diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/countries.js b/frontend/src/utils/countries.js
index e474c35010..1d9382d7d4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/utils/countries.js
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/countries.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { getCountries, getCountry, getSupportedLangs } from '@hotosm/iso-countri
 
 export function translateCountry(name, locale) {
   const code = getCountryCode(name);
-  if (code && isLangSupported(locale)) return getCountry(locale.split('-')[0], code);
+  if (code && isLangSupported(locale)) return getCountry(locale.split(/[-_]/)[0], code);
   return name;
 }
 
@@ -20,13 +20,14 @@ export function getCountryCode(name) {
 }
 
 export function isLangSupported(code) {
-  if (getSupportedLangs().includes(code.split('-')[0])) return true;
+  // split with `-` or `_` to get the language initials
+  if (getSupportedLangs().includes(code.split(/[-_]/)[0])) return true;
   return false;
 }
 
 export function formatCountryList(locale) {
   if (locale && isLangSupported(locale)) {
-    const countries = getCountries(locale.split('-')[0]);
+    const countries = getCountries(locale.split(/[-_]/)[0]);
     return Object.keys(countries).map((key) => ({ label: countries[key], value: key }));
   }
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/internationalization.js b/frontend/src/utils/internationalization.js
index aa5bf50cd1..c9cbc2b3f3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/utils/internationalization.js
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/internationalization.js
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ const supportedLocales = [
   { value: 'ko', label: '한국어' },
   // { value: 'mg', label: 'Malagasy' },
   // { value: 'ml', label: 'Malayalam' },
-  { value: 'nl', label: 'Nederlands' },
+  { value: 'nl_NL', label: 'Nederlands' },
   { value: 'pt', label: 'Português' },
   { value: 'pt-BR', label: 'Português (Brasil)' },
   // { value: 'ru', label: 'Русский язык' },
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/tests/internationalization.test.js b/frontend/src/utils/tests/internationalization.test.js
index 65f29cea46..17e41ff5c4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/utils/tests/internationalization.test.js
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/tests/internationalization.test.js
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ describe('getSupportedLocale', () => {
   it('returns a generic supported locale if the variation is not supported', () => {
     expect(getSupportedLocale('en-gb')).toEqual({ label: 'English', value: 'en' });
     expect(getSupportedLocale('es-AR')).toEqual({ label: 'Español', value: 'es' });
-    expect(getSupportedLocale('nl-NL')).toEqual({ label: 'Nederlands', value: 'nl' });
+    expect(getSupportedLocale('nl_NL')).toEqual({ label: 'Nederlands', value: 'nl_NL' });
   });
   it('returns the default locale if the code is not supported and does not have a variation', () => {
     expect(getSupportedLocale('xt')).toEqual({ label: 'English', value: 'en' });