ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. They are the most widely used of the country codes published by ISO (the others being alpha-3 and numeric), and are used most prominently for the Internet's country code top-level domains (with a few exceptions).[1] They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.
Contents
Uses and applications
The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are used in different environments and are also part of other standards. In some cases they are not perfectly implemented.
Perfect implementations
The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are used in the following standards:
Short name | Long name | Comment |
---|---|---|
ISO 3166-2 | Country subdivision code[2] | |
ISO 3901 | International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)[3] | |
ISO 4217 | Currency code[4] | |
ISO 6166 | International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN)[5] | |
ISO 9362 | Bank Identifier Codes (BIC) | also known as SWIFT codes[6] |
ISO 13616 | International Bank Account Number (IBAN)[7] | |
ISO 15511 | International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations (ISIL) | |
UN/LOCODE | United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations | implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe[8] |
Imperfect implementations
Starting in 1985, ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes have been used in the Domain Name System as country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority currently assigns the ccTLDs mostly following the alpha-2 codes, but with a few exceptions.[9] For example, the United Kingdom, whose alpha-2 code is GB, uses .uk instead of .gb as its ccTLD, as UK is currently exceptionally reserved in ISO 3166-1 on the request of the United Kingdom.
The WIPO coding standard ST.3 is based on ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, but includes a number of additional codes for international intellectual property organizations, which are currently reserved and not used at the present stage in ISO 3166-1.[10]
The European Commission generally uses ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes with two exceptions: EL (not GR) is used to represent Greece, and UK (not GB) is used to represent the United Kingdom.[11] This notwithstanding, the Official Journal of the European Communities specified that GR and GB be used to represent the Greece and United Kingdom respectively.[12] For VAT administration purposes, the European Commission uses EL and GB for Greece and the United Kingdom respectively.
The United Nations uses a combination of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and alpha-3 codes, along with codes that pre-date the creation of ISO 3166, for international vehicle registration codes, which are codes used to identify the issuing country of a vehicle registration plate; some of these codes are currently indeterminately reserved in ISO 3166-1.[13]
IETF language tags (conforming to the BCP 47 standard track and maintained in an IANA registry) are also partially derived from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes (for the region subtags). The full list of ISO 3166-1 codes assigned to countries and territories are usable as region subtags. Also, the "exceptionally reserved" alpha-2 codes defined in ISO 3166-1 (with the exception of UK) are also usable as region subtags for language tags. However, newer stability policies (agreed with ISO) have been implemented to avoid deleting subtags that have been withdrawn in ISO 3166-1 ; instead they are kept and aliased to the new preferred subtags, or kept as subtags grouping several countries. Some other region grouping subtags are derived from other standards. Under the newer stability policies, old assigned codes that have been withdrawn from ISO 3166-1 should no longer be reassigned to another country or territory (like it occurred in the past for "CS").
Current codes
Decoding table
The following is a colour-coded decoding table of all ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes.[14]
Click on the cell to see the definition of each code.
Decoding table of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AA | AB | AC | AD | AE | AF | AG | AH | AI | AJ | AK | AL | AM | AN | AO | AP | AQ | AR | AS | AT | AU | AV | AW | AX | AY | AZ |
BA | BB | BC | BD | BE | BF | BG | BH | BI | BJ | BK | BL | BM | BN | BO | BP | BQ | BR | BS | BT | BU | BV | BW | BX | BY | BZ |
CA | CB | CC | CD | CE | CF | CG | CH | CI | CJ | CK | CL | CM | CN | CO | CP | CQ | CR | CS | CT | CU | CV | CW | CX | CY | CZ |
DA | DB | DC | DD | DE | DF | DG | DH | DI | DJ | DK | DL | DM | DN | DO | DP | DQ | DR | DS | DT | DU | DV | DW | DX | DY | DZ |
EA | EB | EC | ED | EE | EF | EG | EH | EI | EJ | EK | EL | EM | EN | EO | EP | EQ | ER | ES | ET | EU | EV | EW | EX | EY | EZ |
FA | FB | FC | FD | FE | FF | FG | FH | FI | FJ | FK | FL | FM | FN | FO | FP | FQ | FR | FS | FT | FU | FV | FW | FX | FY | FZ |
GA | GB | GC | GD | GE | GF | GG | GH | GI | GJ | GK | GL | GM | GN | GO | GP | GQ | GR | GS | GT | GU | GV | GW | GX | GY | GZ |
HA | HB | HC | HD | HE | HF | HG | HH | HI | HJ | HK | HL | HM | HN | HO | HP | HQ | HR | HS | HT | HU | HV | HW | HX | HY | HZ |
IA | IB | IC | ID | IE | IF | IG | IH | II | IJ | IK | IL | IM | IN | IO | IP | IQ | IR | IS | IT | IU | IV | IW | IX | IY | IZ |
JA | JB | JC | JD | JE | JF | JG | JH | JI | JJ | JK | JL | JM | JN | JO | JP | JQ | JR | JS | JT | JU | JV | JW | JX | JY | JZ |
KA | KB | KC | KD | KE | KF | KG | KH | KI | KJ | KK | KL | KM | KN | KO | KP | KQ | KR | KS | KT | KU | KV | KW | KX | KY | KZ |
LA | LB | LC | LD | LE | LF | LG | LH | LI | LJ | LK | LL | LM | LN | LO | LP | LQ | LR | LS | LT | LU | LV | LW | LX | LY | LZ |
MA | MB | MC | MD | ME | MF | MG | MH | MI | MJ | MK | ML | MM | MN | MO | MP | MQ | MR | MS | MT | MU | MV | MW | MX | MY | MZ |
NA | NB | NC | ND | NE | NF | NG | NH | NI | NJ | NK | NL | NM | NN | NO | NP | NQ | NR | NS | NT | NU | NV | NW | NX | NY | NZ |
OA | OB | OC | OD | OE | OF | OG | OH | OI | OJ | OK | OL | OM | ON | OO | OP | OQ | OR | OS | OT | OU | OV | OW | OX | OY | OZ |
PA | PB | PC | PD | PE | PF | PG | PH | PI | PJ | PK | PL | PM | PN | PO | PP | PQ | PR | PS | PT | PU | PV | PW | PX | PY | PZ |
QA | QB | QC | QD | QE | QF | QG | QH | QI | QJ | QK | QL | QM | QN | QO | QP | QR | QS | QT | QU | QV | QW | QX | QY | QZ | |
RA | RB | RC | RD | RE | RF | RG | RH | RI | RJ | RK | RL | RM | RN | RO | RP | RQ | RR | RS | RT | RU | RV | RW | RX | RY | RZ |
SA | SB | SC | SD | SE | SF | SG | SH | SI | SJ | SK | SL | SM | SN | SO | SP | SQ | SR | SS | ST | SU | SV | SW | SX | SY | SZ |
TA | TB | TC | TD | TE | TF | TG | TH | TI | TJ | TK | TL | TM | TN | TO | TP | TQ | TR | TS | TT | TU | TV | TW | TX | TY | TZ |
UA | UB | UC | UD | UE | UF | UG | UH | UI | UJ | UK | UL | UM | UN | UO | UP | UQ | UR | US | UT | UU | UV | UW | UX | UY | UZ |
VA | VB | VC | VD | VE | VF | VG | VH | VI | VJ | VK | VL | VM | VN | VO | VP | VQ | VR | VS | VT | VU | VV | VW | VX | VY | VZ |
WA | WB | WC | WD | WE | WF | WG | WH | WI | WJ | WK | WL | WM | WN | WO | WP | WQ | WR | WS | WT | WU | WV | WW | WX | WY | WZ |
XA | XB | XC | XD | XE | XF | XG | XH | XI | XJ | XK | XL | XM | XN | XO | XP | XQ | XR | XS | XT | XU | XV | XW | XX | XY | XZ |
YA | YB | YC | YD | YE | YF | YG | YH | YI | YJ | YK | YL | YM | YN | YO | YP | YQ | YR | YS | YT | YU | YV | YW | YX | YY | YZ |
ZA | ZB | ZC | ZD | ZE | ZF | ZG | ZH | ZI | ZJ | ZK | ZL | ZM | ZN | ZO | ZP | ZQ | ZR | ZS | ZT | ZU | ZV | ZW | ZX | ZY | ZZ |
Colour legend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Officially assigned: assigned to a country, territory, or area of geographical interest. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
User-assigned: free for assignment at the disposal of users. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exceptionally reserved: reserved on request for restricted use. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transitionally reserved: deleted from ISO 3166-1 but reserved transitionally. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indeterminately reserved: used in coding systems associated with ISO 3166-1. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unassigned: free for assignment by the ISO 3166/MA only. |
Officially assigned code elements
The following is a complete list of the 249 current officially assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, with the following columns:
- Code — ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
- Country name — English short country name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA)[15]
- Year — Year when alpha-2 code was first officially assigned (1974, first edition of ISO 3166)
- ccTLD — Corresponding country code top-level domain (note that some are inactive); exceptions where another ccTLD is assigned for the country are shown in parentheses
- ISO 3166-2 — Corresponding ISO 3166-2 codes
- Notes — Any unofficial notes
User-assigned code elements
User-assigned code elements are codes at the disposal of users who need to add further names of countries, territories, or other geographical entities to their in-house application of ISO 3166-1, and the ISO 3166/MA will never use these codes in the updating process of the standard. The following alpha-2 codes can be user-assigned: AA, QM to QZ, XA to XZ, and ZZ. For example:
- UN/LOCODE assigns XZ to represent installations in international waters.[8]
- The Unicode Common Locale Data Repository assigns QO to represent Outlying Oceania (a multi-territory region containing Antarctica, Bouvet Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the French Southern Territories, and the United States Minor Outlying Islands), QU to represent the European Union, and ZZ to represent "Unknown or Invalid Territory".[18]
- The code XK is being used by the European Commission,[19] Switzerland,[20] the Deutsche Bundesbank,[21] SWIFT,[22] and other organizations as a temporary country code for Kosovo.[23]
- The code XN is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for the Nordic Patent Institute, an international organization common to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.[24]
Reserved code elements
Reserved code elements are codes which have become obsolete, or are required in order to enable a particular user application of the standard but do not qualify for inclusion in ISO 3166-1. To avoid transitional application problems and to aid users who require specific additional code elements for the functioning of their coding systems, the ISO 3166/MA, when justified, reserves these codes which it undertakes not to use for other than specified purposes during a limited or indeterminate period of time. The reserved alpha-2 codes can be divided into the following four categories: exceptional reservations, transitional reservations, indeterminate reservations, and codes currently agreed not to use.
Exceptional reservations
Exceptionally reserved code elements are codes reserved at the request of national ISO member bodies, governments and international organizations, which are required in order to support a particular application, as specified by the requesting body and limited to such use; any further use of such code elements is subject to approval by the ISO 3166/MA. The following alpha-2 codes are currently exceptionally reserved:
Code | Area name or country name | Current actual country | ccTLD | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
AC | Ascension Island | United Kingdom | .ac | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area |
CP | Clipperton Island | France | — | Reserved on request of ITU for location of certain telecommunications installations |
DG | Diego Garcia | United Kingdom | — | Reserved on request of ITU for location of certain telecommunications installations |
EA | Ceuta, Melilla | Spain | — | Reserved on request of WCO for area not covered by European Union Customs arrangements Part of Spanish North Africa (Spanish: África Septentrional Española) |
EU | European Union | multiple | .eu | Reserved on request of ISO 4217/MA for the European monetary unit Euro Extended for ISO 6166 "Securities – International securities identification numbering system (ISIN)" in March 1998 Extended for any application needing to represent the name European Union in August 1999 |
EZ | Eurozone | multiple | — | Reserved on request of ISO 6166/RA for the European OTC derivatives within International securities identification numbering system (ISIN) |
FX | France, Metropolitan | France | — | Reserved on request of France Officially assigned before deleted from ISO 3166-1 (now assigned ISO 3166-3 code FXFR) |
IC | Canary Islands | Spain | — | Reserved on request of WCO for area not covered by European Union Customs arrangements. Code taken from name in Spanish: Islas Canarias |
SU | USSR | multiple | .su | From June 2008; Transitionally reserved from September 1992 Officially assigned before deleted from ISO 3166-1 (now assigned ISO 3166-3 code SUHH) Official name: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (common name: Soviet Union) |
TA | Tristan da Cunha | United Kingdom | — | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area |
UK | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | .uk | Reserved on request of the United Kingdom lest UK be used for any other country Also used by the European Commission United Kingdom is officially assigned the alpha-2 code GB |
UN | United Nations | multiple | — | Reserved directly by ISO 3166/MA for the United Nations |
The following alpha-2 codes were previously exceptionally reserved, but are now officially assigned:
Code | Area name or country name | Notes |
---|---|---|
AX | Åland | Reserved on request of Finland |
GG | Guernsey | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area |
IM | Isle of Man | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area |
JE | Jersey | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area |
Transitional reservations
Transitional reserved code elements are codes reserved after their deletion from ISO 3166-1. These codes may be used only during a transitional period of at least five years while new code elements that may have replaced them are taken into use. These codes may be reassigned by the ISO 3166/MA after the expiration of the transitional period. The following alpha-2 codes are currently transitionally reserved:
Code | Formerly used country name | Date of reservation | ccTLD | ISO 3166-2 | ISO 3166-3 | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AN | Netherlands Antilles | 2010-12 | .an | ISO 3166-2:AN | ANHH | Divided into BQ, CW, SX |
BU | Burma | 1989-12 | — | — | BUMM | Name changed to Myanmar (MM) |
CS | Serbia and Montenegro | 2006-09 | (.yu) | ISO 3166-2:CS | CSXX | Code taken from name in Serbian: Srbija i Crna Gora Now divided into Montenegro (ME) and Serbia (RS) |
NT | Neutral Zone | 1993-07 | — | — | NTHH | Divided between Iraq (IQ) and Saudi Arabia (SA) |
SF | Finland | 1995-09 | — | — | — | Previously used in international postal codes and vehicle registration codes to represent Finland (code was not officially assigned) Code taken from name in Finnish and Swedish combined: Suomi Finland Finland is officially assigned the alpha-2 code FI |
TP | East Timor | 2002-05 | .tp | ISO 3166-2:TP | TPTL | Code taken from previous ISO country name: Portuguese Timor, name changed to Timor-Leste (TL) |
YU | Yugoslavia | 2003-07 | .yu | ISO 3166-2:YU | YUCS | Code used for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia before 1992 and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after 1992 |
ZR | Zaire | 1997-07 | .zr | — | ZRCD | Name changed to Congo, the Democratic Republic of the (CD) |
The following alpha-2 code was previously transitionally reserved, but was later reassigned to another country as its official code:
Code | Formerly used country name | Date of reservation | ccTLD | ISO 3166-2 | ISO 3166-3 | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CS | Czechoslovakia | 1993-06 | .cs | — | CSHH | Code reassigned to Serbia and Montenegro |
For each deleted alpha-2 code, an entry for the corresponding former country name is included in ISO 3166-3. Each entry is assigned a four-letter alphabetic code, where the first two letters are the deleted alpha-2 code.
Indeterminate reservations
Indeterminately reserved code elements are codes used to designate road vehicles under the 1949 and 1968 United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic but differing from those contained in ISO 3166-1. These code elements are expected eventually to be either eliminated or replaced by code elements within ISO 3166-1. In the meantime, the ISO 3166/MA has reserved such code elements for an indeterminate period. Any use beyond the application of the two Conventions is discouraged and will not be approved by the ISO 3166/MA. Moreover, these codes may be reassigned by the ISO 3166/MA at any time. The following alpha-2 codes are currently indeterminately reserved:
Code | Area name or country name | Notes |
---|---|---|
DY | Benin | [note 1] |
EW | Estonia | [note 1] |
FL | Liechtenstein | [note 2] |
JA | Jamaica | [note 3] |
LF | Libya Fezzan | [note 2] |
PI | Philippines | [note 3] |
RA | Argentina | [note 3] |
RB | Bolivia [cf. Botswana: identical code element] | [note 2] |
RB | Botswana [cf. Bolivia: identical code element] | [note 3] |
RC | China | [note 3] |
RH | Haiti | [note 1] |
RI | Indonesia | [note 3] |
RL | Lebanon | [note 3] |
RM | Madagascar | [note 3] |
RN | Niger | [note 4] |
RP | Philippines | [note 4] |
WG | Grenada | [note 1] |
WL | Saint Lucia | [note 1] |
WV | Saint Vincent | [note 1] |
YV | Venezuela | [note 1] |
The following alpha-2 codes were previously indeterminately reserved, but have been reassigned to another country as its official code:
Code | Area name or country name | Notes | Code reassigned to |
---|---|---|---|
LT | Libya Tripoli | [note 2] | Lithuania |
ME | Western Sahara | [note 2] | Montenegro |
RU | Burundi | [note 2] | Russian Federation |
- Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Code notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 and/or 1968 Road Traffic Conventions
- ^ a b c d e f Code in use for road transport purposes, but not notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
- ^ a b c d e f g h Code under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
- ^ a b Code under 1968 Road Traffic Convention
Codes currently agreed not to use
In addition, the ISO 3166/MA will not use the following alpha-2 codes at the present stage, as they are used for international intellectual property organizations in WIPO Standard ST.3:
Code | Organization name |
---|---|
AP | African Regional Industrial Property Organization |
BX | Benelux Trademarks and Design Offices |
EF | Union of Countries under the European Community Patent Convention |
EM | European Trademark Office |
EP | European Patent Organization (Union of countries under the European Patent Convention) |
EV | Eurasian Patent Organization |
GC | Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) |
IB | International Bureau of WIPO |
OA | African Intellectual Property Organization |
WO | World Intellectual Property Organization |
WIPO Standard ST.3 actually uses EA, instead of EV, to represent the Eurasian Patent Organization. However, EA was already exceptionally reserved by the ISO 3166/MA to represent Ceuta and Melilla for customs purposes. The ISO 3166/MA proposed in 1995 that EV be used by WIPO to represent the Eurasian Patent Organization; however, this request was not honoured by WIPO.
Deleted codes
Besides the codes currently transitionally reserved and two other codes currently exceptionally reserved (FX for France, Metropolitan and SU for USSR), the following alpha-2 codes have also been deleted from ISO 3166-1:[25]
For each deleted alpha-2 code, an entry for the corresponding former country name is included in ISO 3166-3. Each entry is assigned a four-letter alphabetic code, where the first two letters are the deleted alpha-2 code.
See also
- List of FIPS country codes in FIPS 10-4, part of the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)
- The Regional Indicator Symbol in Unicode, introduced to use these codes
- ISO 639-1, a different set of two-letter codes used for languages
References
- ^ "ISO 3166 – FAQs – General questions". International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
- ^ "ISO 3166-2". ISO.
- ^ "The International Standard Recording Code". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "ISO 4217 currency names and code elements". ISO.
- ^ "ISO6166 - an outline of the standard". Association of National Numbering Agencies.
- ^ "About BIC". Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
- ^ "IBAN Registry" (PDF). Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
- ^ a b "UN/LOCODE Manual" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
- ^ "IANA – Root Zone Database". Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.
- ^ "Standard ST.3 – Recommended standard on two-letter codes for the representation of states, other entities and intergovernmental organizations" (PDF). Handbook on Industrial Property Information and Documentation. World Intellectual Property Organization. April 2007. pp. 3.3.1–3.3.9.
- ^ "Publications Office – Interinstitutional style guide – Countries". European Union.
- ^ "Commission Regulation (EC) No 2645/98 of 9 December 1998 on the nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States". Official Journal of the European Communities, L 335. European Union. 1998-12-10. pp. 22–29.
- ^ "Distinguishing signs used on vehicles in international traffic" (PDF). United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
- ^ "ISO 3166-1 decoding table". ISO.
- ^ "Country names and code elements". ISO.
- ^ a b "Codes to history: Code for formerly used names of countries completes the trilogy of country codes" (PDF). ISO Bulletin. ISO. April 2000. pp. 10–12.
- ^ a b "ISO 3166 – FAQs – Specific". ISO.
- ^ Mark Davis. "Unicode Technical Standard #35: Unicode Locale Data Markup Language (LDML)". Unicode Consortium.
- ^ "Web site - BUDGET". europa.eu.
- ^ http://www.ezv.admin.ch/pdf_linker.php?doc=Tares_Laenderverzeichnis
- ^ "Deutsche Bundesbank - Service - Die Seite wurde nicht gefunden." (PDF). bundesbank.de. 23 May 2012.
- ^ SWIFT: IBAN Registry, Release 50, September 2014
- ^ "XK country code for Kosovo". GeoNames Blog. 8 March 2010.
- ^ "Agreement between the Nordic Patent Institute and the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization" (PDF). World Intellectual Property Organization. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
- ^ Clive Feather (2003-07-25). "Country codes in ISO 3166 (Table 2: codes withdrawn from use)".
Sources and external links
- ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Country names and code elements — list of alpha-2 codes
- Reserved code elements under ISO 3166-1 "Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes", available on request from ISO 3166/MA
- The World Factbook (public domain), Central Intelligence Agency
- Appendix D – Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes — comparison of FIPS 10, ISO 3166, and STANAG 1059 country codes
- Core Datasets Project ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 English country names and code elements (HTML, CSV, JSON)
- Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids"), Statoids.com
- Country codes — comparison of ISO 3166-1 country codes with other country codes
- ISO 3166-1 Change History
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