Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Countries

Category:Flag template shorthands has an RFC for possible consensus. A discussion is taking place. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments on the discussion page. Thank you.

The article has been unsourced since 2006. If anyone can add a reference it would be appreciated. Unfortunately WP:WikiProject Austria is not active, so this is only spot I could think of to place a notice. Best.4meter4 (talk) 16:11, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

I would like to raise a methodological concern regarding how ethnic composition data is handled on this article in comparison with other country articles across Wikipedia. On the Turkey page, ethnic group percentages are presented as approximate ranges (for example, estimates such as 70–80%), explicitly labeled as academic or secondary estimates rather than census-based data. This approach acknowledges uncertainty and reflects the reality that official ethnic statistics are not collected, while still providing readers with a broad demographic framework supported by scholarly literature. However, similar academic estimates are systematically absent from the articles of many European countries (such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and others), despite the existence of extensive peer-reviewed research, demographic reconstructions, migration-background statistics, parental-origin data, and language-use surveys. In these cases, ethnic composition sections are often omitted entirely, even where uncertainty ranges would be comparable or substantially narrower (for example, estimates in the range of 1–6% for specific groups). From a demographic and statistical methodology perspective, uncertainty ranges of 1–6% for smaller population groups are widely regarded as acceptable, particularly when assumptions are transparent and sources are clearly cited. In relative terms, such estimates often involve less proportional uncertainty than broad majority estimates such as 70–80%. This raises questions about internal consistency in editorial standards. Moreover, this asymmetry appears to follow a broader geographic pattern. Articles on countries commonly classified as “Eastern” or “non-Western” (e.g. Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan) frequently include ethnic percentage estimates based on non-census academic sources, while articles on Western European states do not, even when the epistemic basis for estimation is comparable. This selective application risks reproducing a form of epistemic imbalance, where demographic fragmentation is emphasized in some regions but avoided in others. My concern is not about advocating for particular numerical values, nor about promoting ethnic categorization as an end in itself. Rather, it is about whether Wikipedia applies a consistent methodological standard across countries. Either clearly labeled academic estimates should be treated uniformly wherever reliable sources exist, or such estimates should be avoided altogether to maintain symmetry and neutrality. I would appreciate clarification on the rationale behind this apparent asymmetry and guidance on what constitutes best practice for handling ethnic composition data in cases where official statistics are unavailable but scholarly estimates exist.

The ethnic composition field should be removed from the Turkey infobox. Infoboxes are intended to summarize standardized and broadly comparable information. In Turkey’s case, ethnic composition figures are not based on an official census and rely on secondary estimates (such as the CIA World Factbook). Comparable secondary estimates are not included in the infoboxes of most other countries, particularly European states, even when similar data exists. Retaining such figures in the Turkey infobox therefore gives the article exceptional treatment, placing non-standardized demographic estimates in a highly prominent position that is not used elsewhere. This proposal does not require removing discussion of ethnicity from the article body. Qualitative or sourced academic discussion can remain in the relevant section, where nuance and limitations can be properly explained. The suggested change is solely to align the Turkey infobox with prevailing Wikipedia practice by removing ethnic composition from the infobox. Mailbox1978 (talk) 16:57, 3 February 2026 (UTC)

Template:Country data Republic of Balochistan has been listed for discussion, which may result in the template being merged or deleted by consensus. You are invited to comment on the proposed action at the entry on the Templates for discussion page. – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 00:25, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

It has been proposed in this section that Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Article attributes be renamed and moved. A bot will list this discussion on the requested moves current discussions subpage within an hour of this tag being placed. The discussion may be closed 7 days after being opened, if consensus has been reached (see the closing instructions). Please base arguments on article title policy, and keep discussion succinct and civil. Please use {{subst:requested move}}. Do not use {{requested move/dated}} directly. Links: current log • target log • direct move

• Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Article attributes → Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Article attributes/Europe
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Common section size/config → Wikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Article attributes/config/EuropeWikipedia:WikiProject Countries/Article attributes/config/Europe

– Instead of prioritizing one region, I'd use the parent page to make a combined overview that transcludes all the others.

Also, Ukraine is missing on this page, and on the Asia page, the entry for East Timor will need to be updated to match the current title of Timor-Leste. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 10:05, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

Added a subpage related to this one. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 10:14, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

• I'd prefer we just create one list rather than fiddling with sevenish individual subpages. CMD (talk) 12:31, 4 March 2026 (UTC)

  Sure, if anyone else agrees, I'll get to work on that. –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 19:00, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

  I tried this at Draft:WikiProject Countries/Article attributes, and it ran out of time while processing the list. Do you think we should update by bot instead? –LaundryPizza03 (dc̄) 19:15, 6 March 2026 (UTC)

Should Wikipedia present China as a superpower since the 2020s or should we present an academic debate? See Talk:Superpower#China superpower status Moxy🍁 03:40, 12 March 2026 (UTC)