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Many countries choose to include the national motto in the coat of arms. Here, the coat of arms of Antigua and Barbuda with the national motto, Each endeavouring, all achieving.

This page lists state and national mottos for the world's independent states. The mottos for some states lacking general international recognition and some extinct states are listed, but their names are not bolded.

A state motto is used to describe the intent or motivation of the state in a short phrase. For example, it can be included on a country's coat of arms, coins or banknotes. Some countries choose not to have a national motto.

A

•  Algeria: بالشعب و للشعب (Arabic, By the people and for the people)¹
•  Andorra: Virtus, Unita, Fortior (Latin, Virtue, Unity, Strength)²
•  Antigua and Barbuda: Each endeavouring, all achieving³
•  Argentina: En Unión y Libertad (Spanish, In Union and Liberty)⁴
•  Australia: none, formerly Advance Australia⁵
•  Austria: none. Formerly AEIOU, with one possible meaning being Austriae est imperare orbi universo (Latin, It is Austria's destiny to rule the world)
•  Austria-Hungary: Indivisibiliter ac Inseparabiliter (Latin, Indivisibly and inseparably) ⁶
•  Azerbaijan: none

B

•  Bahamas: Forward, Upward, Onward Together⁷
•  Bangladesh: none
•  Barbados: Pride and Industry⁸
•  Belarus: none
•  Belgium: Eendracht maakt macht, L'union fait la force and Einigkeit gibt Stärke (Dutch, French and German, Unity gives Strength)⁹
•  Belize: Sub umbra floreo (Latin, Under the shade I flourish)¹⁰
•  Benin: Fraternité, Justice, Travail (French, Fellowship, Justice, Labour)¹¹
•  Bermuda: "Quo fata ferunt" (Latin) wither the fates carry us
•  Bolivia: La Unión es la Fuerza (Spanish, Unity is Strength)¹²

The national motto of Bolivia, La Unión es la Fuerza (Unity is Strength), is inscribed on the national currency.

•  Bosnia and Herzegovina: none
•  Botswana: Pula (Tswana, Rain)¹³

The national motto of Brazil, Ordem e progresso (Order and progress), is inscribed on the flag.

•  Brazil: Ordem e progresso (Portuguese, Order and progress)¹⁴
•  Brunei: الدائمون المحسنون بالهدى (Arabic, Always in service with God's guidance)¹⁵
•  Bulgaria: Съединението прави силата (Bulgarian, Union Makes Strength)¹⁶
•  Burkina Faso: Unité, Progrès, Justice (French, Unity, Progress, Justice)¹⁷
•  Burundi: Unité, Travail, Progrès (French, Unity, Work, Progress)¹⁸

C

•  Cambodia: Nation, Religion, King¹⁹
•  Cameroon: Paix - Travail - Patrie (French, Peace, Work, Fatherland)²⁰
•  Canada: A mari usque ad mare (Latin, From sea to sea)²¹
•  Central African Republic: Unité, Dignité, Travail (French, Unity, Dignity, Work)²²
•  Chad: Unité, Travail, Progrès (French, Unity, Work, Progress)²³
•  Chile: Por la razón o la fuerza (Spanish, By reason or by strength)²⁴
•  People's Republic of China: none
•  Colombia: Libertad y orden (Spanish, Freedom and order)²⁵
•  Comoros: Unité, Justice, Progrès (French, Unity, justice, progress)²⁶
•  Confederate States of America: Deo Vindice (Latin, Under God, Our Vindicator)²⁷
•  Democratic Republic of the Congo: Justice - Paix - Travail (French, Justice, Peace, Work)²⁸
•  Republic of the Congo: Unité, Travail, Progrès (French, Unity, Work, Progress)²⁹
•  Costa Rica: Vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz (Spanish, Long live work and peace)^{citation needed}
•  Côte d'Ivoire: Union, Discipline, Travail (French, Unity, Discipline, Labor)³⁰
•  Cuba: Patria o muerte (Spanish, Homeland or death)³¹
•  Czech Republic: Pravda vítězí! (Czech, Truth prevails!)³²

D

•  Denmark: none. Motto of Queen Margrethe II: Guds hjælp, Folkets kærlighed, Danmarks styrke (Danish, God's help, the love of the people, Denmark's strength)
•  Djibouti: Itixaad, Gudboonaan, Ammaan and Unité, Égalité, Paix (Somali and French: Unity, Equality, Peace)³³
•  Dominica: Après le Bondie, C'est la Ter (French Patois, After the Good Lord, we love the Earth)³⁴
•  Dominican Republic: Dios, Patria, Libertad (Spanish, God, Country, Liberty)³⁵

E

•  East Timor: Honra, pátria e povo (Portuguese, Honour, homeland and people)³⁶
•  Ecuador: Dios, patria y libertad (Spanish, God, homeland and liberty)^{citation needed}
•  El Salvador: Dios, Unión, Libertad (Spanish, God, Union, Liberty)³⁷
•  Equatorial Guinea: Unidad, Paz, Justicia (Spanish, Unity, Peace, Justice)³⁸
•  Estonia: none
•  European Union: In varietate concordia (Latin for United in diversity, Unis dans la diversité, etc.Translated into the languages of the member states of the EU)³⁹

The obverse of the French 1 euro coins displays the national motto, Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, equality, fraternity).

F

•  Fiji: Rerevaka na Kalou ka Doka na Tui (Fijian, Fear God and honour the Queen)⁴⁰
•  Finland: none
•  France: Liberté, égalité, fraternité (French, Liberty, equality, brotherhood)⁴¹

G

•  Gabon: Union, Travail, Justice (French, Union, Work, Justice)⁴²
•  Gambia: Progress, Peace, Prosperity⁴³
•  Georgia: ძალა ერთობაშია! (Dzala ertobashia) (Georgian, Strength is in Unity)⁴⁴
•  Germany: "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" (German, Unity and Justice and Liberty)
•  Ghana: Freedom and Justice⁴⁵
•  Greece:
  • Ελευθερία ή θάνατος (transliterated as Eleutheria i thanatos) (Greek for Liberty or death, Freedom or Death)
  • Ισχύς Μου Η Αγάπη Του Λαού (transliterated as Ischis Mou I Agapi Tou Laou) (Greek for My Power [is] the Love of the People), Royal Motto under the Glücksburg dynasty
  • Patris, Thriskeia, Oikogeneia (Greek: Fatherland, Religion, Family) (during the Greek military junta of 1967-1974)
•  Grenada: Ever Conscious of God We Aspire, and Advance as One People⁴⁶
•  Guatemala: Libre Crezca Fecundo (Spanish: Grow Free and Fertile)⁴⁷
•  Guinea: Travail, Justice, Solidarité (French, Work, Justice, Solidarity)⁴⁸
•  Guinea-Bissau: Unidade, Luta, Progresso (Portuguese, Unity, Struggle, Progress)⁴⁹
•  Guyana: One people, one nation, one destiny⁵⁰

H

•  Haiti: L'union fait la force (French, Unity makes strength)⁵¹
•  Holy See: none
•  Honduras: Libre, Soberana E Independiente(Spanish, Free, sovereign and independent)⁵²
•  Hungary: none, formerly Regnum Mariae Patrona Hungariae (Latin, Kingdom of Mary, the Patron of Hungary)

The flag of Iraq displays the national motto, Allahu Akbar (God is Great).

I

•  Iceland: none
•  India: सत्यमेव जयते (Satyameva Jayate) (Sanskrit, Truth alone triumphs)⁵³
•  Indonesia: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Old Javanese, Unity in diversity)⁵⁴
•  Iran:
  • de facto: Esteqlāl, āzādī, jomhūrī-ye eslāmī⁵⁵ (Persian, Independence, freedom, (the) Islamic Republic)
  • de jure: Allaho Akbar (Arabic, God is Great)⁵⁶
  • The imperial motto, before the Islamic revolution, was Marā dād farmūd-o khod dāvar ast (Persian, Justice He bids me do, as He will judge me).⁵⁷
•  Iraq: الله أكبر (Allahu Akbar) (Arabic, God is Great)⁵⁸
•  Ireland: none
•  Israel: none
•  Italy: none
  • Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946): Foedere et Religione Tenemur (FERT)

J

•  Jamaica: Out of many, one people⁵⁹
•  Japan: none
•  Jordan: الله الوطن المليك (Allah, Alwattan, Almaleek) God, country, sovereign

The motto of Kiribati, Te mauri, te raoi ao te tabomoa (Health, Peace and Prosperity), is shown on the coat of arms.

K

•  Kenya: Harambee (Swahili, Let's work together)⁶⁰
•  Kiribati: Te mauri, te raoi ao te tabomoa (Kiribati, Health, Peace and Prosperity)⁶¹
•  North Korea: 강성대국 (强盛大國, Gang Seong Dae Guk) (Korean, Prosperous and great country)
•  South Korea: 홍익인간 (弘益人間, Hong Ik In Gan) (Korean, Benefit all mankind)
•  Kuwait: none

L

•  Laos: Peace, independence, democracy, unity and prosperity⁶²
•  Latvia: Tēvzemei un Brīvībai (Latvian, For Fatherland and Freedom)^{citation needed}
•  Lesotho: Khotso, Pula, Nala (Sotho, Peace, Rain, Prosperity)⁶³
•  Lebanon: none
•  Liberia: The love of liberty brought us here⁶⁴
•  Liechtenstein: Für Gott, Fürst und Vaterland (German, For God, Prince and Fatherland)^{citation needed}
•  Lithuania: Tautos jėga vienybėje (Lithuanian, The strength of the nation lies in unity)
•  Luxembourg: Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn (Luxembourgish, We wish to remain what we are)⁶⁵

M

•  Macedonia: Слобода или Смрт (Sloboda ili Smrt)- Freedom or Death^{citation needed}
•  Madagascar: Tanindrazana, Fahafahana, Fandrosoana (Malagasy, Ancestral-land, Liberty, Progress)⁶⁶
•  Malawi: Unity and Freedom⁶⁷
•  Malaysia: Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu (Malay, Unity is Strength)⁶⁸
•  Mali: Un peuple, un but, une foi (French, One people, one goal, one faith)⁶⁹
•  Mauritania: شرف إخاء ع or Honneur, Fraternité, Justice (Arabic and French, Honor, Fraternity, Justice)⁷⁰
•  Mauritius: Stella Clavisque Maris Indici (Latin, Star and key of the Indian Ocean)⁷¹
•  Mexico: none
•  Monaco: Deo juvante (Latin, With God's help)⁷²
•  Montenegro: Čojstvo i junaštvo / Чојство и јунаштво (Serbian, Manliness and heroism )^{citation needed}
•  Morocco: الله، الوطن، الملك (Arabic, God, the Country, the King)⁷³

N

•  Namibia: Unity, liberty, justice⁷⁴
•  Nauru: God's will first⁷⁵
•  Nepal: जननी जन्मभूमिष्च स्वर्गादपि गरियसि (Sanskrit, Mother and motherland are greater than heaven)⁷⁶
•  Netherlands: Je maintiendrai, Ik zal handhaven (French, Dutch I will preserve)⁷⁷
•  New Zealand: none⁷⁸
•  Nicaragua: En Dios Confiamos (Spanish, In god we trust)⁷⁹
•  Niger: Fraternité, Travail, Progrès (French, Fraternity, Work, Progress)⁸⁰
•  Nigeria: Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress⁸¹
•  Norway: none Royal motto: Alt for Norge (Norwegian, Everything for Norway)

O

•  Oman: none

P

The coat of arms of Pakistan displays the national motto, Ittihad, Yaqeen-mukkam, Nizam (Urdu Unity, Faith, Discipline.

The coat of arms of Panama displays the national motto, Pro mundi beneficio (Latin for For the benefit of the world).

•  Pakistan: Ittihad, Yaqeen-mukkam, Nizam (Urdu, Unity, Faith, Discipline)⁸²
•  Palestine: none (Arabic, none)⁸³
•  Panama: Pro mundi beneficio (Latin, For the benefit of the world)⁸⁴
•  Papua New Guinea: Unity in Diversity^{citation needed}
•  Paraguay: Paz y justicia (Spanish, Peace and justice)⁸⁵
•  Philippines: Maka-Diyos, Maka-Tao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa (Tagalog, For God, People, Nature and Country)⁸⁶
  • Former: Isang bansa, isang diwa (Tagalog, One nation, one spirit)
•  Poland: Bóg, Honor, Ojczyzna (Polish, God, Honor, Fatherland). Traditional, but unofficial. See also Unofficial mottos of Poland.
•  Portugal: none

Q

•  Qatar: none

R

• Roman Republic and Roman Empire: Senatus Populusque Romanus (Latin, The Senate and people of Rome, often abbreviated SPQR)
•  Romania: none; formerly Nihil Sine Deo (Latin, Nothing without God)
•  Rwanda: Unity, Work, Patriotism⁸⁷
•  Russia Russia - none, Russian Empire - С нами Бог (God is with us)

S

•  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic: حرية ديمقراطية وحدة (Hassānīya Arabic, Liberty, Democracy, Unity)⁸⁸
•  Saint Kitts and Nevis: Country Above Self⁸⁹
•  Saint Lucia: The land, the people, the light⁹⁰
•  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Pax et justitia (Latin, Peace and justice)⁹¹
•  Samoa: Fa'avae i le Atua Samoa (Samoan, God be the Foundation of Samoa)⁹²
•  San Marino: Libertas (Latin, Liberty)⁹³
•  Scotland:In My Defens God Me Defend (Often shown abbreviated as IN DEFENS)
•  Saudi Arabia: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله (lā ilāhā illā-llāhu; muhammadu-r-rasūlu-llāhi) (Arabic, (from the shahada) There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet)⁹⁴
•  Senegal: Un peuple, un but, une foi (French, One people, one goal, one faith)⁹⁵
•  Serbia: Само Слога Србина Спасава (Serbian), "Only Unity Saves the Serbs".
  •  Kingdom of Serbia: С Вером у Бога - за Краља и Отаџбину (Serbian), With believe in God for king and Fatherland. (-1943)

The inescutcheon stands for the Serbian Nation; in a red shield, a cross between four silver firesteels arranged in the quarters around it, all of them facing horizontally outwards. The four silver firesteels stands for the Serbian letters S (C); Само Слога Србина Спасава (Only Unity Saves the Serbs).

•  Seychelles: Finis coronat opus (Latin, The end crowns the work)⁹⁶
•  Sierra Leone: Unity, freedom, justice⁹⁷
•  Singapore: Majulah Singapura (Malay, Onward Singapore)⁹⁸
•  Slovakia: none
•  Slovenia: Stati inu obstati (old Slovene, To Stand and Withstand, also translated as To Exist and Persevere)⁹⁹
•  Solomon Islands: To lead is to serve¹⁰⁰
•  South Africa: !ke e: /xarra //ke (/Xam, Diverse people unite or Unity in Diversity)¹⁰¹
  • Former: Ex Unitate Vires (Latin, From unity, strength, from 1910-2000)
•  Soviet Union: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Russian, Proletarians of all countries, unite!)
•  Spain: Plus Ultra (Latin, Further beyond)¹⁰²
  • Former: Una, grande y libre (Spanish, One, great and free, during Francisco Franco's dictatorship)¹⁰²
•  Sudan: النصر لن (Al-Nasr Lana: Arabic, Victory is Ours)¹⁰³
•  Suriname: Justitia, pietas, fides (Latin, Justice, piety, loyalty)¹⁰⁴
•  Swaziland: Siyinqaba (Swati, We are the fortress)¹⁰⁵
•  Sweden: royal motto: För Sverige - i tiden (Swedish, For Sweden - With the times) (See all royal mottos)
•  Switzerland: Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (Latin for One for all, all for one...(traditional, but not official))
•  Syria: وحدة ، حرية ، اشتراكية (Wihdah, Hurriyyah, Ishtirākiyyah) (Arabic, Unity, Freedom, Socialism) Ba'th Party motto

T

•  Tanzania: Uhuru na Umoja (Swahili, Freedom and Unity)¹⁰⁶
•  Thailand: ชาติ ศาสนา พระมหากษัตริย์ (Thai, Nation, Religion, King)
•  Togo: Travail, Liberté, Patrie (French, Work, liberty, homeland)¹⁰⁷
•  Tonga: Ko e ʻOtua mo Tonga ko hoku tofiʻa (Tongan, God and Tonga are my Inheritance)¹⁰⁸
•  Trinidad and Tobago: Together we aspire, together we achieve¹⁰⁹
•  Tunisia: Order, Freedom, and Justice¹¹⁰
•  Turkey: Egemenlik kayıtsız şartsız milletindir. (Turkish, Sovereignty rests unconditionally with the nation)¹¹¹
  and Yurtta sulh, cihanda sulh. (Turkish, Peace in the homeland, peace in the world.)¹¹²
•  Tuvalu: Tuvalu mo te Atua (Tuvaluan, Tuvalu for the Almighty)¹¹³

U

•  Uganda: For God and My Country¹¹⁴
•  Ukraine: none
•  United Kingdom: Dieu et mon droit (French, God and my right, Royal motto)¹¹⁵

The national motto of the United States is In God we trust, as shown on the reverse of the United States one-dollar bill.

•  United States: In God We Trust (official) and E pluribus unum (Latin, Out of many, one) (de-facto)
  • See also list of U.S. state mottos
•  Uruguay: Libertad o Muerte (Spanish, "Liberty or Death")¹¹⁶

V

•  Vanuatu: Long God yumi stanap (Bislama, Let us stand firm in God)¹¹⁷
•  Venezuela: Dios y Federación (Spanish, God and Federation)
•  Vietnam: Ðộc lập, Tự do, Hạnh phúc (Vietnamese, Independence, Liberty and Happiness)

Y

•  Yemen: none
•  Yugoslavia: Братство и Једина / Bratstvo i Jedinstvo (Serbo-Croat: Brotherhood and unity)

Z

•  Zambia: One Zambia, One country¹¹⁸
•  Zimbabwe: Unity, Freedom, Work¹¹⁹