The General National Congress (GNC) yesterday voted to rename Libya as the 'State of Libya', meaning it officially ceases to have the longest name of any country in the world.

Prior to the 2011 revolution, Libya was officially called the Great Socialist People's Arab Libyan Jamahiriya (or GSPLAJ for short). The title was adopted in March 1977 with Gaddafi's declaration of the 'state of the masses'.

The new name, which was approved unanimously by the national assembly, will be used across all official government correspondence, logos and documents.

The change raises the question of which country now boasts the world's longest name. It partly depends what language you count the letters in, but one candidate is neighbouring Algeria, whose official title is the Democratic People's Republic of Algeria, while another is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.