EE.UU. or EUA

EE.UU. or EUA
 

Which is the more commonly-used abbreviation nowadays? I'm liking EUA more and more since it's shorter.

The first set is an abreviatura, and is spelled EE. UU. (with periods and a space). You'll see EE.UU. and EEUU, but these are unofficial spellings.

The second set is a sigla. The initials are never separated with periods or spaces.

The abbreviation EE. UU. is used more than EUA.

In Spanish, EUA looks so similar to EAU (Emiratos Árabes Unidos). Since it may be a bit confusing I'd vote for EE. UU. And also because I'm used to it. :)

I concur. That's what I thought when I read it.

Thanks for pointing out the similarity to EAU, which I didn't realize. I'll keep using EE. UU., to avoid confusion. And thanks for mentioning the separation between "." and "U" as well, another thing I never knew.

In Costa Rica it's very common to hear "los Estados". It may sound "Spanglish", but it's very accepted.