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.

A

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of AfghanistanKabul1890General Directorate of ArchivesTirana1949Codex Beratinus Codex Beratinus II Elbasan Gospel ManuscriptCentre Nationale des ArchivesBirkhadem, AlgiersAmerican Samoa's Office of Archives and Records ManagementTutuila1978National Archives of AndorraAndorra la Vella1975Arquivo Histórico NacionalLuandaAntigua and Barbuda National ArchivesSt. John's, Antigua and Barbuda1982General Archive of the NationBuenos Aires1821800,000 photographs 100,000 volumes 3,000 filmsNational Archives of ArmeniaYerevan1923National Archives of ArubaOranjestad1994National Archives of AustraliaCanberra196140,000,000 itemsGriffin drawings Mildenhall photographic collectionNational Film and Sound Archive19842,800,000 itemsAustrian State ArchivesVienna1749National Archive Department of AzerbaijanBaku2002

B

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of the BahamasNassau1971National Library of Bahrain at Isa Cultural CentreManama2008National Archives of BangladeshDhaka1973225,000 volumesNational Archives of BarbadosBridgetownWest Indies Federal Archives CentreCave Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados2004National Archives of BelarusMinsk1927National Archives of BelgiumBrusselsBelize Archives and Records ServiceBelmopanNational Archives of BeninPorto-Novo1914Bermuda National LibraryHamilton, Bermuda1839National Library & Archives of BhutanThimphu1967National Archive and Library of BoliviaSucre1836114,000 volumesArchives of Bosnia and HerzegovinaSarajevoNational Archives of BotswanaGaborone196720,000 itemsArquivo NacionalRio de Janeiro18381,740,000 photographs 124,000 films 44,000 maps 20,000 illustrations 4,000 videotapesArchives and Records Management Unit, Governor's OfficeRoad TownBrunei National ArchivesBandar Seri Begawan1983Bulgarian Archives State AgencySofiaNational Archives CentreOuagadougouDMS BurundiBujumbura

C

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of CambodiaPhnom PenhNational Archives of CameroonYaoundé196664,000 volumesLibrary and Archives CanadaOttawa200430,000,000 photographs 20,000,000 books 3,000,000 architectural drawings, plans and maps 425,000 works of art 550,000 music items 90,000 filmsArquivo Histórico NacionalPraia1988National Archive of CataloniaSant Cugat del Vallès1980Cayman Islands National ArchiveGeorge Town, Cayman Islands1991Archives Nationales du TchadNational Archives of ChileSantiago1927National Archives Administration of China ( the Central Archives)Beijing195480,000,000 itemsGeneral Archive of the NationBogotá1989Comoros National LibraryMoroni, Comoros1979Archives Nationales du CongoBrazzavilleNational Archives of the Cook Islands19744,000 photographsNational Archives of Costa RicaSan José1881Croatian State ArchivesZagreb1763Archivo Nacional de la República de CubaHavana1840Nationaal Archief CuracaoWillemstadCyprus State ArchivesNicosia1972National ArchivesPragueGolden Bull of Sicily Zemské desky

D

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteInstitut National des Archives du CongoKinshasa19893,000 volumesDanish National ArchivesCopenhagen1889Archives Nationales et Bibliotheque de DjiboutiBalbalaDominica Library & Information ServiceRoseau1843Archivo General de la Nación de República DominicanaSanto Domingo1935

E

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of East TimorDili1999Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum2005National Archives of EcuadorQuito1884Egyptian National Library and ArchivesCairo1870National Library of El SalvadorSan Salvador2023 and The National ArchivesGreater London2003National Archives of EritreaAsmaraNational Archives of EstoniaTartu1999Eswatini National ArchivesLobamba1971National Archives and Library of EthiopiaAddis Ababa1944

F

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteJane Cameron National ArchivesStanley1841National Archives of the Faroe IslandsTórshavn1932National Archives of FijiSuva1954National Archives of FinlandHelsinki1816726,000 maps 334,000 volumesArchives NationalesParis and Pierrefitte-sur-Seine1790

G

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of GabonLibreville1969The Gambia National Records ServiceBanjul1966Audio 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 knowledgeNational Archives of GeorgiaTbilisi1920274,625 photographsGerman Federal ArchivesKoblenz1952National Archives of Ghana (until 1997)AccraPublic Records and Archives Administration Department1997Gibraltar ArchivesGibraltar1969General State ArchivesPsychiko1914Greenland National MuseumNuuk1982Ammassalik 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 DenmarkGrenada National MuseumSt. George's1959Grenada Plantation Records, 1737-1845Guam MuseumHagåtña1980Archivo General de Centro AméricaGuatemala City1846Documents dating from 1537 onwards - relating to government, commerce, colonialism, revolutions, religion and moreGuatemala National Police ArchivesDiscovered in 200580 million pages of documents from, dating from the late 19th-century through the Guatemalan Civil WarLargest 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 WarNational Archives of GuineaConakryArquivos Históricos Nacionais da República da Guiné-BissauBissau1984National Archives of Guyana ( the Walter Rodney Archives)Georgetown, Guyana1958

H

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteArchives Nationales d'HaïtiPort-au-Prince1860Archivo Nacional de HondurasTegucigalpa1880Government Records ServiceKwun Tong, Kowloon1989National Archives of HungaryBudapest1756

I

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of IcelandReykjavík1882National Archives of IndiaNew Delhi1891National Archives of IndonesiaJakarta1819Largest global archival collection related to the Dutch East India CompanyNational Library and Archive of IranTehran189955,000 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 itemsSmallest known octagonal Quran (3 x 3.3 cm), قرآن هشت ضلعیIraq National Library and ArchiveBaghdad1920One of the oldest copies of the Quran (which was destroyed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States)National Archives of IrelandDublin1867Primary (Griffith) Valuation, 1847-1864 land and buildings value directoryManx MuseumDouglas, Isle of Man1922Israel State ArchivesJerusalem1949400 million documents, maps, stamps, audio tapes, video clips, photographs and special publicationsCentral Zionist ArchivesWest Jerusalem1919Personal 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)Central Archives of the StateRome1875Abidjan

J

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteJamaica Archives and Records DepartmentKingston, Jamaica1955National Archives of JapanChiyoda, Tokyo1959National Library of JordanAmman1977

K

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteAstana2002Central State Archive of the Republic of KazakhstanAlmatyRepublic of Kazakhstan Presidential ArchiveKenya National ArchivesNairobi196540,000 volumesKiribati National Library and ArchivesBairikiNational Library of KosovoPristina1944382,806 booksState Agency of Archives of Kosovo1977National Library of KuwaitKuwait City1923465,000 booksNational Library of the Kyrgyz RepublicBishkek1934

L

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteCentre des Archives NationalesBeirutCenter for National Documents and RecordsMonrovia1977National Archives of LibyaTripoli, LibyaLiechtenstein National ArchivesVaduz1961Office of the Chief Archivist of LithuaniaVilnius (ANLux)

M

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of Madagascar30,000 volumesNational Archives of MalawiNational Archives of MalaysiaKuala Lumpur1957Direction Nationale des Archives du MaliBamakoNational Archives of MaltaRabat, MaltaAlele Museum & Public LibraryNational Archives of Mauritania19553,000 volumesNational Archives of MauritiusCoromandel, Mauritius1815Archivo General de la NaciónMexico CityNational Archives of MongoliaUlaanbaatar1927State Archives of MontenegroCetinje1951National Library of the Kingdom of MoroccoRabat1924Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique1934National Archives of MyanmarNaypyidaw1973

N

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of NamibiaWindhoek19396,000 maps 40,000 photographs 30,000 audiovisual itemsNationaal ArchiefThe Hague1802National ArchivesKathmandu1967Archives New ZealandWellingtonGeneral National ArchiveManagua National Archives of NigeriaAbuja Northern IrelandPublic Record Office of Northern IrelandBelfast1923Bull of Pope Honorius III, dated 1219National Archival Services of NorwayOslo1817

P

CountryArchiveLocationYearCollection sizeNotable artifactsImageWebsiteNational Archives of PakistanIslamabad19,000 booksPalestine National ArchivesRamallahCentral Archives of Gaza CityGaza CityAl-Budeiri LibraryOld City of Jerusalem900 manuscriptsKhalidi Library1900One of Ottoman Palestine's first public libraries and historical document collectionsNational Archives of PanamaPanama City1912General Archive of the NationLima1872National Archives of the PhilippinesManilaCentral Archives of Historical RecordsWarsaw1808Archives of Modern Records1919National Digital Archives2008(1955)over 15,000,000 photographs over 40,000 sound recordings about 2,400 motion picturesTorre do Tombo National ArchiveLisbon1378Archivo General de Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico1955

R