Europe Countries Starting With S | 7 Names And Capitals

If you’re hunting for europe countries starting with s for a quiz, a worksheet, a map label task, or a quick trivia round, you want a clean list with no curveballs.

This page sticks to sovereign states (independent countries). That keeps the answer stable and avoids mix-ups with regions, islands, or territories that also begin with S.

You’ll get the names plus quick cues like capitals and short codes.

Europe Countries Starting With S For Fast Recall

Country	Capital	Quick Identifier
San Marino	San Marino	Microstate inside Italy; uses the euro
Serbia	Belgrade	Southeast Europe; uses the Serbian dinar (RSD)
Slovakia	Bratislava	EU member; uses the euro
Slovenia	Ljubljana	EU member; uses the euro
Spain	Madrid	Iberian Peninsula; EU member; uses the euro
Sweden	Stockholm	Northern Europe; uses the Swedish krona (SEK)
Switzerland	Bern	Central Europe; uses the Swiss franc (CHF)

The Seven Names In One Line

• San Marino
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

How To Double Check Your List

Teachers use “Europe” in different ways. Some classes stick to a geography list. Others lean on political membership lists. Two quick checks keep you aligned with the rules your class uses.

1. If your class follows the UN geoscheme, confirm names in the UN M49 standard country list.
2. If your class uses a broad Europe membership idea, cross-check on the Council of Europe member states list.

Those pages help with spelling and naming checks.

What This List Counts As A Country

This article counts independent, internationally recognized states. That’s why you see Spain and Sweden, and you don’t see places like Scotland or Sardinia.

In school settings, “country” nearly always means “sovereign state.” When a worksheet wants regions, it usually says “regions,” “territories,” or “places.”

Sovereign State Vs Territory

Here’s a quick rule of thumb you can apply in seconds:

• Sovereign state: It runs its own foreign policy and joins global bodies under its own name.
• Territory or region: It belongs to a larger state, even if it has local government and a flag.

If your assignment is open-ended, check whether it asks for “countries and territories.” That one phrase changes the list a lot.

Spellings And Short Codes That Help

Country lists get marked wrong for tiny mistakes: a missed letter, swapped names, or a code written under the wrong country. A few patterns make that less likely.

Two-Word Names

San Marino is two words, and both are part of the country name. Some students write only “San,” which is not enough on most assignments.

The “Slo” Pair

Slovakia and Slovenia look alike, sound alike, and often appear back-to-back. Treat them as a linked pair so you don’t swap capitals or flags.

Common Short Codes

These are widely used two-letter country codes you may see in datasets, sports tables, or online forms:

• San Marino: SM
• Serbia: RS
• Slovakia: SK
• Slovenia: SI
• Spain: ES
• Sweden: SE
• Switzerland: CH

Switzerland stands out with CH. That comes from the Latin name Confoederatio Helvetica, which is why you’ll see “CH” on Swiss web addresses and car stickers.

Alphabet Order Tip

If your task asks for alphabetical order, write the list once, then run a quick scan for the tricky spots: “San” comes before “Ser,” and “Slo” comes before “Spa.”

For the last two, check the third letter: Sweden comes before Switzerland. That tiny check stops the most common last-second swap.

Quick Notes On Each S Country In Europe

Use these mini profiles when an assignment asks for a little more than a plain list. Each one includes the capital and a few facts that help you tell it apart from the others.

San Marino

San Marino is a microstate fully surrounded by Italy. Its capital is also named San Marino, which makes it an easy match in “country and capital” questions.

On a map, it’s a small spot in northern Italy. In written work, it’s the “small state inside Italy” entry, not an Italian region.

San Marino uses the euro. If your worksheet asks for EU membership, San Marino is not an EU member, but it uses the same currency.

Serbia

Serbia sits in Southeast Europe, with Belgrade as its capital. It’s a frequent answer in Balkan geography sets and history timelines.

Serbia is landlocked, and it borders several countries in the region. That border web is one reason it shows up in map labeling tasks.

Serbia’s currency is the Serbian dinar (RSD). If your worksheet separates EU and non-EU countries, Serbia belongs in the non-EU column.

Slovakia

Slovakia’s capital is Bratislava, set along the Danube. On a Europe map, Slovakia sits north of Hungary and east of Austria.

Slovakia uses the euro and is in the EU. If you’re filling a table, it’s one of the “S” entries that is both EU and euro-zone.

To keep it apart from Slovenia, tie the capital to the name: Bratislava is in Slovakia. It’s a goofy link, but it cuts down swaps.

Slovenia

Slovenia’s capital is Ljubljana. The spelling looks tough at first, so slow down and copy it once or twice if you’re writing by hand.

Slovenia sits near the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. It’s small, but it has a coastline, which is a neat contrast with landlocked Slovakia.

Slovenia is in the EU, uses the euro, and is part of the Schengen Area. Those three facts often appear together on worksheets.

Spain

Spain’s capital is Madrid. Spain is the largest “S” country in this set by land area and population, so it often anchors the list in memory.

Spain sits on the Iberian Peninsula. In quick map work, you can spot it as the big country west of France and north of Morocco.

Spain is in the EU, uses the euro, and belongs to the Schengen Area. If your task mixes capitals and currencies, Madrid and the euro are the pair to keep.

Sweden

Sweden’s capital is Stockholm. Sweden is a Northern Europe country, with Norway to the west and Finland to the east.

Sweden is in the EU but does not use the euro. It uses the Swedish krona (SEK), which is a classic test trap.

In “S” lists, Sweden and Switzerland can blur because both start with “Sw.” A quick split: Sweden has “ed” in the middle; Switzerland has “itz.”

Switzerland

Switzerland’s de facto capital city is Bern. Switzerland is landlocked in Central Europe, bordered by France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Liechtenstein.

Switzerland is not in the EU. It uses the Swiss franc (CHF) and is part of the Schengen Area, which is another pairing that shows up in class materials.

Switzerland is also the country with the “CH” code. If you see CH on a chart, don’t panic—think Switzerland.

Common Mix-Ups With S Places In Europe

If you’re stuck on an “S” slot, it’s easy to reach for names you know from maps, sports, or movies. Some of those are real places, but they are not sovereign states.

• Scotland: A nation within the United Kingdom, not a separate sovereign state.
• Sardinia: An Italian island region.
• Sicily: Another Italian island region.
• Svalbard: A Norwegian archipelago with special legal status, still part of Norway.
• “Slo” swap: Slovakia and Slovenia get traded by accident more than any other pair on this list.

If your teacher wants a “countries and territories” list, those items may show up. If the prompt says “countries,” most classes want the seven sovereign states only.

Mini Practice Set You Can Use

Want to make the list stick in under ten minutes? Try these quick tasks. They work well for self-study and also for classroom warmups.

1. Write-and-check: Write the seven countries in alphabetical order, then compare with the one-line list above.
2. Capital match: Match each country to its capital without looking. Then check: San Marino—San Marino, Serbia—Belgrade, Slovakia—Bratislava, Slovenia—Ljubljana, Spain—Madrid, Sweden—Stockholm, Switzerland—Bern.
3. Currency sort: Put Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, and San Marino in one group (euro). Put Sweden in another (krona). Put Serbia (dinar) and Switzerland (franc) in their own spots.
4. Map cue: Write one location cue for each country, like “Spain: southwest edge,” then test yourself a second time.

Once you can do the set twice in a row with no errors, you’re done. No need to grind it for class work.

Membership And Currency Snapshot

Country	EU Member	Schengen And Currency
San Marino	No	Not in Schengen; uses the euro
Serbia	No	Not in Schengen; uses RSD
Slovakia	Yes	In Schengen; uses the euro
Slovenia	Yes	In Schengen; uses the euro
Spain	Yes	In Schengen; uses the euro
Sweden	Yes	In Schengen; uses SEK
Switzerland	No	In Schengen; uses CHF

What EU And Schengen Mean In Plain Terms

EU member means the country is part of the European Union, which affects things like shared rules and common programs.

Schengen means border checks are reduced for many trips between member countries. A country can be in Schengen without being in the EU, which is why Switzerland shows up that way in the table.

Study Tricks That Make The List Stick

Memorizing seven names is doable, but it gets easier if you tie each one to a small tag: a capital, a currency, or a map spot.

Try one method, test yourself, then switch if it feels dull. A small tweak can wake up your attention.

Use A One-Minute Drill

1. Write the seven country names from memory.
2. Circle any you spelled wrong.
3. Rewrite only the circled ones three times, slowly.
4. Do the drill again after dinner or the next morning.

Pair The Two “Slo” Countries On Purpose

Most slips happen with Slovakia and Slovenia, so don’t treat them like separate facts. Learn them as a pair, then attach the capitals.

• Slovakia: Bratislava
• Slovenia: Ljubljana

Once that pair is solid, the rest of the list tends to feel straightforward.

Try A Three-Line Memory Hook

Write three short lines, then cover them and repeat:

• San Marino, Serbia, Spain
• Slovakia, Slovenia
• Sweden, Switzerland

The middle line is the “Slo” pair, and the last line is the “Sw” pair. That structure keeps the names from sliding around in your head.

Quick Checklist Before You Submit

Use this last pass to catch grading traps:

• Did you list seven sovereign states?
• Did you avoid territories like Scotland, Sardinia, Sicily, and Svalbard?
• Did you spell Ljubljana correctly for Slovenia’s capital?
• Did you keep Sweden and Switzerland as two separate entries?
• Did your answer match what the teacher asked: sovereign states only, or “countries and territories”?

If you need the phrase again later, save this line: europe countries starting with s are San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.