UNGEGN Divisions


The Group of Experts is composed of experts from various linguistic/geographical divisions that have been established by the UN Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names. Countries decide for themselves the division(s) to which they wish to belong; some belong to more than one division. A division chair is selected within a division and he/she is encouraged to stimulate activities in the standardization of geographical names within the division, through technical meetings, correspondence, etc.

Currently, there are 24 divisions that guide the work of UNGEGN during and between its sessions. Individuals interested in initiating activities are encouraged to consult the UNGEGN Secretariat to find points of contact within their divisions.


Link to Meetings of the Bureau / Divisions


Linguistic/Geographical Divisions

The Group of Experts shall be composed of experts from linguistic/geographical divisions designated by Governments. The Group of Experts shall be supported in its activities by the following linguistic/geographical divisions:


Africa Central Division


  • Angola
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Congo
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Gabon
  • Rwanda
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Chair
    Mr. Michel Simeu Kamdem (Cameroon)
    sodziwa@gmail.com

  • Vice-Chair
    Mr. Pax Mbuyi Mucici (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
    paxmbuyi@gmail.com
  • Africa East Division


    • Botswana
    • Burundi
    • Djibouti
    • Eswatini
    • Ethiopia
    • Kenya
    • Lesotho
    • Madagascar
    • Malawi
    • Mauritius
    • Mozambique
    • Seychellese
    • Sudan
    • Uganda
    • United Republic of Tanzania
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • Chair
    Mrs. Nivo Ratovoarison (Madagascar)
    nivoratovoarison@yahoo.com

  • Secretary
    Mr. Charles Mwangi (Kenya)

  • Rapporteur
    Mr. Getachew Worku (Ethiopia)
    getu4556@yahoo.com
  • Africa South Division


    • Botswana
    • Eswatini
    • Lesotho
    • Madagascar
    • Malawi
    • Mozambique
    • Namibia
    • South Africa
    • Zambia
    • Zimbabwe
  • Interim Chair
    Ms. Lucy Phalaagae (Botswana)
    lphalaagae@gov.bw
  • Africa West Division


    • Benin
    • Burkina Faso
    • Cape Verde
    • Côte d'Ivoire
    • Gambia
    • Ghana
    • Guinea
    • Guinea-Bissau
    • Liberia
    • Mali
    • Mauritania
    • Niger
    • Nigeria
    • Senegal
    • Sierra Leone
    • Togo
  • Chair
    Mr. Claude Obin Tapsoba (Burkina Faso)
    institut.geog@fasonet.bf

  • Vice-Chair
    Mr. Ebrima L. Ceesay (Gambia)

  • Secretary
    Mr. Mohamed Hassimiou Fofana (Guinea)
  • Arabic Division


    • Algeria
    • Bahrain
    • Comoros
    • Djibouti
    • Egypt
    • Iraq
    • Jordan
    • Kuwait
    • Lebanon
    • Libya
    • Morocco
    • Mauritania
    • Oman
    • Qatar
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Sudan
    • Syrian Arab Republic
    • Somalia
    • State of Palestine
    • Tunisia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Yemen

    These countries can be connected through the League of Arab Countries

  • Chair
    Mr. Muammar Kamel Haddadin (Jordan)
    m.haddadin@rjgc.gov.jo

  • Vice-Chair 1st
    Mr. Yousef Al Nabhani (Oman)
    ynabhani@hotmail.com

  • Vice-Chair 2nd
    Ms. Eman Ahmed Oriby (Egypt)
    eman_o@capmas.gov.eg; Emanorieby@gmail.com

  • Reporter
    Ms. Nabila Licer (Morocco)
    n.licer@ancfcc.gov.ma

  • Editor
    Mr. Ibrahim Al-Zoqrti (Jordan)
    zoqurti@yahoo.com

  • Contact:
    Contact@adegn.info

  • Website

    https://adegn.info/

    Asia East Division (other than China)


    • Democratic People's Republic of Korea
    • Japan
    • Republic of Korea
  • Chair

    Mr. Akihiko Takagi (Japan)
    takagi.akihiko.736@m.kyushu-u.ac.jp

  • Asia South-East Division


    • Bhutan
    • Brunei Darussalam
    • Cambodia
    • Indonesia
    • Lao People's Democratic Republic
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Philippines
    • Singapore
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
  • Chair
    Nor Zetty Akhtar Haji Abdul Hamid (Brunei Darussalam)
    zetty.hamid@survey.gov.bn
  • Asia South-West Division (other than Arabic)


    • Afghanistan
    • Azerbaijan
    • Cyprus
    • Iran (Islamic Republic of)
    • Pakistan
    • Tajikistan
    • Turkey
    • Turkmenistan
  • Chair
    Mr. Masoud Shafiei (Iran (Islamic Republic of))
    shafieimasoud@ncc.org.ir
  • Celtic Division


    East Central and South-East Europe Division


    • Albania
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • Bulgaria
    • Croatia
    • Cyprus
    • Czechia
    • Georgia
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Montenegro
    • Poland
    • Romania
    • Serbia
    • Slovakia
    • Slovenia
    • North Macedonia
    • Turkey
    • Ukraine

  • Chair
    Ms. Irena Švehlová (Czechia)
    Irena.Svehlova@cuzk.cz

  • Website

    http://ecseed.zrc-sazu.si/

    Eastern Europe, Northern and Central Asia Division


    • Armenia
    • Azerbaijan
    • Belarus
    • Bulgaria
    • Georgia
    • Kazakhstan
    • Kyrgyzstan
    • Russian Federation
    • Tajikistan
    • Ukraine
    • Uzbekistan

  • Chair
    Ms. Diana Ismailova (Russian Federation)
    inter-dep@rosreestr.ru
  • East Mediterranean Division (other than Arabic)


    • Cyprus
    • Israel

  • Chair
    Mr. Naftali Kadmon (Israel)
    msnkadmo@mscc.huji.ac.il
  • French-speaking Division


    • Algeria
    • Belgium
    • Bulgaria
    • Burkina Faso
    • Cameroun
    • Canada
    • Chad
    • Congo
    • Côte d'Ivoire
    • Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • Djibouti
    • France
    • Guinea
    • Lebanon
    • Madagascar
    • Mali
    • Morocco
    • Niger
    • Romania
    • Senegal
    • Spain
    • Switzerland
    • Togo
    • Tunisia
  • Chair
    Mr. Pierre Jaillard (France)
    pierre@jaillard.net

  • Vice-Chair
    Mr. Hervé Bohbot (France)
    herve.bohbot@cnrs.fr

  • Secretary

    Jeanne Henrion (Belgium)
    jeanne.henrion@ngi.be


  • Webmaster
    Ms. Marie-Ève Bisson (Canada)
    mebisson@toponymie.gouv.qc.ca

  • Website

    http://www.toponymiefrancophone.org


  • India Division


    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • India
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
  • Chair
    Mr. Shri Sunil Kumar (India)
    sgi.soi@gov.in
  • Latin America Division


    • Argentina
    • Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
    • Brazil
    • Chile
    • Colombia
    • Costa Rica
    • Cuba
    • Dominican Republic
    • Ecuador
    • El Salvador
    • Guatemala
    • Haiti
    • Honduras
    • Mexico
    • Nicaragua
    • Panama
    • Paraguay
    • Peru
    • Spain
    • Suriname
    • Uruguay
    • Venezuela
    • Bolivarian Republic of
  • Chair
    Mr. Francisco Javier Medina Parra (Mexico)
    Francisco.Medina@inegi.org.mx

  • Collaborator
    Mr. Mario Jahuey (Mexico)
    mario.jahuey@inegi.org.mx

  • Website
  • https://www.genung-dal.org.mx/

  • Norden Division


    • Denmark (including Greenland and Faroe Islands)
    • Finland
    • Iceland
    • Norway
    • Sweden
  • Co-Chairs
    Ms. Ingvil Nordland (Norway)
    ingvil.nordland@nmbu.no

  • Ms. Emily Lethbridge (Iceland)
    emily.lethbridge@arnastofnun.is

  • Vice-Chair
    Mr. Peder Gammeltoft (Norway)
    Peder.Gammeltoft@uib.no

  • Website
    http://nordendivision.nfi.ku.dk/
  • Pacific South-West Division


    • Australia
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • New Zealand
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Samoa
    • Solomon Islands
    • Timor-Leste (East Timor)
    • Tonga
    • Vanuatu
  • Interim Co-Chairs
    Ms. Susan Birtles (Australia)
    Susan.Birtles@dnrme.qld.gov.au

  • Ms. Wendy Shaw (New Zealand)
    wshaw@linz.govt.nz
  • Portuguese-Speaking Division



    • Angola
    • Brazil
    • Cabo Verde
    • Equatorial Guinea
    • Guinea-Bissau
    • Mozambique
    • Portugal
    • Sao Tome and Principe
    • Timor-Leste
  • Chair
    Mr. José Mahumane (Mozambique)
    jmahumane@gmail.com

  • Vice-Chair
    Ms. Ana Cristina Resende (Brazil)
    ana.resende@ibge.gov.br

  • Website
    https://dplpng.ibge.gov.br/
  • Romano-Hellenic Division


    • Andorra
    • Belgium
    • Canada
    • Cyprus
    • France
    • Greece
    • Holy See
    • Italy
    • Luxembourg
    • Republic of Moldova
    • Monaco
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Spain
    • Switzerland
    • Turkey
  • Chair
    Mr. Andrea Cantile (Italia)
    andrea.cantile@unifi.it

  • Secretary
    Mrs. Monica Dumitrascu (Romania)
    stefania_dumitrascu@yahoo.com

  • Website
    https://www.igmi.org/en/toponomastica?set_language=en
  • United Kingdom Division


    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • South Africa
    • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    • New Zealand
  • Chair
    Ms. Catherine Cheetham (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
    ccheetham@pcgn.org.uk
  • USA/Canada Division


    • Canada
    • United States
  • Co-Chair
    Mr. Glenn A Guempel (United States of America)
    gguempel@usgs.gov

  • Co-Chair
    Mr. Steve Westley (Canada)
    steve.westley@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
  • RULES1

    • The number of linguistic/geographical divisions and their composition may be revised, if necessary.

    • A country shall decide for itself the division to which it wishes to belong. A country may be a member of another division provided the nature of its participation does not change the linguistic/geographical character of the division(s) concerned. An experts may be invited to attend meetings of other divisions in the capacity of observer or consultant.

    • Each division, if composed of more than one sovereign State, shall select, by methods of its own choosing, an experts to represent the division (Division Chairman) as a whole at the meetings of the Group of Experts.

    • In order to guarantee the continuity of work, each division having more than one sovereign State shall select an alternative representative; the divisional representative shall act in close contact with his alternate.

    • The divisional representative shall stimulate activities in the standardization of geographical names within his division by all appropriate means (correspondence with national bodies on the standardization of geographical names and national surveying and mapping agencies; organization of meetings of the divisional experts)

    • The divisional representative shall be responsible for ensuring that the work of the Group of Experts and its potential for technical assistance are brought to the attention of the individual countries in his division and for reporting to the United Nations any special problems in his division.

    • To discuss technical and procedural matters, a division may organize regional meetings during United Nations conferences on the standardization of geographical names and meetings of the Group of Experts, or at any other appropriate time.

    1 Excerpt from the Statute and Rules of Procedure of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names.


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