Full forms: world bodies, countries and sport

33 full forms, each with a line on what it means.

International organisations are known almost entirely by their initials, and questions on them are a fixture of school general knowledge and of competitive examinations. This page covers the United Nations and its agencies, the main regional groupings, the best-known foreign agencies, and the governing bodies and terms of cricket, football and the Olympic movement, along with the short forms of world time. Some of these are said as words, NATO, UNESCO, FIFA, and some letter by letter, WHO, IMF, EU. A few keep old letters after a change of name: UNICEF still carries the I and E of "International" and "Emergency" from its original title.

• UN

  United Nations

  The international organisation of countries founded in 1945 to keep peace and promote cooperation.

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• UNO

  United Nations Organisation

  An older name for the United Nations, still common in Indian textbooks.

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• UNESCO

  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

  The UN agency for education, science and culture, known for its list of World Heritage Sites.

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• UNICEF

  United Nations Children's Fund

  The UN agency for children. It keeps the letters of its original name, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

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• WHO

  World Health Organization

  The UN agency for international public health, based in Geneva.

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• WTO

  World Trade Organization

  The organisation that deals with the rules of trade between countries.

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• IMF

  International Monetary Fund

  The organisation that works for monetary stability and lends to countries in financial difficulty.

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• ILO

  International Labour Organization

  The UN agency that sets international labour standards.

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• FAO

  Food and Agriculture Organization

  The UN agency that leads efforts to defeat hunger.

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• NATO

  North Atlantic Treaty Organization

  A military alliance of North American and European countries, founded in 1949.

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• SAARC

  South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

  The regional organisation of South Asian countries, founded in 1985.

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• ASEAN

  Association of Southeast Asian Nations

  The regional organisation of Southeast Asian countries.

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• BRICS

  Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa

  A grouping of major emerging economies, named after its first five members.

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• EU

  European Union

  The political and economic union of European countries.

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• OPEC

  Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

  A group of oil-producing countries that coordinates petroleum policy.

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• NASA

  National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  The space agency of the United States.

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• ESA

  European Space Agency

  The space agency of European countries.

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• FBI

  Federal Bureau of Investigation

  The main federal investigating agency of the United States.

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• CIA

  Central Intelligence Agency

  The foreign intelligence agency of the United States.

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• USA

  United States of America

  The country of 50 states in North America.

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• UK

  United Kingdom

  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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• UAE

  United Arab Emirates

  A country of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

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• ICC

  International Cricket Council

  The world governing body of cricket.

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• BCCI

  Board of Control for Cricket in India

  The governing body of cricket in India.

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• IPL

  Indian Premier League

  The Twenty20 cricket league of India, first played in 2008.

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• FIFA

  Fédération Internationale de Football Association

  The world governing body of football. The name is French for International Federation of Association Football.

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• IOC

  International Olympic Committee

  The body that organises the Olympic Games. In India, IOC is also Indian Oil Corporation.

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• ODI

  One Day International

  A cricket match between national teams of 50 overs a side.

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• LBW

  Leg Before Wicket

  A way of being out in cricket, when the ball hits the batter's leg and would have hit the stumps.

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• ISO

  International Organization for Standardization

  The body that publishes international standards. "ISO" is a chosen short name, from the Greek isos, equal, not initials.

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• UTC

  Coordinated Universal Time

  The world's time standard, from which all time zones are counted.

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• GMT

  Greenwich Mean Time

  The time at the Greenwich meridian in London, the older base for world time.

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• IST

  Indian Standard Time

  The time used across India, five and a half hours ahead of UTC.

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How to read an entry

The letters in bold are the short form as it is normally written. Under it is the full form, and then a line of meaning in plain words. Where the same letters mean something else in another field, the entry mentions it. "Copy" puts the short form, the full form and the meaning on your clipboard, ready to paste into notes or a message.

Check what matters. These pages explain names and terms in general. Rules, dates, fees and limits change: take them from the official body. Read on 12 November 2026.

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