Economist Style Guide - Redress Information & Analysis

countries and their inhabitants
and Wales, which together with Northern Ireland (which we
generally call Ulster, though Ulster strictly includes three counties
in Ireland) make up the United Kingdom.
Holland, though a nice, short, familiar name, is strictly only
two of the 11 provinces that make up the Netherlands, and the
Dutch do not like the misuse of the shorter name. So use the
Netherlands.
Ireland is simply Ireland. Although it is a republic, it is not the
Republic of Ireland. Neither is it, in English, Eire.
Americans: Remember too that, although it is usually all right
to talk about the inhabitants of the United States as Americans,
the term also applies to everyone from Canada to Cape Horn. In
a context where other North, Central or South American countries
are mentioned, you should write United States rather than America
or American, and it may even be necessary to write United States
citizens.
USA and US are not to be used (if they were they would
spatter the paper), except in charts and as part of an offi cial name
(eg, US Steel).
Do not use the names of capital cities as synonyms for their
governments. Britain will send a gunboat is fi ne, but London will
send a gunboat suggests that this will be the action of the people of
London alone. To write Washington and Moscow now differ only in
their approach to Havana is absurd.
EU should not be used without fi rst spelling out the European
Union. Europe and Europeans may sometimes be used as
shorthand for citizens of countries of the European Union, but be
careful: there are plenty of other Europeans too.
Scandinavia is primarily Norway and Sweden, but the term
is often used to include Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden,
which, with Finland, make up the Nordic countries.
Madagascar: Malagasy is its adjective and the name of the
inhabitants.
Note that a country is it, not she.
changes of name Where countries have made it clear that they
wish to be called by a new (or an old) name, respect their
requests. Thus:
Burkina Faso Côte d’Ivoire Myanmar Sri Lanka Thailand
Zimbabwe
Zaire has now reverted to Congo. In contexts where
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