# List of national archives

National archives are central archives maintained by countries or nation states. This article contains a list of national archives. In some countries, national libraries serve the same purpose as national archives - or have archival departments.
Among their more important tasks is ensuring the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both analogically and digitally, for the government itself, researchers and the public.
Some national archives collections are large, holding millions of items spanning several centuries, while others have been created more recently and have modest collections. Many national archives are effectively dispersed, especially in post-colonial countries, and often have smaller local collections due to cultural imperialism and the theft of cultural and national documents and artifacts. There are ongoing international efforts to repatriate these materials to their communities of origin, in particular Indigenous cultural and intellectual property.
In the last decade, digitization projects have made possible to browse records and contents online.
* Top
* 0–9
* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z

## A

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size | Notable artifacts |
| Afghanistan | National Archives of Afghanistan | Kabul | 1890 | | |
| Albania | General Directorate of Archives | Tirana | 1949 | | Codex Beratinus Codex Beratinus II Elbasan Gospel Manuscript |
| Algeria | Centre Nationale des Archives | Birkhadem, Algiers | | | |
| American Samoa | American Samoa's Office of Archives and Records Management | Tutuila | 1978 | | |
| Andorra | National Archives of Andorra | Andorra la Vella | 1975 | | |
| Angola | Arquivo Histórico Nacional | Luanda | | | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda National Archives | St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda | 1982 | | |
| Argentina | General Archive of the Nation | Buenos Aires | 1821 | 800,000 photographs 100,000 volumes 3,000 films | |
| Armenia | National Archives of Armenia | Yerevan | 1923 | | |
| Aruba | National Archives of Aruba | Oranjestad | 1994 | | |
| Australia | National Archives of Australia | Canberra | 1961 | 40,000,000 items | Griffin drawings Mildenhall photographic collection |
| Australia | National Film and Sound Archive | Canberra | 1984 | 2,800,000 items | |
| Austria | Austrian State Archives | Vienna | 1749 | | |
| Azerbaijan | National Archive Department of Azerbaijan | Baku | 2002 | | |

## B

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Bahamas | National Archives of the Bahamas | Nassau | 1971 | |
| Bahrain | National Library of Bahrain at Isa Cultural Centre | Manama | 2008 | |
| Bangladesh | National Archives of Bangladesh | Dhaka | 1973 | 225,000 volumes |
| Barbados | National Archives of Barbados | Bridgetown | | |
| Barbados | West Indies Federal Archives Centre | Cave Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados | 2004 | |
| Belarus | National Archives of Belarus | Minsk | 1927 | |
| Belgium | National Archives of Belgium | Brussels | | |
| Belize | National Archives of Belize | Belmopan | | |
| Benin | National Archives of Benin | Porto-Novo | 1914 | |
| Bermuda | Bermuda National Library | Hamilton, Bermuda | 1839 | |
| Bhutan | National Library & Archives of Bhutan | Thimphu | 1967 | |
| Bolivia | National Archive and Library of Bolivia | Sucre | 1836 | 114,000 volumes |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Archives of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo | | |
| Botswana | National Archives of Botswana | Gaborone | 1967 | 20,000 items |
| Brazil | Arquivo Nacional | Rio de Janeiro | 1838 | 1,740,000 photographs 124,000 films 44,000 maps 20,000 illustrations 4,000 videotapes |
| British Virgin Islands | Archives and Records Management Unit, Governor's Office | Road Town | | |
| Brunei | Brunei National Archives | Bandar Seri Begawan | 1983 | |
| Bulgaria | Bulgarian Archives State Agency | Sofia | | |
| Burkina Faso | National Archives Centre | Ouagadougou | | |
| Burundi | DMS Burundi | Bujumbura | | |

## C

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size | Notable artifacts |
| Cambodia | National Archives of Cambodia | Phnom Penh | | | |
| Cameroon | National Archives of Cameroon | Yaoundé | 1966 | 64,000 volumes | |
| Canada | Library and Archives Canada | Ottawa | 2004 | 30,000,000 photographs 20,000,000 books 3,000,000 architectural drawings, plans and maps 425,000 works of art 550,000 music items 90,000 films | |
| Cape Verde | Arquivo Histórico Nacional | Praia | 1988 | | |
| Catalonia | National Archive of Catalonia | Sant Cugat del Vallès | 1980 | | |
| Cayman Islands | Cayman Islands National Archive | George Town, Cayman Islands | 1991 | | |
| Chad | Archives Nationales du Tchad | | | | |
| Chile | National Archives of Chile | Santiago | 1927 | | |
| China | National Archives Administration of China (a.k.a. the Central Archives) | Beijing | 1954 | 80,000,000 items | |
| Colombia | General Archive of the Nation | Bogotá | 1989 | | |
| Comoros | Comoros National Library | Moroni, Comoros | 1979 | | |
| Republic of the Congo | Archives Nationales du Congo | Brazzaville | | | |
| Cook Islands | National Archives of the Cook Islands | | 1974 | 4,000 photographs | |
| Costa Rica | National Archives of Costa Rica | San José | 1881 | | |
| Croatia | Croatian State Archives | Zagreb | 1763 | | |
| Cuba | Archivo Nacional de la República de Cuba | Havana | 1840 | | |
| Curacao | Nationaal Archief Curacao | Willemstad | | | |
| Cyprus | Cyprus State Archives | Nicosia | 1972 | | |
| Czech Republic | National Archives | Prague | | | Golden Bull of Sicily Zemské desky |

## D

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Institut National des Archives du Congo | Kinshasa | 1989 | 3,000 volumes |
| Denmark | Danish National Archives | Copenhagen | 1889 | |
| Djibouti | Archives Nationales et Bibliotheque de Djibouti | Balbala | | |
| Dominica | Dominica Library & Information Service | Roseau | 1843 | |
| Dominican Republic | Archivo General de la Nación de República Dominicana | Santo Domingo | 1935 | |

## E

| Country | Archive | Location | Year |
| East Timor | National Archives of East Timor | Dili | 1999 |
| East Timor | Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum | Dili | 2005 |
| Ecuador | National Archives of Ecuador | Quito | 1884 |
| Egypt | Egyptian National Library and Archives | Cairo | 1870 |
| El Salvador | National Library of El Salvador | San Salvador | 2023 |
| Eritrea | National Archives of Eritrea | Asmara | |
| Estonia | National Archives of Estonia | Tartu | 1999 |
| Eswatini | Eswatini National Archives | Lobamba | 1971 |
| Ethiopia | National Archives and Library of Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 1944 |

## F

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Falkland Islands | Jane Cameron National Archives | Stanley | 1841 | |
| Faroe Islands | National Archives of the Faroe Islands | Tórshavn | 1932 | |
| Fiji | National Archives of Fiji | Suva | 1954 | |
| Finland | National Archives of Finland | Helsinki | 1816 | 726,000 maps 334,000 volumes |
| France | Archives Nationales | Paris and Pierrefitte-sur-Seine | 1790 | |

## G

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size | Notable artifacts |
| Gabon | Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Gabon | Libreville | 1969 | | |
| Gambia | The Gambia National Records Service | Banjul | 1966 | | Audio recordings and oral histories in various Mande, Niger–Congo and Atlantic–Congo languages - including Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Jola, Krio, Soninke, Manjak, Serer and Karoninka. Pre-colonial and rare colonial texts containing documentation, data, social histories, women's histories and plant knowledge |
| Georgia | National Archives of Georgia | Tbilisi | 1920 | 274,625 photographs | |
| Germany | German Federal Archives | Koblenz | 1952 | | |
| Ghana | National Archives of Ghana (until 1997) | Accra | | | |
| Ghana | Public Records and Archives Administration Department | | 1997 | | |
| Gibraltar | Gibraltar Archives | Gibraltar | 1969 | | |
| Greece | General State Archives | Psychiko | 1914 | | |
| Greenland | Greenland National Museum | Nuuk | 1982 | | Ammassalik wooden maps 15th-century mummies and clothing of the Thule / Greenlandic Inuit culture at the Qilakitsoq archaeological site Pearyland Umiaq, the oldest intact skin boat in the world Over 35,000 repatriated cultural objects, originally held in the collections of the National Museum of Denmark |
| Grenada | Grenada National Museum | St. George's | 1959 | | Grenada Plantation Records, 1737-1845 |
| Guam | Guam Museum | Hagåtña | 1980 | | |
| Guatemala | Archivo General de Centro América | Guatemala City | 1846 | Documents dating from 1537 onwards - relating to government, commerce, colonialism, revolutions, religion and more | |
| Guatemala | Guatemala National Police Archives | Guatemala City | Discovered in 2005 | 80 million pages of documents from, dating from the late 19th-century through the Guatemalan Civil War | Largest recovered collection of state secrets in Latin America Documents detailing kidnappings, torture, murders, and disappearances of the estimated 200,000 civilians who perished during the Guatemalan Civil War |
| Guinea | National Archives of Guinea | Conakry | | | |
| Guinea-Bissau | Arquivos Históricos Nacionais da República da Guiné-Bissau | Bissau | 1984 | | |
| Guyana | National Archives of Guyana (a.k.a. the Walter Rodney Archives) | Georgetown, Guyana | 1958 | | |

## H

| Country | Archive | Location | Year |
| Haiti | Archives Nationales d'Haïti | Port-au-Prince | 1860 |
| Honduras | Archivo Nacional de Honduras | Tegucigalpa | 1880 |
| Hong Kong | Government Records Service | Kwun Tong, Kowloon | 1989 |
| Hungary | National Archives of Hungary | Budapest | 1756 |

## I

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size | Notable artifacts |
| Iceland | National Archives of Iceland | Reykjavík | 1882 | | |
| India | National Archives of India | New Delhi | 1891 | | |
| Indonesia | National Archives of Indonesia | Jakarta | 1819 | | Largest global archival collection related to the Dutch East India Company |
| Iran | National Library and Archive of Iran | Tehran | 1899 | 55,000 old books, including 28,158 manuscripts and more than 26,000 lithographs featuring old lead printing An Iranian Studies collection that includes 80,410 books, 2,300 dissertations and 6000 journals An Islam Studies collection with 8,203,238 books, magazines and tapes The library has 14 halls with 15 million library items | Smallest known octagonal Quran (3 x 3.3 cm), قرآن هشت ضلعی |
| Iraq | Iraq National Library and Archive | Baghdad | 1920 | | One of the oldest copies of the Quran (which was destroyed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States) |
| Ireland | National Archives of Ireland | Dublin | 1867 | | Primary (Griffith) Valuation, 1847-1864 land and buildings value directory |
| Isle of Man | Manx Museum | Douglas, Isle of Man | 1922 | | |
| Israel | Israel State Archives | Jerusalem | 1949 | 400 million documents, maps, stamps, audio tapes, video clips, photographs and special publications | |
| Israel | Central Zionist Archives | West Jerusalem | 1919 | | Personal papers of Theodor Herzl, Nahum Sokolow, David Wolffsohn, Max Bodenheimer, Henrietta Szold, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, Haim Arlosoroff and other functionaries of the Zionist movement Files of the General Council (Va'ad Leumi) |
| Italy | Central Archives of the State | Rome | 1875 | | |
| Ivory Coast | Archives Nationales du Côte d´Ivoire | Abidjan | | | |

## J

| Country | Archive | Location | Year |
| Jamaica | Jamaica Archives and Records Department | Kingston, Jamaica | 1955 |
| Japan | National Archives of Japan | Chiyoda, Tokyo | 1959 |
| Jordan | National Library of Jordan | Amman | 1977 |

## K

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Kazakhstan | National Archives of Kazakhstan | Astana | 2002 | |
| Kazakhstan | Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan | Almaty | | |
| Kazakhstan | Republic of Kazakhstan Presidential Archive | Almaty | | |
| Kenya | Kenya National Archives | Nairobi | 1965 | 40,000 volumes |
| Kiribati | Kiribati National Library and Archives | Bairiki | | |
| Kosovo | National Library of Kosovo | Pristina | 1944 | 382,806 books |
| Kosovo | State Agency of Archives of Kosovo | Pristina | 1977 | |
| Kuwait | National Library of Kuwait | Kuwait City | 1923 | 465,000 books |
| Kyrgyzstan | National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic | Bishkek | 1934 | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Central State Archives of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | | |

## L

| Country | Archive | Location | Year |
| Lebanon | Centre des Archives Nationales | Beirut | |
| Liberia | Center for National Documents and Records | Monrovia | 1977 |
| Libya | National Archives of Libya | Tripoli, Libya | |
| Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein National Archives | Vaduz | 1961 |
| Lithuania | Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania | Vilnius | |
| Luxembourg | Archives nationales de Luxembourg (ANLux) | | |

## M

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Madagascar | National Archives of Madagascar | | | 30,000 volumes |
| Malawi | National Archives of Malawi | | | |
| Malaysia | National Archives of Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | 1957 | |
| Mali | Direction Nationale des Archives du Mali | Bamako | | |
| Malta | National Archives of Malta | Rabat, Malta | | |
| Marshall Islands | Alele Museum & Public Library | | | |
| Mauritania | National Archives of Mauritania | | 1955 | 3,000 volumes |
| Mauritius | National Archives of Mauritius | Coromandel, Mauritius | 1815 | |
| Mexico | Archivo General de la Nación | Mexico City | | |
| Mongolia | National Archives of Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar | 1927 | |
| Montenegro | State Archives of Montenegro | Cetinje | 1951 | |
| Morocco | National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco | Rabat | 1924 | |
| Mozambique | Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique | | 1934 | |
| Myanmar | National Archives of Myanmar | Naypyidaw | 1973 | |

## N

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Namibia | National Archives of Namibia | Windhoek | 1939 | 6,000 maps 40,000 photographs 30,000 audiovisual items |
| Netherlands | Nationaal Archief | The Hague | 1802 | |
| New Zealand | Archives New Zealand | Wellington | | |
| Nicaragua | General National Archive | Managua | | |
| Niger | Archives nationales du Niger | | | |
| Nigeria | National Archives of Nigeria | Abuja | | |
| Norway | National Archival Services of Norway | Oslo | 1817 | |

## P

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size | Notable artifacts |
| Pakistan | National Archives of Pakistan | Islamabad | | 19,000 books | |
| Palestine | Palestine National Archives | Ramallah | | | |
| Palestine | Central Archives of Gaza City | Gaza City | | | |
| Palestine | Al-Budeiri Library | Old City of Jerusalem | | 900 manuscripts | |
| Palestine | Khalidi Library | Old City of Jerusalem | 1900 | | One of Ottoman Palestine's first public libraries and historical document collections |
| Panama | National Archives of Panama | Panama City | 1912 | | |
| Paraguay | Archivo Nacional de Asunción | | | | |
| Peru | General Archive of the Nation | Lima | 1872 | | |
| Philippines | National Archives of the Philippines | Manila | | | |
| Poland | Central Archives of Historical Records | Warsaw | 1808 | | |
| Poland | National Digital Archives | Warsaw | 2008 (1955) | over 15,000,000 photographs over 40,000 sound recordings about 2,400 motion pictures | |
| Portugal | Torre do Tombo National Archive | Lisbon | 1378 | | |
| Puerto Rico | Archivo General de Puerto Rico | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 1955 | | |

## R

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Romania | National Archives of Romania | Bucharest | | 70,000 books |
| Russia | Russian State Archive of Contemporary History | Moscow | | |
| Russia | Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History | Moscow | | |
| Russia | Russian State Archive of Literature and Art | Moscow | 1941 | |
| Russia | State Archive of the Russian Federation | Moscow | 1992 | |
| Rwanda | National Archives of Rwanda | Kigali | | |

## S

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Saharawi National Archive | | | |
| San Marino | State Archives of San Marino | | | |
| Scotland | National Archives of Scotland | Edinburgh | | |
| Senegal | National Archives of Senegal | Dakar | | |
| Serbia | State Archives of Serbia | Belgrade | 1900 | |
| Seychelles | Seychelles National Archives | Mahé, Seychelles | 1964 | |
| Singapore | National Archives of Singapore | | | |
| Slovakia | Slovak National Archives | Bratislava | 1928 | |
| Slovenia | Archives of the Republic of Slovenia | Ljubljana | | |
| South Africa | National Archives and Records Service of South Africa | Arcadia, Pretoria | | |
| South Korea | National Archives of Korea | Daejeon | | |
| South Sudan | National Archives of South Sudan | Juba | | |
| Spain | Archivo Histórico Nacional [es] | Madrid | 1866 | |
| Spain | General Archive of the Indies | Seville | | 43,000 volumes 80,000,000 pages |
| Spain | Archivo General de Simancas | Simancas | | |
| Sri Lanka | Department of National Archives | Colombo | | |
| Sudan | National Records Office of Sudan | Khartoum | | 13,000 volumes 20,000,000 documents |
| Suriname | National Archives of Suriname | Paramaribo | | |
| Sweden | National Archives of Sweden | Stockholm | | |
| Switzerland | Swiss Federal Archives | Bern | 1798 | |
| Switzerland | Swiss Literary Archives | Bern | 1991 | |
| Switzerland | Swiss Film Archive | Lausanne | | 85,000 films 26,000 books 3,000,000 photographs |
| Switzerland | Swiss National Sound Archives | Lugano | 1984 | |

## T

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size |
| Taiwan | National Archives Administration, National Development Council | | | |
| Tanzania | Tanzania National Archives | Dar es Salaam | 1962 | |
| Thailand | National Archives of Thailand | Bangkok | | 444,009 photographs 808,693 films 20,062 maps and plans |
| Thailand | Thai Film Archive | Nakhon Pathom province | | |
| Togo | National Archives of Togo | Lomé | | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain | | |
| Tunisia | National Archives of Tunisia | Tunis | | |
| Turkey | Ottoman archives | Istanbul | | |

## U

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Notable artifacts |
| Ukraine | State Archival Service of Ukraine | | | |
| United Arab Emirates | National Library and Archives | Abu Dhabi | 1968 | |
| United Kingdom | The National Archives | Greater London | | |
| United Kingdom | Public Record Office of Northern Ireland | Belfast | 1923 | Bull of Pope Honorius III, dated 1219 |
| United States | National Archives and Records Administration | Washington, D.C. | 1934 | |
| Uruguay | General Archive of the Nation | Montevideo | | |

## V

| Country | Archive | Location | Year |
| Vanuatu | National Archives of Vanuatu | | |
| Vatican City | Vatican Apostolic Archive | Cortile del Belvedere | 1612 |
| Venezuela | National Archives of Venezuela | Caracas | |

## Z

| Country | Archive | Location | Year | Collection size | Notable artifacts | Image | Website |
| Zambia | National Archives of Zambia | Lusaka | | 70,000 volumes | | | |
| Zimbabwe | National Archives of Zimbabwe | Harare | 1935 | | | | |