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ISO 3166-1 alpha-3

{{short description|Three-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1}}

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes are three-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 allow a better visual association between the codes and the country names than the two-letter alpha-2 codes (the third set of codes is numeric and hence offers no visual association).{{cite web| url=http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166-faqs/iso_3166_faqs_general.htm| title=ISO 3166 – FAQs – General questions| publisher=International Organization for Standardization (ISO) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514070956/http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166-faqs/iso_3166_faqs_general.htm |archive-date=2011-05-14}} 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-3 codes are used most prominently in ISO/IEC 7501-1 for machine-readable passports, as standardized by the International Civil Aviation Organization, with a number of additional codes for special passports; some of these codes are currently reserved and not used at the present stage in ISO 3166-1.{{citation| url=https://www.icao.int/publications/Documents/9303_p3_cons_en.pdf| title=Doc 9303, Machine Readable Travel Documents, Part 3: Specifications Common to all MRTDs| chapter=Codes for Nationality, Place of Birth, Location of Issuing State/Authority and Other Purposes| edition=Eighth| date=2021| pages=21–23| publisher=International Civil Aviation Organization}}

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.{{cite web| url=http://www.unece.org/trans/conventn/Distsigns.pdf| title=Distinguishing signs used on vehicles in international traffic| publisher=United Nations Economic Commission for Europe}}

Current codes

===Officially assigned code elements===

The following is a complete list of the current officially assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes,{{cite web| url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search/code/| title=Country names and code elements| publisher=ISO}} using a title case version of the English short names officially defined by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA):

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===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-3 codes can be user-assigned: {{mono|AAA}} to {{mono|AAZ}}, {{mono|QMA}} to {{mono|QZZ}}, {{mono|XAA}} to {{mono|XZZ}}, and {{mono|ZZA}} to {{mono|ZZZ}}.{{cite web| url=https://www.iso.org/glossary-for-iso-3166.html| title=Glossary for ISO 3166 - Codes for countries and their subdivisions| publisher=ISO}}

== Examples ==

The following codes are used in ISO/IEC 7501-1 for special machine-readable passports:

NATO STANAG 1059 INT is built upon ISO alpha-3 codes, but also defines alpha-2 codes incompatible with ISO 3166-1. It introduces several private use codes for fictional countries and organizational entities:

{{div col|content=

  • {{mono|XXB}} "Brownland"
  • {{mono|XXG}} "Greyland"
  • {{mono|XXI}} "Indigoland"
  • {{mono|XXL}} "Limeland"
  • {{mono|XXP}} "Purpleland"
  • {{mono|XXR}} "Redland"
  • {{mono|XXW}} "Whiteland"
  • {{mono|XXY}} "Yellowland"
  • {{mono|XXE}} SHAPE
  • {{mono|XXM}} NATO
  • {{mono|XXN}} NATO "Blue" Command
  • {{mono|XXS}} SACLANT

}}

NATO also continues to use reserved codes for continents:

{{div col|content=

  • {{mono|ABB}} Asia
  • {{mono|EEE}} Europe
  • {{mono|FFF}} Africa
  • {{mono|NNN}} North America
  • {{mono|SRR}} South America
  • {{mono|UUU}} Oceania
  • {{mono|NTT}} NATO countries

}}

{{mono|XKX}} is an ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 equivalent user-assigned code element for Kosovo in the European Union,{{cite web| title=Geospatial reference data: Corporate list of countries and territories| url=https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/countries-and-territories| access-date=2024-04-25}} and {{mono|XKK}} is used in the Unicode standard.{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Mark |title=Unicode Locale Data Markup Language (LDML) |url=https://unicode.org/reports/tr35/#unicode_region_subtag_validity |website=unicode.org |access-date=13 December 2023 |language=en |date=2023-10-25 |quote=XK XKK 983 Kosovo industry practice private use}}

===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-3 codes are divided into the following three categories: exceptional reservations, transitional reservations, and indeterminate reservations.

====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-3 codes are currently exceptionally reserved:

The following alpha-3 codes were previously exceptionally reserved, but are now officially assigned:

  • {{mono|GGY}} Guernsey{{snd}} Reserved on request of UPU
  • {{mono|IMN}} Isle of Man{{snd}} Reserved on request of UPU
  • {{mono|JEY}} Jersey{{snd}} Reserved on request of UPU

====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-3 codes are currently transitionally reserved:

  • {{mono|ANT}} Netherlands Antilles{{snd}} From December 2010
  • {{mono|BUR}} Burma{{snd}} From December 1989
  • {{mono|BYS}} Byelorussian SSR{{snd}} From June 1992
  • {{mono|CSK}} Czechoslovakia{{snd}} From June 1993
  • {{mono|NTZ}} Neutral Zone{{snd}} From July 1993
  • {{mono|ROM}} Romania{{snd}} From February 2002; Code changed to {{mono|ROU}}{{cite web |url = http://www.iso.org/iso/newsletter_v-3_romania.pdf |title = RE: Change of alpha-3 Code Element |author = ISO International Organization for Standardization, ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency |date = 1 February 2002 |work = ISO 3166-1 NEWSLETTER No. V-3 |access-date = 26 June 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722001502/http://www.iso.org/iso/newsletter_v-3_romania.pdf |archive-date = 2011-07-22 |quote = Description of change: Change of the alpha-3 Code element for Romania from ROM to ROU following a request of the Government of Romania.}}
  • {{mono|SCG}} Serbia and Montenegro{{snd}} From September 2006
  • {{mono|TMP}} East Timor{{snd}} From May 2002
  • {{mono|YUG}} Yugoslavia{{snd}} From July 2003
  • {{mono|ZAR}} Zaire{{snd}} From July 1997

====Indeterminate reservations====

Indeterminately reserved code elements are reserved for use in a particular way, usually due to their presence in other coding systems. For example, several codes are reserved because they are used for international intellectual property organizations in WIPO Standard ST.3.

The following codes used to designate road vehicles are indeterminately reserved under the 1949 and 1968 United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic:

  • {{mono|ADN}} Aden
  • {{mono|BDS}} Barbados (current code {{mono|BRB}})
  • {{mono|BRU}} Brunei (current code {{mono|BRN}})
  • {{mono|CDN}} Canada (current code {{mono|CAN}})
  • {{mono|EAK}} Kenya (current code {{mono|KEN}})
  • {{mono|EAT}} Tanganyika [Part of Tanzania, United Republic of]
  • {{mono|EAU}} Uganda (current code {{mono|UGA}})
  • {{mono|EAZ}} Zanzibar [Part of Tanzania, United Republic of]
  • {{mono|GBA}} Alderney
  • {{mono|GBG}} Guernsey (current code {{mono|GGY}})
  • {{mono|GBJ}} Jersey (current code {{mono|JEY}})
  • {{mono|GBM}} Isle of Man (current code {{mono|IMN}})
  • {{mono|GBZ}} Gibraltar (current code {{mono|GIB}})
  • {{mono|GCA}} Guatemala (current code {{mono|GTM}})
  • {{mono|HKJ}} Jordan (current code {{mono|JOR}})
  • {{mono|MAL}} Malaysia (current code {{mono|MYS}})
  • {{mono|RCA}} Central African Republic (current code {{mono|CAF}})
  • {{mono|RCB}} Congo, People's Republic of (current code {{mono|COG}})
  • {{mono|RCH}} Chile (current code {{mono|CHL}})
  • {{mono|RMM}} Mali (current code {{mono|MLI}})
  • {{mono|RNR}} Zambia (current code {{mono|ZMB}})
  • {{mono|ROK}} Korea, Republic of (current code {{mono|KOR}})
  • {{mono|RSM}} San Marino (current code {{mono|SMR}})
  • {{mono|RSR}} Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]
  • {{mono|SLO}} Slovenia (current code {{mono|SVN}})
  • {{mono|SME}} Suriname (current code {{mono|SUR}})
  • {{mono|TMN}} Turkmenistan (current code {{mono|TKM}})
  • {{mono|WAG}} Gambia (current code {{mono|GMB}})
  • {{mono|WAL}} Sierra Leone (current code {{mono|SLE}})
  • {{mono|WAN}} Nigeria (current code {{mono|NGA}})
  • {{mono|ZRE}} Zaire (current code {{mono|COD}})

The following alpha-3 code was previously indeterminately reserved, but has been reassigned to another country as its official code:

  • {{mono|ROU}} Uruguay (current code {{mono|URY}}){{snd}} Code reassigned to Romania

The following are used in ISO/IEC 7501-1 for special machine-readable passports:

Deleted codes

Besides the codes currently transitionally reserved and two other codes currently exceptionally reserved ({{mono|FXX}} for France, Metropolitan and {{mono|SUN}} for USSR), the following alpha-3 codes have also been deleted from ISO 3166-1:{{cite web| url=http://www.davros.org/misc/iso3166.html#disused| title=Country codes in ISO 3166 (Table 2: codes withdrawn from use)| author=Clive Feather|website=Davros.org| date=2003-07-25}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

Sources

  • [https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency], International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
  • 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
  • [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use], United Nations Statistics Division
  • [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49alpha.htm Countries or areas, codes and abbreviations]{{snd}} list of alpha-3 and numeric codes (a few territories officially assigned codes in ISO 3166-1 are not included in this list)
  • The World Factbook (public domain), Central Intelligence Agency
  • [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/references/country-data-codes/ Appendix D{{snd}} Country Data Codes]{{snd}} comparison of FIPS 10, ISO 3166, and STANAG 1059 country codes
  • [http://www.statoids.com/ Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids")], Statoids.com
  • [http://www.statoids.com/wab.html Country codes]{{snd}} comparison of ISO 3166-1 country codes with other country codes
  • [http://www.statoids.com/w3166his.html ISO 3166-1 Change History], Statoids.com

{{ISO 3166}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iso 3166-1 Alpha-3}}

1 alpha-3

Category:Country codes

Category:Location codes