ISO 3166-1 alpha-2

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ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes in the ISO 3166-1 standard to represent countries and dependent areas. They are published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as part of its ISO 3166 standard. They are the most widely used of the country codes published by ISO, and are used most prominently for the Internet country code top-level domains (with a few changes).

Contents

The codes are used in different environments and are also part of other standards. In some cases they are not perfectly implemented.

The two-letter ISO 3166-1 codes are used in:

Starting in 1985, two-letter codes have been used in the domain name system as country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Nowadays, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority assign the ccTLDs, mostly following the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, but with a few exceptions (e.g., the United Kingdom uses .uk instead of .gb).

The WIPO coding standard ST.3 uses alpha-2 codes for encoding states, other entities and intergovernmental organizations (and their Patent/Trademark Offices), but includes a number of additional codes. For these additional codes, see the section Codes currently agreed not to use.

NATO country codes are also based on ISO 3166-1 alpha-2.

Changes to ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 are tracked by ISO 3166-3.

Below is a colour-coded decoding table of all ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code elements. Click on a cell to see the corresponding entry.

Map 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 QQ 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
Color legend
  Officially assigned: code element of a country or territory
  User-assigned: code element that can be assigned by users
  Exceptionally reserved: code element reserved on request for restricted use
  Transitionally reserved: code element deleted from ISO 3166-1
  Indeterminately reserved: code element used in other coding systems associated with ISO 3166-1
  Not used at present stage: code element currently not used in ISO 3166-1
  Un-assigned: code element free for assignment by ISO 3166/MA only

Below is a complete list of the current officially assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, with three columns:

  • Alpha-2 – 2-letter country code (with link to each country's ISO 3166-2 geocodes)
  • Country name – English short country name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA)
  • Notes – Any unofficial notes
Alpha-2 Country name Notes
Andorra
AE United Arab Emirates
AF Afghanistan
AG Antigua and Barbuda
AI Anguilla AI previously represented French Territory of the Afars and the Issas
AL Albania
AM Armenia
AN Netherlands Antilles
AO Angola
AQ Antarctica Consisting of all territory south of latitude 60°S
Code taken from "Antarctique", its French name
AR Argentina
AS American Samoa
AT Austria
AU Australia
AW Aruba
AX Åland Islands
AZ Azerbaijan
BA Bosnia and Herzegovina
BB Barbados
BD Bangladesh
BE Belgium
BF Burkina Faso Previously named "Upper Volta" HV
BG Bulgaria
BH Bahrain
BI Burundi
BJ Benin Previously named "Dahomey" DY
BM Bermuda
BN Brunei Darussalam
BO Bolivia
BR Brazil
BS Bahamas
BT Bhutan
BV Bouvet Island
BW Botswana
BY Belarus Previously named "Byelorussian S.S.R."
Code taken from "Byelorussia", its former name
BZ Belize
CA Canada
CC Cocos (Keeling) Islands
CD Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Previously named "Zaire" ZR
CF Central African Republic
CG Congo
CH Switzerland Code taken from "Confoederatio Helvetica", its official Latin name
CI Côte d'Ivoire
CK Cook Islands
CL Chile
CM Cameroon
CN China
CO Colombia
CR Costa Rica
CU Cuba
CV Cape Verde
CX Christmas Island
CY Cyprus
CZ Czech Republic
DE Germany Code taken from "Deutschland", its German name
DJ Djibouti Previously named "French Territory of the Afars and the Issas" AI
DK Denmark
DM Dominica
DO Dominican Republic
DZ Algeria Code taken from "Ledzayer", its Berber name
EC Ecuador
EE Estonia Code taken from "Eesti", its Estonian name
EG Egypt
EH Western Sahara Previously named "Spanish Sahara"
Code taken from "Sáhara Español", its former Spanish name
ER Eritrea
ES Spain Includes Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla
Code taken from "España", its Spanish name
ET Ethiopia
FI Finland
FJ Fiji
FK Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
FM Micronesia, Federated States of Previously named "Micronesia"
FO Faroe Islands
FR France
GA Gabon
GB United Kingdom Code taken from "Great Britain", part of the United Kingdom
GD Grenada
GE Georgia GE previously represented Gilbert and Ellice Islands
GF French Guiana
GG Guernsey
GH Ghana
GI Gibraltar
GL Greenland
GM Gambia
GN Guinea
GP Guadeloupe
GQ Equatorial Guinea
GR Greece
GS South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
GT Guatemala
GU Guam
GW Guinea-Bissau
GY Guyana
HK Hong Kong
HM Heard Island and McDonald Islands
HN Honduras
HR Croatia Code taken from "Hrvatska", its Croatian name
HT Haiti
HU Hungary
ID Indonesia
IE Ireland
IL Israel
IM Isle of Man
IN India
IO British Indian Ocean Territory Includes Diego Garcia
IQ Iraq
IR Iran, Islamic Republic of
IS Iceland Code taken from "Ísland", its Icelandic name
IT Italy
JE Jersey
JM Jamaica
JO Jordan
JP Japan
KE Kenya
KG Kyrgyzstan
KH Cambodia Previously named "Kampuchea"
Code taken from "Kampuchea", its former name
KI Kiribati
KM Comoros Code taken from "Komori", its Comorian name
KN Saint Kitts and Nevis Previously named "Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla"
KP Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
KR Korea, Republic of
KW Kuwait
KY Cayman Islands
KZ Kazakhstan Previously named "Kazakstan"
LA Lao People's Democratic Republic
LB Lebanon
LC Saint Lucia
LI Liechtenstein
LK Sri Lanka
LR Liberia
LS Lesotho
LT Lithuania
LU Luxembourg
LV Latvia
LY Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
MA Morocco Code taken from "Maroc", its French name
MC Monaco
MD Moldova, Republic of
ME Montenegro
MG Madagascar
MH Marshall Islands
MK Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Designated as such due to naming dispute
Code taken from "Makedonija", its Macedonian name
ML Mali
MM Myanmar Previously named "Burma" BU
MN Mongolia
MO Macao Previously named "Macau"
MP Northern Mariana Islands
MQ Martinique
MR Mauritania
MS Montserrat
MT Malta
MU Mauritius
MV Maldives
MW Malawi
MX Mexico
MY Malaysia
MZ Mozambique
NA Namibia
NC New Caledonia
NE Niger
NF Norfolk Island
NG Nigeria
NI Nicaragua
NL Netherlands
NO Norway
NP Nepal
NR Nauru
NU Niue
NZ New Zealand
OM Oman
PA Panama
PE Peru
PF French Polynesia Includes Clipperton Island
PG Papua New Guinea
PH Philippines
PK Pakistan
PL Poland
PM Saint Pierre and Miquelon
PN Pitcairn
PR Puerto Rico
PS Palestinian Territory, Occupied Consisting of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
PT Portugal
PW Palau
PY Paraguay
QA Qatar
RE Réunion
RO Romania
RS Serbia
RU Russian Federation
RW Rwanda
SA Saudi Arabia
SB Solomon Islands Code taken from "British Solomon Islands", its former name
SC Seychelles
SD Sudan
SE Sweden
SG Singapore
SH Saint Helena Includes Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha
SI Slovenia
SJ Svalbard and Jan Mayen Consisting of Svalbard and Jan Mayen
SK Slovakia SK previously represented Sikkim
SL Sierra Leone
SM San Marino
SN Senegal
SO Somalia
SR Suriname
ST Sao Tome and Principe
SV El Salvador
SY Syrian Arab Republic
SZ Swaziland
TC Turks and Caicos Islands
TD Chad Code taken from "Tchad", its French name
TF French Southern Territories Covers the current jurisdiction of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands except Adélie Land
TG Togo
TH Thailand
TJ Tajikistan
TK Tokelau
TL Timor-Leste Previously used the code TP
Previously named "East Timor"
TM Turkmenistan
TN Tunisia
TO Tonga
TR Turkey
TT Trinidad and Tobago
TV Tuvalu
TW Taiwan, Province of China Covers the current jurisdiction of the Republic of China except Kinmen and Lienchiang
Designated as such due to its political status within the UN
TZ Tanzania, United Republic of
UA Ukraine Previously named "Ukrainian S.S.R."
UG Uganda
UM United States Minor Outlying Islands Consisting of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island
US United States
UY Uruguay
UZ Uzbekistan
VA Holy See (Vatican City State) Administered by the Holy See
Previously named "Vatican City State (Holy See)"
VC Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
VE Venezuela
VG Virgin Islands, British
VI Virgin Islands, U.S.
VN Viet Nam
VU Vanuatu Previously named "New Hebrides" NH
WF Wallis and Futuna
WS Samoa Code taken from "Western Samoa", its former name
YE Yemen Previously named "Yemen, Republic of"
YT Mayotte
ZA South Africa Code taken from "Zuid-Afrika", its Dutch name
ZM Zambia
ZW Zimbabwe Previously named "Rhodesia" RH

The following alpha-2 codes can be user-assigned: AA, from QM to QZ, from XA to XZ, and ZZ. These code elements are 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 them in the updating process of the standard. For example:

  • UN/LOCODE assigns XZ to Installations in International Waters.
  • The Directorate General of Customs of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of China administering Taiwan assigns four private-use codes for the statistic needs [1] [2] (external links in Chinese only):

Reserved code elements are codes which, while not ISO 3166-1 codes, are in use for some applications in conjunction with the ISO 3166 codes. The ISO 3166/MA therefore reserves them, so that they are not used for new official ISO 3166 codes, thereby creating conflicts between the standard and those applications. The alpha-2 reserved code elements list is divided into the following four categories.

Exceptionally reserved alpha-2 code elements are reserved permanently at the request of national ISO member bodies, governments and international organizations because they are needed for particular purposes. ISO 3166/MA only authorizes their use for the particular purpose for which they were established. The following alpha-2 codes are currently exceptionally reserved:

Alpha-2 Country name Notes
AC Ascension Island Reserved on request of UPU
Used as a ccTLD
CP Clipperton Island Reserved on request of ITU
DG Diego Garcia Reserved on request of ITU
EA Ceuta and Melilla Reserved on request of WCO to represent area outside EU customs territory
EU European Union Originally reserved on request of ISO 4217/MA to provide country code for Euro
Later extended for use in the ISO 6166 International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) system
Later extended by ISO 3166/MA to any application needing to represent the name European Union
Used as a ccTLD
FX France, Metropolitan Merged to form part of France FR, but continues to be reserved on request of France
IC Canary Islands Reserved on request of WCO to represent area outside EU customs territory
TA Tristan da Cunha Reserved on request of UPU
UK United Kingdom Reserved on request of the United Kingdom
Used as a ccTLD

The following three codes were also under exceptional reservation, until the update from 2006-03-29 included them in the standard as official codes:

Alpha-2 Country name Notes
GG Guernsey Reserved on request of UPU
Used as a ccTLD
IM Isle of Man Reserved on request of UPU
Used as a ccTLD
JE Jersey Reserved on request of UPU
Used as a ccTLD

A transitional reservation refers to a code which was formerly present in ISO 3166, but which since has been deleted. It will be maintained as a transitional reservation for at least five years, for the sake of users who still need to refer to the former entity or whose systems have not yet been updated to refer to the new code. The following alpha-2 codes are currently transitionally reserved:

Alpha-2 Country name Date of reservation Notes
BU Burma December 1989 Changed its name to Myanmar MM
CS Serbia and Montenegro September 2006 Previously named Yugoslavia YU
Split up into Montenegro ME and Serbia RS
CS previously represented Czechoslovakia
NT Neutral Zone July 1993 Split up into two parts, which merged to form parts of Iraq IQ and Saudi Arabia SA respectively
SF Finland September 1995 Finland uses the code FI
SU U.S.S.R. September 1992 Split up into Armenia AM, Azerbaijan AZ, Belarus BY, Estonia EE, Georgia GE, Kazakhstan KZ, Kyrgyzstan KG, Latvia LV, Lithuania LT, Republic of Moldova MD, Russian Federation RU, Tajikistan TJ, Turkmenistan TM, Ukraine UA, and Uzbekistan UZ, of which BY and UA had already existed
Still used as a ccTLD
TP East Timor May 2002 Changed its code to TL
Still used as a ccTLD
YU Yugoslavia July 2003 Changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro CS
Still used as a ccTLD
ZR Zaire July 1997 Changed its name to Democratic Republic of the Congo CD

The indeterminately reserved alpha-2 code elements are code elements used to identify vehicles under the 1949 and 1968 United Nations Road Traffic Conventions. These codes differ from those used in ISO 3166. The ISO 3166/MA hopes that these codes will eventually be phased out and that ISO 3166-1 codes will be used instead; but in the meantime they are reserved, to avoid conflicts between ISO 3166-1 and the Conventions, and to facilitate any transition from the Convention codes to ISO 3166-1 codes. However, they can be reassigned at any time by the ISO 3166/MA. The following alpha-2 codes are currently indeterminately reserved:

Alpha-2 Country
DY Benin 1
EW Estonia 1
FL Liechtenstein 2
JA Jamaica 3
LF Libya Fezzan 2
PI Philippines 3
RA Argentina 3
RB Bolivia 2,5
RB Botswana 3,5
RC China 3
RH Haiti 1
RI Indonesia 3
RL Lebanon 3
RM Madagascar 3
RN Niger 4
RP Philippines 4
WG Grenada 1
WL Saint Lucia 1
WV Saint Vincent 1
YV Venezuela 1

The following codes have been reassigned:

Alpha-2 Country
LT Libya Tripoli 2 — Has been reassigned to Lithuania
ME Western Sahara 2 — Has been reassigned to Montenegro
RU Burundi 2 — Has been reassigned to Russia

Notes:

  1. Code notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 and/or 1968 Road Traffic Conventions
  2. Code in use for road transport purposes, but not notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
  3. Code under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
  4. Code under 1968 Road Traffic Convention
  5. This code is in use to refer to both Bolivia and Botswana

In addition, the ISO 3166/MA has undertaken, for the time being, not to use the following alpha-2 codes from WIPO Standard ST.3. However, this undertaking is not classified as a transitional, indeterminate or transitional reservation, since the codes do not refer to countries, dependent areas or other geographic regions or localities:

Alpha-2 Organization
AP African Regional Intellectual 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
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 to code the Eurasian Patent Organization. However, ISO 3166/MA has stated it cannot guarantee to reserve the code EA from use, since it is already used for customs purposes to represent Ceuta and Melilla. ISO 3166/MA proposed in 1995 that EV be used by WIPO for the purpose of representing the Eurasian Patent Organization; however, this request was not honoured by WIPO.

See also: ISO 3166-3 for a full list of withdrawn codes

These codes have also been withdrawn from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 since the first edition in 1974:

Alpha-2 Country names Notes
AI French Territory of the Afars and the Issas Changed its name to Djibouti DJ
AI has since been reassigned to Anguilla
BQ British Antarctic Territory Merged to form part of Antarctica AQ
CS Czechoslovakia Split up into Czech Republic CZ and Slovakia SK
CS had been reassigned to Serbia and Montenegro until its split in 2006
CT Canton and Enderbury Islands Merged to form part of Kiribati KI
DD German Democratic Republic Merged to form part of Germany DE
DY Dahomey Changed its name to Benin BJ
FQ French Southern and Antarctic Territories Split up into Adélie Land, which merged to form part of Antarctica AQ, and French Southern Territories TF
GE Gilbert and Ellice Islands Split up into Kiribati KI and Tuvalu TV
GE has been reassigned to Georgia
HV Upper Volta Changed its name to Burkina Faso BF
JT Johnston Island Merged to form part of United States Minor Outlying Islands UM
MI Midway Islands Merged to form part of United States Minor Outlying Islands UM
NH New Hebrides Changed its name to Vanuatu VU
NQ Dronning Maud Land Merged to form part of Antarctica AQ
PC Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Split up into Federated States of Micronesia FM, Marshall Islands MH, Northern Mariana Islands MP, and Palau PW
PU U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands Consisting of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll
Merged to form part of United States Minor Outlying Islands UM
PZ Panama Canal Zone Merged to form part of Panama PA
RH Rhodesia Changed its name to Zimbabwe ZW
SK Sikkim Merged to form part of India IN
SK has been reassigned to Slovakia
VD Democratic Republic of Viet Nam Merged to form part of Viet Nam VN
WK Wake Island Merged to form part of United States Minor Outlying Islands UM
YD Democratic Yemen Merged to form part of Yemen YE

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