ISO 3166-1 facts for kids
ISO 3166-1, is part of the ISO 3166 standard. It gives a code for the names of countries and dependent territories, and is published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes. There are three sets of country codes:
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, a two-letter system, used in many applications, for example internet country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-3, uses three letters, and makes it easier to work out the country name and code.
- ISO 3166-1 numeric, uses three digits. Using numbers is useful in countries that do not use the Latin alphabet. This is identical to codes defined by the United Nations Statistics Division.
ISO 3166-1 is not the only standard for country codes. Many international organizations use their own country codes, where some of them closely correspond to the ISO 3166-1 codes. For examples, see country codes.
Contents
Rules for inclusion
Currently, 244 countries and territories have official ISO 3166-1 codes. The only way to enter a new country name into ISO 3166-1 is to have it registered in one of the following two sources:
- United Nations Terminology Bulletin Country Names, or
To be listed in the bulletin Country Names, a country or territory must be any of the following:
- a member country of the United Nations,
- a member of one of its specialized agencies, or
- a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
Once a country name or territory name appears in either of these two sources, it will be added to ISO 3166-1 by default.
Officially assigned code elements
The following is a complete ISO 3166-1 encoding code list in alphabetical order by the English short country names officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA), which uses country names from United Nations sources. The table includes officially assigned codes only.
| Official country names used by the ISO 3166/MA | Numeric | Alpha-3 | Alpha-2 | Local ISO codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan |
004 | AFG | AF | ISO 3166-2:AF |
 Åland Islands |
248 | ALA | AX | ISO 3166-2:AX |
 Albania |
008 | ALB | AL | ISO 3166-2:AL |
 Algeria |
012 | DZA | DZ | ISO 3166-2:DZ |
 American Samoa |
016 | ASM | AS | ISO 3166-2:AS |
 Andorra |
020 | AND | AD | ISO 3166-2:AD |
 Angola |
024 | AGO | AO | ISO 3166-2:AO |
 Anguilla |
660 | AIA | AI | ISO 3166-2:AI |
 Antarctica |
010 | ATA | AQ | ISO 3166-2:AQ |
 Antigua and Barbuda |
028 | ATG | AG | ISO 3166-2:AG |
 Argentina |
032 | ARG | AR | ISO 3166-2:AR |
 Armenia |
051 | ARM | AM | ISO 3166-2:AM |
 Aruba |
533 | ABW | AW | ISO 3166-2:AW |
 Australia |
036 | AUS | AU | ISO 3166-2:AU |
 Austria |
040 | AUT | AT | ISO 3166-2:AT |
 Azerbaijan |
031 | AZE | AZ | ISO 3166-2:AZ |
 Bahamas |
044 | BHS | BS | ISO 3166-2:BS |
 Bahrain |
048 | BHR | BH | ISO 3166-2:BH |
 Bangladesh |
050 | BGD | BD | ISO 3166-2:BD |
 Barbados |
052 | BRB | BB | ISO 3166-2:BB |
 Belarus |
112 | BLR | BY | ISO 3166-2:BY |
 Belgium |
056 | BEL | BE | ISO 3166-2:BE |
 Belize |
084 | BLZ | BZ | ISO 3166-2:BZ |
 Benin |
204 | BEN | BJ | ISO 3166-2:BJ |
 Bermuda |
060 | BMU | BM | ISO 3166-2:BM |
 Bhutan |
064 | BTN | BT | ISO 3166-2:BT |
 Bolivia |
068 | BOL | BO | ISO 3166-2:BO |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina |
070 | BIH | BA | ISO 3166-2:BA |
 Botswana |
072 | BWA | BW | ISO 3166-2:BW |
 Bouvet Island |
074 | BVT | BV | ISO 3166-2:BV |
 Brazil |
076 | BRA | BR | ISO 3166-2:BR |
 British Indian Ocean Territory |
086 | IOT | IO | ISO 3166-2:IO |
 Brunei Darussalam |
096 | BRN | BN | ISO 3166-2:BN |
 Bulgaria |
100 | BGR | BG | ISO 3166-2:BG |
 Burkina Faso |
854 | BFA | BF | ISO 3166-2:BF |
 Burundi |
108 | BDI | BI | ISO 3166-2:BI |
 Cambodia |
116 | KHM | KH | ISO 3166-2:KH |
 Cameroon |
120 | CMR | CM | ISO 3166-2:CM |
 Canada |
124 | CAN | CA | ISO 3166-2:CA |
 Cape Verde |
132 | CPV | CV | ISO 3166-2:CV |
 Cayman Islands |
136 | CYM | KY | ISO 3166-2:KY |
 Central African Republic |
140 | CAF | CF | ISO 3166-2:CF |
 Chad |
148 | TCD | TD | ISO 3166-2:TD |
 Chile |
152 | CHL | CL | ISO 3166-2:CL |
 China |
156 | CHN | CN | ISO 3166-2:CN |
 Christmas Island |
162 | CXR | CX | ISO 3166-2:CX |
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
166 | CCK | CC | ISO 3166-2:CC |
 Colombia |
170 | COL | CO | ISO 3166-2:CO |
 Comoros |
174 | COM | KM | ISO 3166-2:KM |
 Congo |
178 | COG | CG | ISO 3166-2:CG |
 Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
180 | COD | CD | ISO 3166-2:CD |
 Cook Islands |
184 | COK | CK | ISO 3166-2:CK |
 Costa Rica |
188 | CRI | CR | ISO 3166-2:CR |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
384 | CIV | CI | ISO 3166-2:CI |
 Croatia |
191 | HRV | HR | ISO 3166-2:HR |
 Cuba |
192 | CUB | CU | ISO 3166-2:CU |
 Cyprus |
196 | CYP | CY | ISO 3166-2:CY |
 Czech Republic |
203 | CZE | CZ | ISO 3166-2:CZ |
 Denmark |
208 | DNK | DK | ISO 3166-2:DK |
 Djibouti |
262 | DJI | DJ | ISO 3166-2:DJ |
 Dominica |
212 | DMA | DM | ISO 3166-2:DM |
 Dominican Republic |
214 | DOM | DO | ISO 3166-2:DO |
 Ecuador |
218 | ECU | EC | ISO 3166-2:EC |
 Egypt |
818 | EGY | EG | ISO 3166-2:EG |
 El Salvador |
222 | SLV | SV | ISO 3166-2:SV |
 Equatorial Guinea |
226 | GNQ | GQ | ISO 3166-2:GQ |
 Eritrea |
232 | ERI | ER | ISO 3166-2:ER |
 Estonia |
233 | EST | EE | ISO 3166-2:EE |
 Ethiopia |
231 | ETH | ET | ISO 3166-2:ET |
 Falkland Islands (Malvinas) |
238 | FLK | FK | ISO 3166-2:FK |
 Faroe Islands |
234 | FRO | FO | ISO 3166-2:FO |
 Fiji |
242 | FJI | FJ | ISO 3166-2:FJ |
 Finland |
246 | FIN | FI | ISO 3166-2:FI |
 France |
250 | FRA | FR | ISO 3166-2:FR |
| French Guiana |
254 | GUF | GF | ISO 3166-2:GF |
 French Polynesia |
258 | PYF | PF | ISO 3166-2:PF |
 French Southern Territories |
260 | ATF | TF | ISO 3166-2:TF |
 Gabon |
266 | GAB | GA | ISO 3166-2:GA |
 Gambia |
270 | GMB | GM | ISO 3166-2:GM |
 Georgia |
268 | GEO | GE | ISO 3166-2:GE |
 Germany |
276 | DEU | DE | ISO 3166-2:DE |
 Ghana |
288 | GHA | GH | ISO 3166-2:GH |
 Gibraltar |
292 | GIB | GI | ISO 3166-2:GI |
 Greece |
300 | GRC | GR | ISO 3166-2:GR |
 Greenland |
304 | GRL | GL | ISO 3166-2:GL |
 Grenada |
308 | GRD | GD | ISO 3166-2:GD |
| Guadeloupe |
312 | GLP | GP | ISO 3166-2:GP |
 Guam |
316 | GUM | GU | ISO 3166-2:GU |
 Guatemala |
320 | GTM | GT | ISO 3166-2:GT |
 Guernsey |
831 | GGY | GG | ISO 3166-2:GG |
 Guinea |
324 | GIN | GN | ISO 3166-2:GN |
 Guinea-Bissau |
624 | GNB | GW | ISO 3166-2:GW |
 Guyana |
328 | GUY | GY | ISO 3166-2:GY |
 Haiti |
332 | HTI | HT | ISO 3166-2:HT |
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands |
334 | HMD | HM | ISO 3166-2:HM |
 Holy See (Vatican City State) |
336 | VAT | VA | ISO 3166-2:VA |
 Honduras |
340 | HND | HN | ISO 3166-2:HN |
 Hong Kong |
344 | HKG | HK | ISO 3166-2:HK |
 Hungary |
348 | HUN | HU | ISO 3166-2:HU |
 Iceland |
352 | ISL | IS | ISO 3166-2:IS |
 India |
356 | IND | IN | ISO 3166-2:IN |
 Indonesia |
360 | IDN | ID | ISO 3166-2:ID |
 Iran, Islamic Republic of |
364 | IRN | IR | ISO 3166-2:IR |
 Iraq |
368 | IRQ | IQ | ISO 3166-2:IQ |
 Ireland |
372 | IRL | IE | ISO 3166-2:IE |
 Isle of Man |
833 | IMN | IM | ISO 3166-2:IM |
 Israel |
376 | ISR | IL | ISO 3166-2:IL |
 Italy |
380 | ITA | IT | ISO 3166-2:IT |
 Jamaica |
388 | JAM | JM | ISO 3166-2:JM |
 Japan |
392 | JPN | JP | ISO 3166-2:JP |
 Jersey |
832 | JEY | JE | ISO 3166-2:JE |
 Jordan |
400 | JOR | JO | ISO 3166-2:JO |
 Kazakhstan |
398 | KAZ | KZ | ISO 3166-2:KZ |
 Kenya |
404 | KEN | KE | ISO 3166-2:KE |
 Kiribati |
296 | KIR | KI | ISO 3166-2:KI |
 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of |
408 | PRK | KP | ISO 3166-2:KP |
 Korea, Republic of |
410 | KOR | KR | ISO 3166-2:KR |
 Kuwait |
414 | KWT | KW | ISO 3166-2:KW |
 Kyrgyzstan |
417 | KGZ | KG | ISO 3166-2:KG |
 Lao People's Democratic Republic |
418 | LAO | LA | ISO 3166-2:LA |
 Latvia |
428 | LVA | LV | ISO 3166-2:LV |
 Lebanon |
422 | LBN | LB | ISO 3166-2:LB |
 Lesotho |
426 | LSO | LS | ISO 3166-2:LS |
 Liberia |
430 | LBR | LR | ISO 3166-2:LR |
 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
434 | LBY | LY | ISO 3166-2:LY |
 Liechtenstein |
438 | LIE | LI | ISO 3166-2:LI |
 Lithuania |
440 | LTU | LT | ISO 3166-2:LT |
 Luxembourg |
442 | LUX | LU | ISO 3166-2:LU |
 Macao |
446 | MAC | MO | ISO 3166-2:MO |
 Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of |
807 | MKD | MK | ISO 3166-2:MK |
 Madagascar |
450 | MDG | MG | ISO 3166-2:MG |
 Malawi |
454 | MWI | MW | ISO 3166-2:MW |
 Malaysia |
458 | MYS | MY | ISO 3166-2:MY |
 Maldives |
462 | MDV | MV | ISO 3166-2:MV |
 Mali |
466 | MLI | ML | ISO 3166-2:ML |
 Malta |
470 | MLT | MT | ISO 3166-2:MT |
 Marshall Islands |
584 | MHL | MH | ISO 3166-2:MH |
 Martinique |
474 | MTQ | MQ | ISO 3166-2:MQ |
 Mauritania |
478 | MRT | MR | ISO 3166-2:MR |
 Mauritius |
480 | MUS | MU | ISO 3166-2:MU |
| Mayotte |
175 | MYT | YT | ISO 3166-2:YT |
 Mexico |
484 | MEX | MX | ISO 3166-2:MX |
 Micronesia, Federated States of |
583 | FSM | FM | ISO 3166-2:FM |
 Moldova, Republic of |
498 | MDA | MD | ISO 3166-2:MD |
 Monaco |
492 | MCO | MC | ISO 3166-2:MC |
 Mongolia |
496 | MNG | MN | ISO 3166-2:MN |
 Montenegro |
499 | MNE | ME | ISO 3166-2:ME |
 Montserrat |
500 | MSR | MS | ISO 3166-2:MS |
 Morocco |
504 | MAR | MA | ISO 3166-2:MA |
 Mozambique |
508 | MOZ | MZ | ISO 3166-2:MZ |
 Myanmar |
104 | MMR | MM | ISO 3166-2:MM |
 Namibia |
516 | NAM | NA | ISO 3166-2:NA |
 Nauru |
520 | NRU | NR | ISO 3166-2:NR |
 Nepal |
524 | NPL | NP | ISO 3166-2:NP |
 Netherlands |
528 | NLD | NL | ISO 3166-2:NL |
 Netherlands Antilles |
530 | ANT | AN | ISO 3166-2:AN |
 New Caledonia |
540 | NCL | NC | ISO 3166-2:NC |
 New Zealand |
554 | NZL | NZ | ISO 3166-2:NZ |
 Nicaragua |
558 | NIC | NI | ISO 3166-2:NI |
 Niger |
562 | NER | NE | ISO 3166-2:NE |
 Nigeria |
566 | NGA | NG | ISO 3166-2:NG |
 Niue |
570 | NIU | NU | ISO 3166-2:NU |
 Norfolk Island |
574 | NFK | NF | ISO 3166-2:NF |
 Northern Mariana Islands |
580 | MNP | MP | ISO 3166-2:MP |
 Norway |
578 | NOR | NO | ISO 3166-2:NO |
 Oman |
512 | OMN | OM | ISO 3166-2:OM |
 Pakistan |
586 | PAK | PK | ISO 3166-2:PK |
 Palau |
585 | PLW | PW | ISO 3166-2:PW |
 Palestine, State Of |
275 | PSE | PS | ISO 3166-2:PS |
 Panama |
591 | PAN | PA | ISO 3166-2:PA |
 Papua New Guinea |
598 | PNG | PG | ISO 3166-2:PG |
 Paraguay |
600 | PRY | PY | ISO 3166-2:PY |
 Peru |
604 | PER | PE | ISO 3166-2:PE |
 Philippines |
608 | PHL | PH | ISO 3166-2:PH |
 Pitcairn |
612 | PCN | PN | ISO 3166-2:PN |
 Poland |
616 | POL | PL | ISO 3166-2:PL |
 Portugal |
620 | PRT | PT | ISO 3166-2:PT |
 Puerto Rico |
630 | PRI | PR | ISO 3166-2:PR |
 Qatar |
634 | QAT | QA | ISO 3166-2:QA |
| Réunion |
638 | REU | RE | ISO 3166-2:RE |
 Romania |
642 | ROU | RO | ISO 3166-2:RO |
 Russian Federation |
643 | RUS | RU | ISO 3166-2:RU |
 Rwanda |
646 | RWA | RW | ISO 3166-2:RW |
 Saint Helena |
654 | SHN | SH | ISO 3166-2:SH |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis |
659 | KNA | KN | ISO 3166-2:KN |
 Saint Lucia |
662 | LCA | LC | ISO 3166-2:LC |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
666 | SPM | PM | ISO 3166-2:PM |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
670 | VCT | VC | ISO 3166-2:VC |
 Samoa |
882 | WSM | WS | ISO 3166-2:WS |
 San Marino |
674 | SMR | SM | ISO 3166-2:SM |
 São Tomé and Príncipe |
678 | STP | ST | ISO 3166-2:ST |
 Saudi Arabia |
682 | SAU | SA | ISO 3166-2:SA |
 Senegal |
686 | SEN | SN | ISO 3166-2:SN |
 Serbia |
688 | SRB | RS | ISO 3166-2:RS |
 Seychelles |
690 | SYC | SC | ISO 3166-2:SC |
 Sierra Leone |
694 | SLE | SL | ISO 3166-2:SL |
 Singapore |
702 | SGP | SG | ISO 3166-2:SG |
 Slovakia |
703 | SVK | SK | ISO 3166-2:SK |
 Slovenia |
705 | SVN | SI | ISO 3166-2:SI |
 Solomon Islands |
090 | SLB | SB | ISO 3166-2:SB |
 Somalia |
706 | SOM | SO | ISO 3166-2:SO |
 South Africa |
710 | ZAF | ZA | ISO 3166-2:ZA |
 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
239 | SGS | GS | ISO 3166-2:GS |
 Spain |
724 | ESP | ES | ISO 3166-2:ES |
 Sri Lanka |
144 | LKA | LK | ISO 3166-2:LK |
 Sudan |
736 | SDN | SD | ISO 3166-2:SD |
 Suriname |
740 | SUR | SR | ISO 3166-2:SR |
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen |
744 | SJM | SJ | ISO 3166-2:SJ |
 Swaziland |
748 | SWZ | SZ | ISO 3166-2:SZ |
 Sweden |
752 | SWE | SE | ISO 3166-2:SE |
 Switzerland |
756 | CHE | CH | ISO 3166-2:CH |
 Syrian Arab Republic |
760 | SYR | SY | ISO 3166-2:SY |
 Taiwan, Province of ChinaTaiwan, Province of China |
158 | TWN | TW | ISO 3166-2:TW |
 Tajikistan |
762 | TJK | TJ | ISO 3166-2:TJ |
 Tanzania, United Republic of |
834 | TZA | TZ | ISO 3166-2:TZ |
 Thailand |
764 | THA | TH | ISO 3166-2:TH |
 Timor-Leste |
626 | TLS | TL | ISO 3166-2:TL |
 Togo |
768 | TGO | TG | ISO 3166-2:TG |
 Tokelau |
772 | TKL | TK | ISO 3166-2:TK |
 Tonga |
776 | TON | TO | ISO 3166-2:TO |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
780 | TTO | TT | ISO 3166-2:TT |
 Tunisia |
788 | TUN | TN | ISO 3166-2:TN |
 Turkey |
792 | TUR | TR | ISO 3166-2:TR |
 Turkmenistan |
795 | TKM | TM | ISO 3166-2:TM |
 Turks and Caicos Islands |
796 | TCA | TC | ISO 3166-2:TC |
 Tuvalu |
798 | TUV | TV | ISO 3166-2:TV |
 Uganda |
800 | UGA | UG | ISO 3166-2:UG |
 Ukraine |
804 | UKR | UA | ISO 3166-2:UA |
 United Arab Emirates |
784 | ARE | AE | ISO 3166-2:AE |
 United Kingdom |
826 | GBR | GB | ISO 3166-2:GB |
 United States |
840 | USA | US | ISO 3166-2:US |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands |
581 | UMI | UM | ISO 3166-2:UM |
 Uruguay |
858 | URY | UY | ISO 3166-2:UY |
 Uzbekistan |
860 | UZB | UZ | ISO 3166-2:UZ |
 Vanuatu |
548 | VUT | VU | ISO 3166-2:VU |
 Venezuela |
862 | VEN | VE | ISO 3166-2:VE |
 Viet Nam |
704 | VNM | VN | ISO 3166-2:VN |
 Virgin Islands, British |
092 | VGB | VG | ISO 3166-2:VG |
 Virgin Islands, U.S. |
850 | VIR | VI | ISO 3166-2:VI |
| Wallis and Futuna |
876 | WLF | WF | ISO 3166-2:WF |
 Western Sahara |
732 | ESH | EH | ISO 3166-2:EH |
 Yemen |
887 | YEM | YE | ISO 3166-2:YE |
 Zambia |
894 | ZMB | ZM | ISO 3166-2:ZM |
 Zimbabwe |
716 | ZWE | ZW | ISO 3166-2:ZW |
Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin were detached from Guadeloupe and became overseas collectivities of France on February 21, 2007. The ISO has yet to release the official codes for the new collectivities.
Reserved and user-assigned code elements
Besides the officially assigned codes, code elements may be expanded by using either reserved codes or user-assigned codes.
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. They are reserved to add flexibility to the coding system. Usually, obsolete codes may be kept as reserved, while some overseas territories, international organizations, and special nationality status have reserved codes of their own. See the corresponding sections in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 for their respective reserved codes (ISO 3166-1 numeric does not have reserved codes).
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 them in the updating process of the standard. See the corresponding sections in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 and ISO 3166-1 numeric for their respective user-assigned codes.
Changes
A country or territory may get new codes if it changes its name or its territorial boundaries. A country generally gets new alphabetical codes if its name changes, whereas a new numeric code is associated with a change of boundaries. Changes to ISO 3166-1 are announced in periodic newsletters, of which 12 have been released since the first edition of ISO 3166-1 was published in 1997:
- Newsletter V-1 – Published 1998-02-05: change of official name of Samoa
- Newsletter V-2 – Published 1999-10-01: new entries for Palestinian Territory, Occupied
- Newsletter V-3 – Published 2002-02-01: change of alpha-3 code element for Romania
- Newsletter V-4 – Published 2002-05-20: name changes for various countries
- Newsletter V-5 – Published 2002-05-20: change of names and alphabetical code elements for East Timor
- Newsletter V-6 – Published 2002-11-15: change of names for East Timor (to Timor-Leste)
- Newsletter V-7 – Published 2002-11-15: change of official name of Comoros
- Newsletter V-8 – Published 2003-07-23: deletion of Yugoslavia, new entry for Serbia and Montenegro
- Newsletter V-9 – Published 2004-02-13: new entry for Åland Islands
- Newsletter V-10 – Published 2004-04-26: name changes for Afghanistan and Åland Islands
- Newsletter V-11 – Published 2006-03-29: new entries for Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey
- Newsletter V-12 – Published 2006-09-26: deletion of Serbia and Montenegro, new entries for Montenegro and Serbia
The second edition of ISO 3166-1 was published in 2007, which comprises a consolidation of all changes to the lists as published in the newsletters above.
Other pages
- ISO 3166-2
- ISO 3166-3
- List of IOC country codes, slightly different codes from ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes, used by the International Olympic Committee
- List of FIFA country codes, slightly different codes from ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes, used by FIFA
- Comparison of IOC, FIFA, and ISO 3166 country codes
- Federal Information Processing Standard
See also
In Spanish: ISO 3166-1 para niños
