching world geography or building a list of countries by letter, the D‑group is compact but varied. The clear standout is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, both in scale and influence. The small Caribbean nations remind us that a country’s value isn’t measured in square kilometers. The real takeaway for travelers, students, or data analysts: when you need to know all countries that start with D, the list is short, factual, and unlikely to change.

Related reading:

• Is Monaco a Country? (Ireland Point – geography analysis)
• Capital of New Zealand: Why Wellington Won the Seat (Ireland Point – capital city discussion)