ISO 3166-1 alpha-2: Map

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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). They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.

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:

ISO 3166-2 — Country subdivision code
ISO 3901 — International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)
ISO 4217 — Currency code
ISO 6166 — International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN )
ISO 9362 — Bank Identifier Codes (BIC), or also known as SWIFT codes
ISO 13616 — International Bank Account Number (IBAN)
UN/LOCODE — United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

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. 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.

The European Commission

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

. This notwithstanding, the Official Journal of the European Communities specified that GB and GR be used to represent the United Kingdom and Greece 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, the codes on the oval stickers used to identify foreign road vehicles; some of these codes are currently indeterminately reserved in ISO 3166-1.

IETF language tags are also partially derived from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes.

Current codes

Decoding table

The following is a colour-coded decoding table of all ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes (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`	`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`
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
		Not used at present stage: not used in ISO 3166-1 at the present stage
		Un-assigned: free for assignment by the ISO 3166/MA only

Officially assigned code elements

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

Alpha-2 — ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
Country name — English short country name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA)
Since — Year when alpha-2 code was first officially assigned (1974 = first edition of ISO 3166)
Notes — Any unofficial notes

Alpha-2	Country name	Since	Notes
`AD`	Andorra	1974
`AE`	United Arab Emirates	1974
`AF`	Afghanistan	1974
`AG`	Antigua and Barbuda	1974
`AI`	Anguilla	1983	`AI` previously represented French Afar and Issas
`AL`	Albania	1974
`AM`	Armenia	1992
`AN`	Netherlands Antilles	1974
`AO`	Angola	1974
`AQ`	Antarctica	1974	Covers the territories south of 60° south latitude Code taken from name in French:
`AR`	Argentina	1974
`AS`	American Samoa	1974
`AT`	Austria	1974
`AU`	Australia	1974
`AW`	Aruba	1986
`AX`		2004
`AZ`	Azerbaijan	1992
`BA`	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1992
`BB`	Barbados	1974
`BD`	Bangladesh	1974
`BE`	Belgium	1974
`BF`	Burkina Faso	1984	Name changed from Upper Volta (`HV`)
`BG`	Bulgaria	1974
`BH`	Bahrain	1974
`BI`	Burundi	1974
`BJ`	Benin	1977	Name changed from Dahomey (`DY`)
`BL`	Saint Barthélemy	2007
`BM`	Bermuda	1974
`BN`	Brunei Darussalam	1974
`BO`	Bolivia, Plurinational State of	1974	Previous country name used by ISO: Bolivia
`BR`	Brazil	1974
`BS`	Bahamas	1974
`BT`	Bhutan	1974
`BV`	Bouvet Island	1974
`BW`	Botswana	1974
`BY`	Belarus	1974	Code taken from previous country name used by ISO: Byelorussian SSR
`BZ`	Belize	1974
`CA`	Canada	1974
`CC`	Cocos Islands	1974
`CD`	Congo, the Democratic Republic of the	1997	Name changed from Zaire (`ZR`)
`CF`	Central African Republic	1974
`CG`	Congo	1974
`CH`	Switzerland	1974	Code taken from name in Latin:
`CI`		1974	i.e., Ivory Coast
`CK`	Cook Islands	1974
`CL`	Chile	1974
`CM`	Cameroon	1974
`CN`	China	1974
`CO`	Colombia	1974
`CR`	Costa Rica	1974
`CU`	Cuba	1974
`CV`	Cape Verde	1974
`CX`	Christmas Island	1974
`CY`	Cyprus	1974
`CZ`	Czech Republic	1993
`DE`	Germany	1974	Code taken from name in German: Previous country name used by ISO: Germany, Federal Republic of
`DJ`	Djibouti	1977	Name changed from French Afar and Issas (`AI`)
`DK`	Denmark	1974
`DM`	Dominica	1974
`DO`	Dominican Republic	1974
`DZ`	Algeria	1974	Code taken from name in Kabyle:
`EC`	Ecuador	1974
`EE`	Estonia	1992	Code taken from name in Estonian:
`EG`	Egypt	1974
`EH`	Western Sahara	1974	Disputed territory Previous country name used by ISO: Spanish Sahara (code taken from name in Spanish: )
`ER`	Eritrea	1993
`ES`	Spain	1974	Code taken from name in Spanish:
`ET`	Ethiopia	1974
`FI`	Finland	1974
`FJ`	Fiji	1974
`FK`	Falkland Islands	1974
`FM`	Micronesia, Federated States of	1986	Previous country name used by ISO: Micronesia
`FO`	Faroe Islands	1974
`FR`	France	1974	Includes Clipperton Island
`GA`	Gabon	1974
`GB`	United Kingdom	1974	Code taken from official name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland `UK` also exceptionally reserved on request of the United Kingdom
`GD`	Grenada	1974
`GE`	Georgia	1992	`GE` previously represented Gilbert and Ellice Islands
`GF`	French Guiana	1974	Code taken from name in French:
`GG`	Guernsey	2006
`GH`	Ghana	1974
`GI`	Gibraltar	1974
`GL`	Greenland	1974
`GM`	Gambia	1974
`GN`	Guinea	1974
`GP`	Guadeloupe	1974
`GQ`	Equatorial Guinea	1974	Code taken from name in French:
`GR`	Greece	1974
`GS`	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	1993
`GT`	Guatemala	1974
`GU`	Guam	1974
`GW`	Guinea-Bissau	1974
`GY`	Guyana	1974
`HK`	Hong Kong	1974
`HM`	Heard Island and McDonald Islands	1974
`HN`	Honduras	1974
`HR`	Croatia	1992	Code taken from name in Croatian:
`HT`	Haiti	1974
`HU`	Hungary	1974
`ID`	Indonesia	1974
`IE`	Ireland	1974
`IL`	Israel	1974
`IM`	Isle of Man	2006
`IN`	India	1974
`IO`	British Indian Ocean Territory	1974
`IQ`	Iraq	1974
`IR`	Iran, Islamic Republic of	1974
`IS`	Iceland	1974	Code taken from name in Icelandic:
`IT`	Italy	1974
`JE`	Jersey	2006
`JM`	Jamaica	1974
`JO`	Jordan	1974
`JP`	Japan	1974
`KE`	Kenya	1974
`KG`	Kyrgyzstan	1992
`KH`	Cambodia	1974	Code taken from former name: Khmer Republic Previous country name used by ISO: Kampuchea
`KI`	Kiribati	1979
`KM`	Comoros	1974	Code taken from name in Comorian:
`KN`	Saint Kitts and Nevis	1974	Previous country name used by ISO: Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla
`KP`	Korea, Democratic People's Republic of	1974	i.e., North Korea
`KR`	Korea, Republic of	1974	i.e., South Korea
`KW`	Kuwait	1974
`KY`	Cayman Islands	1974
`KZ`	Kazakhstan	1992	Previous country name used by ISO: Kazakstan
`LA`	Lao People's Democratic Republic	1974
`LB`	Lebanon	1974
`LC`	Saint Lucia	1974
`LI`	Liechtenstein	1974
`LK`	Sri Lanka	1974
`LR`	Liberia	1974
`LS`	Lesotho	1974
`LT`	Lithuania	1992
`LU`	Luxembourg	1974
`LV`	Latvia	1992
`LY`	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	1974
`MA`	Morocco	1974	Code taken from name in French:
`MC`	Monaco	1974
`MD`	Moldova, Republic of	1992	Previous country name used by ISO: Moldova
`ME`	Montenegro	2006
`MF`	Saint Martin	2007
`MG`	Madagascar	1974
`MH`	Marshall Islands	1986
`MK`	Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of	1993	Designated as such due to the Macedonia naming dispute Code taken from name in Macedonian:
`ML`	Mali	1974
`MM`	Myanmar	1989	Name changed from Burma (`BU`)
`MN`	Mongolia	1974
`MO`	Macao	1974	Previous country name used by ISO: Macau
`MP`	Northern Mariana Islands	1986
`MQ`	Martinique	1974
`MR`	Mauritania	1974
`MS`	Montserrat	1974
`MT`	Malta	1974
`MU`	Mauritius	1974
`MV`	Maldives	1974
`MW`	Malawi	1974
`MX`	Mexico	1974
`MY`	Malaysia	1974
`MZ`	Mozambique	1974
`NA`	Namibia	1974
`NC`	New Caledonia	1974
`NE`	Niger	1974
`NF`	Norfolk Island	1974
`NG`	Nigeria	1974
`NI`	Nicaragua	1974
`NL`	Netherlands	1974
`NO`	Norway	1974
`NP`	Nepal	1974
`NR`	Nauru	1974
`NU`	Niue	1974
`NZ`	New Zealand	1974
`OM`	Oman	1974
`PA`	Panama	1974
`PE`	Peru	1974
`PF`	French Polynesia	1974	Code taken from name in French:
`PG`	Papua New Guinea	1974
`PH`	Philippines	1974
`PK`	Pakistan	1974
`PL`	Poland	1974
`PM`	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	1974
`PN`	Pitcairn	1974
`PR`	Puerto Rico	1974
`PS`	Palestinian Territory, Occupied	1999	Consists of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
`PT`	Portugal	1974
`PW`	Palau	1986
`PY`	Paraguay	1974
`QA`	Qatar	1974
`RE`		1974
`RO`	Romania	1974
`RS`	Serbia	2006	Code taken from official name: Republic of Serbia (see Serbian country codes)
`RU`	Russian Federation	1992
`RW`	Rwanda	1974
`SA`	Saudi Arabia	1974
`SB`	Solomon Islands	1974	Code taken from former name: British Solomon Islands
`SC`	Seychelles	1974
`SD`	Sudan	1974
`SE`	Sweden	1974
`SG`	Singapore	1974
`SH`	Saint Helena	1974	Consisting of Saint Helena, Ascension Island , and Tristan da Cunha
`SI`	Slovenia	1992
`SJ`	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	1974	Consists of Svalbard and Jan Mayen
`SK`	Slovakia	1993	`SK` previously represented Sikkim
`SL`	Sierra Leone	1974
`SM`	San Marino	1974
`SN`	Senegal	1974
`SO`	Somalia	1974
`SR`	Suriname	1974
`ST`	Sao Tome and Principe	1974
`SV`	El Salvador	1974
`SY`	Syrian Arab Republic	1974
`SZ`	Swaziland	1974
`TC`	Turks and Caicos Islands	1974
`TD`	Chad	1974	Code taken from name in French:
`TF`	French Southern Territories	1979	Covers the territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands except Adélie Land Code taken from name in French:
`TG`	Togo	1974
`TH`	Thailand	1974
`TJ`	Tajikistan	1992
`TK`	Tokelau	1974
`TL`	Timor-Leste	2002	Name changed from East Timor (`TP`)
`TM`	Turkmenistan	1992
`TN`	Tunisia	1974
`TO`	Tonga	1974
`TR`	Turkey	1974
`TT`	Trinidad and Tobago	1974
`TV`	Tuvalu	1979
`TW`	Taiwan, Province of China	1974	Covers the 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	1974
`UA`	Ukraine	1974	Previous country name used by ISO: Ukrainian SSR
`UG`	Uganda	1974
`UM`	United States Minor Outlying Islands	1986	Consists of Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , Midway Islands , Navassa Island , Palmyra Atoll , and Wake Island
`US`	United States	1974
`UY`	Uruguay	1974
`UZ`	Uzbekistan	1992
`VA`	Holy See	1974	Territory of the Holy See Previous country name used by ISO: Vatican City State (Holy See)
`VC`	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1974
`VE`	Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of	1974	Previous country name used by ISO: Venezuela
`VG`	Virgin Islands, British	1974
`VI`	Virgin Islands, U.S.	1974
`VN`	Viet Nam	1974
`VU`	Vanuatu	1980	Name changed from New Hebrides (`NH`)
`WF`	Wallis and Futuna	1974
`WS`	Samoa	1974	Code taken from former name: Western Samoa
`YE`	Yemen	1974	Previous country name used by ISO: Yemen, Republic of
`YT`	Mayotte	1993
`ZA`	South Africa	1974	Code taken from name in Dutch:
`ZM`	Zambia	1974
`ZW`	Zimbabwe	1980	Name changed from Southern Rhodesia (`RH`)

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.
ISO 4217 uses codes starting with X for non-country-specific currencies, such as XCD for the East Caribbean dollar.
The Unicode Common Locale Data Repository assigns QO to represent Outlying Oceania (a multi-territory region containing Antarctica , Bouvet Island , the Cocos 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".

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:

Alpha-2	Area name or country name	Notes
`AC`	Ascension Island	Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area Currently used for the ccTLD .ac
`CP`	Clipperton Island	Reserved on request of ITU for location of certain telecommunications installations
`DG`	Diego Garcia	Reserved on request of ITU for location of certain telecommunications installations
`EA`	Ceuta , Melilla	Reserved on request of WCO for area not covered by European Union Customs arrangements Code taken from former name of territory in Spanish:
`EU`	European Union	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 Currently used for the ccTLD .eu
`FX`	France, Metropolitan	Reserved on request of France Previously officially assigned
`IC`	Canary Islands	Reserved on request of WCO for area not covered by European Union Customs arrangements
`SU`	USSR	Exceptionally reserved from June 2008 Previously officially assigned, then transitionally reserved from September 1992 Currently used for the ccTLD .su
`TA`	Tristan da Cunha	Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area
`UK`	United Kingdom	Reserved on request of the United Kingdom lest `UK` be used for any other country Currently used for the ccTLD .uk, and by the European Commission United Kingdom is officially assigned the alpha-2 code `GB`

The following alpha-2 codes were previously exceptionally reserved, but are now officially assigned:

Alpha-2	Area name or country name	Notes
`AX`	Åland	Reserved on request of Finland Officially assigned since 2004
`GG`	Guernsey	Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area Used for the ccTLD .gg when reserved Officially assigned since 2006
`IM`	Isle of Man	Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area Used for the ccTLD .im when reserved Officially assigned since 2006
`JE`	Jersey	Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area Used for the ccTLD .je when reserved Officially assigned since 2006

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:

Alpha-2	Formerly used country name	Date of reservation
`BU`	Burma	1989-12
`CS`	Serbia and Montenegro	2006-09
`NT`	Neutral Zone	1993-07
`SF`	Finland	1995-09
`TP`	East Timor	2002-05
`YU`	Yugoslavia	2003-07
`ZR`	Zaire	1997-07

The code SF was actually not an official code, as Finland is officially assigned the alpha-2 code FI. It was previously used in international postal codes and vehicle registration codes to represent Finland, and was taken from the country name in Finnish and Swedish combined: .

The following alpha-2 code was previously transitionally reserved, but was later reassigned to another country as its official code:

Alpha-2	Formerly used country name	Date of reservation	Code reassigned to
`CS`	Czechoslovakia	1993-06	Serbia and Montenegro (2003)

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:

Alpha-2	Area name or country name	Notes
`DY`	Benin
`EW`	Estonia
`FL`	Liechtenstein
`JA`	Jamaica
`LF`	Libya Fezzan
`PI`	Philippines
`RA`	Argentina
`RB`	Bolivia [cf. Botswana: identical code element]
`RB`	Botswana [cf. Bolivia: identical code element]
`RC`	China
`RH`	Haiti
`RI`	Indonesia
`RL`	Lebanon
`RM`	Madagascar
`RN`	Niger
`RP`	Philippines
`WG`	Grenada
`WL`	Saint Lucia
`WV`	Saint Vincent
`YV`	Venezuela

The following alpha-2 codes were previously indeterminately reserved, but have been reassigned to another country as its official code:

Alpha-2	Area name or country name	Code reassigned to
`LT`	Libya Tripoli	Lithuania (1992)
`ME`	Western Sahara	Montenegro (2006)
`RU`	Burundi	Russian Federation (1992)

Notes

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:

Alpha-2	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
`EV`	Eurasian Patent Organization
`GC`	Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
`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:

Alpha-2	Former country name	Code later reassigned to
`AI`	French Afar and Issas	Anguilla
`BQ`	British Antarctic Territory
`CT`	Canton and Enderbury Islands
`DD`	German Democratic Republic
`DY`	Dahomey
`FQ`	French Southern and Antarctic Territories
`GE`	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	Georgia
`HV`	Upper Volta
`JT`	Johnston Island
`MI`	Midway Islands
`NH`	New Hebrides
`NQ`	Dronning Maud Land
`PC`	Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the
`PU`	U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands
`PZ`	Panama Canal Zone
`RH`	Southern Rhodesia
`SK`	Sikkim	Slovakia
`VD`	Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of
`WK`	Wake Island
`YD`	Yemen, Democratic

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.

References

Code notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 and/or 1968 Road Traffic Conventions
Code in use for road transport purposes, but not notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
Code under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
Code under 1968 Road Traffic Convention

Sources and external links

ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Official ISO list of countries and the corresponding ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code elements
  - Text file
  - XML zipped file
- Official ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 decoding table
Appendix D – Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes, from The World Factbook (public domain), Central Intelligence Agency
Country codes, Statoids.com
- ISO 3166-1 Change History
Country codes in ISO 3166 (last modified: 2003-07-25)

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