All countries that start with P, Q: Area, Population & GDP

Explore countries that start with P and Q, delving into their Area, Population, and GDP. Discover fascinating insights into the unique characteristics and economic landscapes of these nations with Emily E. Garrison!

Quick answer about countries that start with P, Q

There are 13 all countries that start with P, Q:

Country	Continent	Area	Population	GDP (nominal)
Pakistan	South Asia	881,913 km2	241,499,431	$1,471
Palau	Western Pacific	459 km2	18,024	$17,438
Palestine (state disputed)	West Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A
Panama	Central America	75,417 km2	4,337,768	$18,493
Papua New Guinea	Oceania	462,840 km2	11,781,559	$2,581
Paraguay	South America	406,752 km2	6,109,644	$7,162
Peru	South America	1,285,216 km2	34,352,720	$7,668
Philippines	Southeast Asia	300,000 km2	109,035,343	$3,859
Pitcairn Islands (territory of the UK)	Pacific Ocean	47 km2	47	N/A
Poland	Europe	312,700 km2	38,036,118	$22,393
Portugal	Europe	92,230 km2	10,467,366	$26,879
Puerto Rico (territory of the US)	Caribbean	9,104 km2	3,221,789	$37,093
Qatar	West Asia	11,581 km2	2,795,484	$81,968

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Detailed information about all countries that start with P, Q

Explore comprehensive details on countries that start with P, Q. From cultural highlights to economic landscapes, our in-depth information provides a thorough understanding of each nation. Discover the rich histories and unique characteristics that make these countries stand out. Gain valuable insights into the diverse societies encompassed by the alphabetical journey through P and Q.

Pakistan

• Continent: South Asia
• Capital: Islamabad
• National language: Urdu – English
• Religion: 96.5% Islam (official, 2.1% Hinduism, 1.3% Christianity, 0.1% other
• Area: 881,913 km2
• Population: 241,499,431
• Currency: Pakistani rupee (₨) (PKR)
• GDP (nominal): $1,471 Per capita

Pakistan (Urdu: پَاکِسْتَان [ˈpaːkɪstaːn]), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (ISO: اِسْلامی جَمْہُورِیَہ پَاکِسْتَان, islāmi jamhūriyāh pākistān), is a country in South Asia. It is the world’s fifth-most populous country, with a population of 241.5 million people, and has the world’s largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation’s capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre, followed by Lahore and Faisalabad. 

Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country in the world by area and the second largest in South Asia, spanning 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles). It has a 1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan’s narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that comprise the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Samma, the Hindu Shahis, the Shah Miris, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, and most recently, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947.

Spurred by the Pakistan Movement, which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India, and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League, Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire, which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. 

Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic. In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan elected a civilian government in 2008, and in 2010 adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.

Pakistan is a middle power nation, and has the world’s sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan’s political history since independence has been characterised by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of political and economic instability. 

It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. The country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition, and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States.

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Palau

• Continent: Western Pacific
• Capital: Ngerulmud
• Religion: 78.7% Christianity, 10.1% no religion, 5.1% Modekngei, 4.9% Islam, 1.2% other
• Area: 459 km2
• Population: 18,024
• Currency: United States dollar (USD)
• GDP (nominal): $17,438 Per capita

Palau (officially the Republic of Palau and historically Belau, Palaos or Pelew) is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia. It has a total area of 466 square kilometers (180 sq mi), making it one of the smallest countries in the world. 

The most populous island is Koror, home to the country’s most populous city of the same name. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the largest island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with international waters to the north, the Federated States of Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the northwest.

The country was originally settled approximately 3,000 years ago by migrants from Maritime Southeast Asia. Palau was first drawn on a European map by the Bohemian missionary Paul Klein based on a description given by a group of Palauans shipwrecked on the Philippine coast on Samar. Palau islands were made part of the Spanish East Indies in 1885. 

Following Spain’s defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898, the islands were sold to Germany in 1899 under the terms of the German–Spanish Treaty, where they were administered as part of German New Guinea. After World War I, the islands were made a part of the Japanese-ruled South Seas Mandate by the League of Nations. During World War II, skirmishes including the major Battle of Peleliu were fought between American and Japanese troops as part of the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign. 

Along with other Pacific Islands, Palau was made a part of the United States-governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in 1947. Having voted in a referendum against joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1978, the islands gained full sovereignty in 1994 under a Compact of Free Association with the United States.

Politically, Palau is a presidential republic in free association with the United States, which provides defense, funding, and access to social services. Legislative power is concentrated in the bicameral Palau National Congress. Palau’s economy is based mainly on tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing, with a significant portion of gross national product (GNP) derived from foreign aid. 

The country uses the United States dollar as its official currency. The islands’ culture mixes Micronesian, Melanesian, Asian, and Western elements. Ethnic Palauans, the majority of the population, are of mixed Micronesian, Melanesian, and Austronesian descent. A smaller proportion of the population is of Japanese descent. The country’s two official languages are Palauan (a member of the Austronesian language family) and English, with Japanese, Sonsorolese, and Tobian recognized as regional languages.

Palestine (state disputed)

• Continent: West Asia
• National language: Arabic, Hebrew
• Religion: N/A
• Area: N/A
• Population: N/A
• Currency: N/A
• GDP (nominal): N/A

Palestine is a geographical region in West Asia. Situated in the Southern Levant, it is usually considered to include Israel and the State of Palestine, though some definitions also include parts of northwestern Jordan. Other historical names for the region include Canaan, the Promised Land, the Land of Israel, or the Holy Land.

The first written records referring to Palestine emerged in the 12th-century BCE Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, which used the term Peleset for the neighboring people or land. In the 8th century BCE, the Assyrians referred to the region as Palashtu or Pilistu. In the Hellenistic period, these names were carried over into Greek, appearing in the Histories of Herodotus as Palaistine. In 6 CE, the Roman Empire established a province over the area known as Judaea, then in 132 CE (the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt) formed it into Syria Palaestina.

In 390, during the Byzantine period, the region was split into the provinces of Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda, and Palaestina Tertia. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, the military district of Jund Filastin was established. While Palestine’s boundaries have changed throughout history, it has generally comprised the southern portion of regions such as Syria or the Levant. It also conceptually overlaps with several terms of Judeo-Christian tradition, including Canaan, the Promised Land, the Land of Israel, and the Holy Land.

As the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. In the Bronze Age, it was inhabited by the Canaanites; the Iron Age saw the emergence of Israel and Judah, two related kingdoms inhabited by the Israelites. 

It has since come under the sway of various empires, including the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Revolts by the region’s Jews against Hellenistic rule brought a brief period of regional independence under the Hasmonean dynasty, which ended with its gradual incorporation into the Roman Empire (later the Byzantine Empire).

In the 7th century, Palestine was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, ending Byzantine rule in the region; Rashidun rule was succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Fatimid Caliphate. Following the collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been established through the Crusades, the population of Palestine became predominantly Muslim. 

In the 13th century, it became part of the Mamluk Sultanate, and after 1516, part of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, it was captured by the United Kingdom as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign. Between 1919 and 1922, the League of Nations created the Mandate for Palestine, which directed the region to be under British administration as Mandatory Palestine. 

Tensions between Jews and Arabs escalated into the 1947–1949 Palestine war, which ended with the remaining territory of the former British Mandate post the creation of Transjordan in 1946 divided between Israel vis-à-vis Jordan (in the West Bank) and Egypt (in the Gaza Strip); later developments in the Arab–Israeli conflict culminated in Israel’s occupation of both territories, which has been among the core issues of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Panama

• Continent: Central America
• Capital: Panama City
• National language: Spanish
• Religion: 91.5% Christianity, 7.6% no religion, 0.9% other
• Area: 75,417 km2
• Population: 4,337,768
• Currency: Balboa (PAB)
• GDP (nominal): $18,493 Per capita

Panama (/ˈpænəmɑː/ ⓘ PAN-ə-mah, /pænəˈmɑː/ pan-ə-MAH; Spanish: Panamá IPA: [panaˈma] ⓘ), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country in Central America, spanning the southern tip of North America into the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Its capital and largest city is Panama City, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly half the country’s over 4 million inhabitants.

Panama was inhabited by indigenous tribes before Spanish colonists arrived in the 16th century. It broke away from Spain in 1821 and joined the Republic of Gran Colombia, a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. After Gran Colombia dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada eventually became the Republic of Colombia. 

With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the construction of the Panama Canal to be completed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties agreed to transfer the canal from the United States to Panama on December 31, 1999. The surrounding territory was first returned in 1979.

Revenue from canal tolls continues to represent a significant portion of Panama’s GDP, although commerce, banking, and tourism are major and growing sectors. It is regarded as having a high-income economy. In 2019 Panama ranked 57th in the world in terms of the Human Development Index.

In 2018, Panama was ranked the seventh-most competitive economy in Latin America, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. Panama was ranked 84nd in the Global Innovation Index in 2023. Covering around 40 percent of its land area, Panama’s jungles are home to an abundance of tropical plants and animals – some of them found nowhere else on earth. Panama is a founding member of the United Nations and other international organizations such as OAS, LAIA, G77, WHO, and NAM.

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Papua New Guinea

• Continent: Oceania
• Capital: Port Moresby
• National language: English – Hiri Motu
• Religion: 95.5% Christianity, 3.1% Unspecified, 1.4% Others / None
• Area: 462,840 km2
• Population: 11,781,559
• Currency: Kina (PGK)
• GDP (nominal): $2,581 Per capita

Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; /ˈpæp(j)uə … ˈɡɪni, ˈpɑː-/ ⓘ, also US: /ˈpɑːpwə-, ˈpɑːp(j)ə-/), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). 

It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and it is directly adjacent to Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world’s third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).

At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right.

There are 839 known languages of Papua New Guinea, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. It is also one of the most rural countries, with only 13.25% of its population living in urban centres in 2019. Most of its people live in customary communities. Although government estimates reported the country’s population to be 9.4 million, it was reported in December 2022 that its population was in fact closer to 17 million. The country is believed to be the home of many undocumented species of plants and animals.

The sovereign state is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund; nearly 40% of the population are subsistence farmers, living relatively independently of the cash economy. Their traditional social groupings are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution, which expresses the wish for “traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society” and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. 

Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. It is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Pacific Community, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Paraguay

• Continent: South America
• Capital: Asunción
• National language: Spanish – Guarani
• Religion: 96.1% Christianity, 2.6% no religion, 0.4% other, 0.8% unspecified
• Area: 406,752 km2
• Population: 6,109,644
• Currency: Guaraní (PYG)
• GDP (nominal): $7,162 Per capita

Paraguay (/ˈpærəɡwaɪ/; Spanish pronunciation: [paɾaˈɣwaj] ⓘ), officially the Republic of Paraguay (Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guarani: Paraguái Tavakuairetã), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro area.

Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524, and in 1537 established the city of Asunción, the first capital of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata. During the 17th century, Paraguay was the center of Jesuit missions, where the native Guaraní people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture. After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony. 

Following independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Paraguay was ruled by a series of authoritarian governments. This period ended with the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864–1870), during which the country lost half its prewar population and around 25–33% of its territory. In the 20th century, Paraguay faced another major international conflict—the Chaco War (1932–1935) against Bolivia—in which Paraguay prevailed. 

The country came under a succession of military dictators, culminating in the 35 year regime of Alfredo Stroessner, which lasted until his overthrow in 1989 by an internal military coup. This marked the beginning of Paraguay’s current democratic era.

Paraguay is a developing country, ranking 105th in the Human Development Index.[10] It is a founding member of Mercosur, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Lima Group. Additionally, the city of Luque, in metropolitan Asuncion, is the seat of the South American Football Confederation.

Although one of only two landlocked countries in South America (Bolivia is the other), Paraguay has ports on the Paraguay and Paraná rivers that give exit to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway. The majority of Paraguay’s 6 million people are mestizo, and Guarani culture remains widely influential; more than 90% of the population speak various dialects of the Guarani language alongside Spanish. Paraguay’s GDP per capita PPP is the seventh in South America. In a 2017 Positive Experience Index based on global polling data, Paraguay ranked as the “world’s happiest place”.

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Peru

• Continent: South America
• Capital: Lima
• National language: Spanish
• Religion: 94.5% Christianity, 5.1% no religion, 0.4% other
• Area: 1,285,216 km2
• Population: 34,352,720
• Currency: Peruvian sol (PEN)
• GDP (nominal): $7,668 Per capita

Peru (/pəˈruː/ ⓘ pə-ROO; Spanish: Perú [peˈɾu]; Quechua: Piruw [pɪɾʊw]; Aymara: Piruw [pɪɾʊw]), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perúⓘ), is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. 

Peru is a megadiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River.[9] Peru has a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima. At 1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi), Peru is the 19th largest country in the world, and the third largest in South America.

Peruvian territory was home to several cultures during the ancient and medieval periods, and has one of the longest histories of civilization of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 10th millennium BCE. Notable pre-colonial cultures and civilizations include the Caral-Supe civilization (the earliest civilization in the Americas and considered one of the cradles of civilization), the Nazca culture, the Wari and Tiwanaku empires, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Inca Empire, the largest known state in the pre-Columbian Americas. 

The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and Charles V established a viceroyalty with the official name of the Kingdom of Peru that encompassed most of its South American territories, with its capital in Lima. Higher education started in the Americas with the official establishment of the National University of San Marcos in Lima in 1551.

Peru formally proclaimed independence in 1821, and following the foreign military campaigns of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, and the decisive battle of Ayacucho, Peru completed its independence in 1824. In the ensuing years, the country first suffered from political instability until a period of relative economic and political stability began due to the exploitation of guano that ended with the War of the Pacific (1879–1884). 

Throughout the 20th century, Peru grappled with political and social instability, including the internal conflict between the state and guerrilla groups, interspersed with periods of economic growth. Implementation of Plan Verde shifted Peru towards neoliberal economics under the authoritarian rule of Alberto Fujimori and Vladimiro Montesinos in the 1990s, with the former’s political ideology of Fujimorism leaving a lasting imprint on the country’s governance that continues to present day. 

The 2000s marked economic expansion and poverty reduction, but the subsequent decade revealed long-existing sociopolitical vulnerabilities, exacerbated by a political crisis instigated by Congress and the COVID-19 pandemic, precipitating the period of unrest beginning in 2022.

Philippines

• Continent: Southeast Asia
• Capital: Manila
• National language: Filipino – English
• Religion: 90.1% Christianity, 6.4% Islam, 3.5% other / none
• Area: 300,000 km2
• Population: 109,035,343
• Currency: Philippine peso (₱) (PHP)
• GDP (nominal): $3,859 Per capita

The Philippines (/ˈfɪlɪpiːnz/ ⓘ; Filipino: Pilipinas), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. In the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands which are broadly categorized in three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. 

It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east and southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. It is the world’s twelfth-most-populous country, with diverse ethnicities and cultures. Manila is the country’s capital, and its most populated city is Quezon City; both are within Metro Manila.

Negritos, the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants, were followed by waves of Austronesian peoples. The adoption of Animism, Islam and Hinduism established island-kingdoms ruled by datus, rajas, and sultans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for Spain, marked the beginning of Spanish colonization. 

In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of King Philip II of Castile. Spanish settlement via New Spain, beginning in 1565, led to the Philippines becoming ruled by the Crown of Castile, as part of the Spanish Empire, for more than 300 years. Catholic Christianity became the dominant religion, and Manila became the western hub of trans-Pacific trade. 

The Philippine Revolution began in 1896, which became entwined with the 1898 Spanish–American War. Spain ceded the territory to the United States, and Filipino revolutionaries declared the First Philippine Republic. The ensuing Philippine–American War ended with the United States controlling the territory until the Japanese invasion of the islands during World War II. 

After the United States retook the Philippines from the Japanese, the Philippines became independent in 1946. The country has had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a decades-long dictatorship in a nonviolent revolution.

The Philippines is an emerging market and a newly industrialized country, whose economy is transitioning from being agricultural to service- and manufacturing-centered. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the East Asia Summit; it is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. 

Its location as an island country on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes it prone to earthquakes and typhoons. The Philippines has a variety of natural resources and a globally-significant level of biodiversity.

Pitcairn Islands (territory of the UK)

• Continent: Pacific Ocean
• Capital: Adamstown
• National language: Pitkern – English
• Area: 47 km2
• Population: 47
• Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZ$) (NZD)

The Pitcairn Islands (/ˈpɪtkɛərn/; Pitkern: Pitkern Ailen), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four islands—Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno—are scattered across several hundred miles of ocean and have a combined land area of about 18 square miles (47 km2). 

Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The islands nearest to the Pitcairn Islands are Mangareva (of French Polynesia) at 688 km to the west and Easter Island at 1,929 km to the east.

The Pitcairn Islanders are a biracial ethnic group descended mostly from nine Bounty mutineers and a handful of Tahitian consorts—as is still apparent from the surnames of many of the islanders. The mutiny and its aftermath have been the subject of many books and films. As of January 2020, the territory had only 47 permanent inhabitants.

Poland

• Continent: Europe
• Capital: Warsaw
• National language: Polish
• Religion: 72.2% Christianity, 6.9% no religion, 0.4% other, 20.5% unanswered
• Area: 312,700 km2
• Population: 38,036,118
• Currency: Złoty (PLN)
• GDP (nominal): $22,393 Per capita

Poland (Polish: Polska [ˈpɔlska] ⓘ), officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of 312,700 km2 (120,700 sq mi). Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union. Warsaw is the nation’s capital and largest metropolis. Other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin.

Poland has a temperate transitional climate, and its territory traverses the Central European Plain, extending from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south. The longest Polish river is the Vistula, and Poland’s highest point is Mount Rysy, situated in the Tatra mountain range of the Carpathians. The country is bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. It also shares maritime boundaries with Denmark and Sweden.

Prehistoric human activity on Polish soil dates to c. 10,000 BCE. Culturally diverse throughout late antiquity, in the early medieval period the region became inhabited by tribal Polans who gave Poland its name. The establishment of statehood in 966 coincided with the conversion of a pagan ruler of the Polans to Christianity under the auspices of the Roman Church. 

The Kingdom of Poland emerged in 1025, and in 1569 cemented its long-standing association with Lithuania, thus forming the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the time, the Commonwealth was one of the great powers of Europe, with a uniquely liberal political system which on 3 May 1791 adopted Europe’s first modern constitution.

With the passing of the prosperous Polish Golden Age, the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century. Poland regained its independence in 1918 as the Second Polish Republic and successfully defended it in the Polish–Soviet War from 1919 to 1921. In September 1939, the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II, which resulted in the Holocaust and millions of Polish casualties. 

As a member of the Communist Bloc in the global Cold War, the Polish People’s Republic was a founding signatory of the Warsaw Pact. Through the emergence and contributions of the Solidarity movement, the communist government was dissolved and Poland re-established itself as a democratic state in 1989.

Poland is a parliamentary republic, with its bicameral legislature comprising the Sejm and the Senate. It is a developed market and a high-income economy. Considered a middle power, Poland has the sixth largest economy in the European Union by GDP (nominal) and the fifth largest by GDP (PPP). It provides a very high standard of living, safety, and economic freedom, as well as free university education and a universal health care system. 

The country has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 15 of which are cultural. Poland is a founding member state of the United Nations, as well as a member of the World Trade Organization, OECD, NATO, and the European Union (including the Schengen Area).

Portugal

• Continent: Europe
• Capital: Lisbon
• National language: Portuguese
• Religion: 84.8% Christianity, 14.1% no religion, 1.1% other
• Area: 92,230 km2
• Population: 10,467,366
• Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)
• GDP (nominal): $26,879 Per capita

Portugal (Portuguese pronunciation: [puɾtuˈɣal] ⓘ), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa [ʁɛˈpuβlikɐ puɾtuˈɣezɐ]), is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the macaronesian archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. It features the westernmost point in continental Europe, and its Iberian portion is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain, the sole country to have a land border with Portugal. 

Its archipelagos form two autonomous regions with their own regional governments. In the mainland, Alentejo region occupies the biggest area but is one of the regions in Europe with a lower population density. Lisbon is the capital and largest city by population, being also the main spot for tourists alongside Porto and Algarve.

One of the oldest countries in Europe, its territory has been continuously settled, invaded and fought over since prehistoric times. The territory was inhabited by the Celtic and Iberian peoples, such as the Lusitanians, the Gallaecians, the Celtici, Turduli, and the Conii. These peoples had some commercial and cultural contact with Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Carthaginians. 

It was later ruled by the Romans, followed by the invasions of Germanic peoples (most prominently, the Suebi and the Visigoths) together with the Alans, and later the Moors, who were eventually expelled during the Reconquista. Founded first as a county within the Kingdom of León in 868, the country officially gained its independence as the Kingdom of Portugal with the Treaty of Zamora in 1143.

Portugal made numerous discoveries and maritime explorations outside the Mediterranean and by the 15th and 16th centuries established one of the longest-lived maritime and commercial empires, becoming one of the main economic and political powers of the time. At the end of the 16th century, Portugal fought Spain in a war over the succession to the Portuguese crown, leading to the Iberian Union. The Portuguese Restoration War re-instated the House of Braganza in 1640 after a period of substantial loss to Portugal.

By the early 19th century, the accumulative crisis, events such as the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, the country’s occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the resulting independence of Brazil in 1822 led to a marked decay of Portugal’s prior opulence. This was followed by the civil war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists over royal succession, which lasted from 1828 to 1834. 

The 1910 revolution deposed Portugal’s centuries-old monarchy, and established the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic, later being superseded by the Estado Novo (New State) authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after the Carnation Revolution (1974), ending the Portuguese Colonial War and eventually losing its remaining colonial possessions.

Portugal has left a profound cultural, architectural and linguistic influence across the globe, with a legacy of around 250 million Portuguese speakers around the world. It is a developed country with an advanced economy. A member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Schengen Area and the Council of Europe (CoE), Portugal was also one of the founding members of NATO, the eurozone, the OECD, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

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Puerto Rico (territory of the US)

• Continent: Caribbean
• Capital: San Juan
• National language: Spanish – English
• Area: 9,104 km2
• Population: 3,221,789
• Currency: United States dollar (US$) (USD)
• GDP (nominal): $37,093 Per capita

Puerto Rico (Spanish for ‘rich port’; abbreviated PR; Taino: Borikén, Borinquén), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit. ’Free Associated State of Puerto Rico’), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated territory of the United States with official Commonwealth status. 

It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida, between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands, such as Mona, Culebra, and Vieques. It has roughly 3.2 million residents, and its capital and most populous city is San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of the executive branch of government, though Spanish predominates.

Puerto Rico was settled by a succession of peoples beginning 2,000 to 4,000 years ago; these included the Ortoiroid, Saladoid, and Taíno. It was then colonized by Spain following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. Puerto Rico was contested by other European powers, but remained a Spanish possession for the next four centuries. 

An influx of African slaves and settlers primarily from the Canary Islands and Andalusia vastly changed the cultural and demographic landscape of the island. Within the Spanish Empire, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role compared to wealthier colonies like Peru and New Spain. By the late 19th century, a distinct Puerto Rican identity began to emerge, centered around a fusion of indigenous, African, and European elements. In 1898, following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States.

Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, and can move freely between the island and the mainland. However, when resident in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans are disenfranchised at the national level, do not vote for the president or vice president, and generally do not pay federal income tax. 

In common with four other territories, Puerto Rico sends a nonvoting representative to the U.S. Congress, called a Resident Commissioner, and participates in presidential primaries; as it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in Congress, which governs it under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. Congress approved a local constitution in 1952, allowing U.S. citizens residing on the island to elect a governor. Puerto Rico’s current and future political status has consistently been a matter of significant debate.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, the U.S. government, together with the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, launched a series of economic projects to develop Puerto Rico into an industrial high-income economy. It is classified by the International Monetary Fund as a developed jurisdiction with an advanced, high-income economy; it ranks 40th on the Human Development Index. The major sectors of Puerto Rico’s economy are manufacturing (primarily pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and electronics) followed by services (namely tourism and hospitality).

Qatar

• Continent: West Asia
• Capital: Doha
• National language: Arabic
• Religion: 65.5% Islam (official), 15.1% Hinduism, 14.2% Christianity, 3.3% Buddhism, 1.9% other
• Area: 11,581 km2
• Population: 2,795,484
• Currency: Qatari riyal (QAR)
• GDP (nominal): $81,968 Per capita

Qatar (US: /ˈkɑːtɑːr, kəˈtɑːr/; Arabic: قطر Qaṭar [ˈqɑtˤɑr], local vernacular pronunciation: [ˈɡɪtˤɑr]), officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares its sole land border with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Bahrain, an inlet of the Persian Gulf, separates Qatar from nearby Bahrain. The capital is Doha, home to over 80% of the country’s inhabitants, and the land area is mostly made up of flat, low-lying desert.

Qatar has been ruled as a hereditary monarchy by the House of Thani since Mohammed bin Thani signed “an agreement, not a formal treaty” with Britain in 1868 that recognised its separate status. Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in 1916, and gained independence in 1971. The current emir is Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who holds nearly all executive and legislative authority under the Constitution of Qatar, as well as controlling the judiciary. He appoints the prime minister and cabinet. The partially-elected Consultative Assembly can block legislation and has a limited ability to dismiss ministers.

In early 2017, the total population of Qatar was 2.6 million, with 313,000 of them Qatari citizens and 2.3 million expatriates. Its official religion is Islam. In terms of income, the country has the fourth-highest GDP (PPP) per capita in the world, and the eleventh-highest GNI per capita (Atlas method). Qatar ranks 42nd in the Human Development Index, the third-highest HDI in the Arab world. It is a high-income economy, backed by the world’s third-largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves. Qatar is one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas, and the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita.

In the 21st century, Qatar emerged as a middle power in the Arab world through its resource-wealth, as well as its globally expanding media group, Al Jazeera Media Network, and reportedly supporting several rebel groups financially during the Arab Spring. Qatar forms part of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Qatar is a Dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Qatar’s human rights record has been regarded by academics and non-governmental organisations as being generally poor, with restrictions on civil liberties such as the freedoms of association, expression and the press, as well as its treatment of thousands of migrant workers amounting to forced labour for projects in the country.

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FAQs about countries that start with P, Q

Find answers to your FAQs about countries that start with P, Q. Whether you’re curious about travel tips, population statistics, or cultural nuances, our FAQs cover it all. Uncover practical information to enhance your knowledge and prepare for any adventure in the countries starting with P, Q. Get ready for an informative exploration into the key aspects of these diverse nations.

Which country starts with the letter P, Q has the largest area?

Among the nations whose names commence with the letters P and Q, Peru stands out as the largest in terms of land area, boasting an expansive territory encompassing approximately 1,285,216 square kilometers. This South American country, situated on the western side of the continent, is characterized by diverse geographical features, ranging from the towering peaks of the Andes Mountains to the vast expanse of the Amazon Rainforest.

Which country starts with the letter P, Q has the largest population?

Among the countries whose names begin with the letters P and Q, Pakistan stands out as the most populous, boasting a substantial population of 241,499,431 people. This South Asian nation, nestled between India and Afghanistan, encompasses a diverse and vibrant population that contributes to the rich cultural tapestry of the region.

Which country starts with the letter P, Q has the largest GDP (nominal)?

Among the countries that start with the letters P and Q, Qatar stands out as the economic powerhouse with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measured in nominal terms. As of the latest available data, Qatar boasts a substantial GDP per capita of $81,968. This impressive figure reflects the average income earned by each individual in the country, 

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Uncover the diverse profiles of countries that start with P and Q, gaining valuable perspectives on their geographical expanse, population dynamics, and economic strengths. An informative journey through the data-rich landscapes of these nations awaits.