Two English versions of a country name should first be compared as naming forms, not treated as interchangeable wording. The United Nations editorial manual gives both short and formal country names, while UN M49 states that its names are based on the United Nations Terminology Database (UNTERM). Neither cited statement, however, establishes that two versions are equivalent merely because they refer to the same country.
How to compare the two versions
-
Identify the naming form. Determine whether each version is presented as a short name or a formal name. The UN editorial manual explicitly provides both categories.
-
Check the terminology basis. M49 says that its country names are based on UNTERM. That basis should be considered when checking a name against the M49 list.
-
Keep the source attached to the version. A short name taken from one official source and a formal name taken from another should not be merged into a single label without checking their categories and intended uses.
-
Do not judge only by wording. A shorter rendering is not automatically a more concise version of a formal name; it may serve a different naming function. The cited statements do not provide a universal substitution rule.
What a reader must still confirm
The source statements used here do not supply a country-specific pair of names, a rule for choosing the short or formal form in every context, or an update schedule. A reader therefore still needs to confirm the exact names in the relevant official entry, their short or formal classification, and the requirements of the document or system in which the name will appear.
The practical comparison is straightforward: check the naming form first, then the terminology basis, and finally the context-specific requirement.