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 territories. 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 country code top-level domains (with a few changes). They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.

1 Uses and applications
- 1.1 Perfect implementations
- 1.2 Imperfect implementations
2 Changes
3 Current codes
4 Other withdrawn codes
5 See also
6 Sources and external links

[edit] Uses and applications

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

[edit] Perfect implementations

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

ISO 3901 — International Standard Recording Code
ISO 4217 — Currency codes
ISO 6166 — International Securities Identifying Number (ISIN) system
ISO 7372 — Trade data interchange (Trade data elements directory)
ISO 9362 — SWIFT codes (Bank Identifier Codes)
ISO 9375
ISO 13616 — International Bank Account Numbers
UN/LOCODE — United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
IETF language tags

[edit] Imperfect implementations

Starting in 1985, two-letter codes have been used in the domain name system as country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Currently, 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 requested an exceptional reservation of .uk for their ccTLD instead of their native .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.

[edit] Changes

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

[edit] Current codes

[edit] Decoding table

Below is a color-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

[edit] Officially assigned code elements

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
`AD`	Andorra
`AE`	United Arab Emirates
`AF`	Afghanistan
`AG`	Antigua and Barbuda
`AI`	Anguilla	`AI` previously represented French Afar and 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`
`BL`	Saint Barthélemy
`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	Previously named "Germany, Federal Republic of" Code taken from "Deutschland", its German name
`DJ`	Djibouti	Previously named "French Afar and 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 "Sahara 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	Includes Clipperton Island
`GA`	Gabon
`GB`	United Kingdom	Code taken from "Great Britain", part of its official name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" `UK` also exceptionally reserved on request of the United Kingdom
`GD`	Grenada
`GE`	Georgia	`GE` previously represented Gilbert and Ellice Islands
`GF`	French Guiana	Code taken from "Guyane française", its French name
`GG`	Guernsey
`GH`	Ghana
`GI`	Gibraltar
`GL`	Greenland
`GM`	Gambia
`GN`	Guinea
`GP`	Guadeloupe
`GQ`	Equatorial Guinea	Code taken from "Guinée équatoriale", its French name
`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	i.e., North Korea
`KR`	Korea, Republic of	i.e., South Korea
`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
`MF`	Saint Martin (French part)
`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	Code taken from "Polynésie française", its French name
`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	Code taken from "Republic of Serbia", its official name
`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. Code taken from "Terres australes françaises", its French name
`TG`	Togo
`TH`	Thailand
`TJ`	Tajikistan
`TK`	Tokelau
`TL`	Timor-Leste	Previously named "East Timor" `TP`
`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 "Southern Rhodesia" `RH`

[edit] User-assigned code elements

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):
- XA – Ryukyu Islands, which are never recognized as Japanese territories by the Republic of China
- XB – Nevis
- XC – Tahiti
- ZZ – Other countries

[edit] Reserved code elements

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.

[edit] Exceptional reservations

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	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

[edit] Transitional reservations

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
`CS`	Serbia and Montenegro	September 2006	`CS` previously represented Czechoslovakia
`NT`	Neutral Zone	July 1993
`SF`	Finland	September 1995	Finland currently uses the code `FI`
`SU`	U.S.S.R.	September 1992	Still used as a ccTLD
`TP`	East Timor	May 2002	Still used as a ccTLD
`YU`	Yugoslavia	July 2003	Still used as a ccTLD
`ZR`	Zaire	July 1997

[edit] Indeterminate reservations

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 — Reassigned to Lithuania
`ME`	Western Sahara ² — Reassigned to Montenegro
`RU`	Burundi ² — Reassigned to Russian Federation

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 in use to refer to both Bolivia and Botswana

[edit] Codes currently agreed not to use

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.

[edit] Other withdrawn codes

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

Besides the codes currently transitionally reserved and FX (now exceptionally reserved), these alpha-2 codes have also been withdrawn since the first edition of ISO 3166 in 1974:

Alpha-2	Country name	Notes
`AI`	French Afar and Issas	`AI` has been reassigned to Anguilla
`BQ`	British Antarctic Territory
`CS`	Czechoslovakia	`CS` was reassigned to Serbia and Montenegro until its split in 2006
`CT`	Canton and Enderbury Islands
`DD`	German Democratic Republic
`DY`	Dahomey
`FQ`	French Southern and Antarctic Territories
`GE`	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	`GE` has been reassigned to 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	`SK` has been reassigned to Slovakia
`VD`	Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of
`WK`	Wake Island
`YD`	Yemen, Democratic

[edit] See also

ISO 3166
ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1 alpha-3, 3-letter country codes
ISO 3166-1 numeric, 3-digit country codes
ISO 3166-2
ISO 3166-3

[edit] Sources and external links

International Organization for Standardization (ISO): Maintenance Agency
- 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
CIA World Factbook, Appendix D – Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes (public domain)
Statoids, Country codes
- ISO 3166-1 Change History
Country codes in ISO 3166 (outdated, include withdrawn codes)el:Κωδικοί ISO των χωρών

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Categories: ISO 3166 | Country codes