# ISO 3166-1 alpha-3

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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 are numeric and hence offers no visual association).[1] They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.

## [edit] 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.[2]

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.[3]

## [edit] Current codes

### [edit] Officially assigned code elements

The following is a complete list of the current officially assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes, using the English short country names officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA):[4]

`ABW` | Aruba
`AFG` | Afghanistan
`AGO` | Angola
`AIA` | Anguilla
`ALA` | Åland Islands
`ALB` | Albania
`AND` | Andorra
`ARE` | United Arab Emirates
`ARG` | Argentina
`ARM` | Armenia
`ASM` | American Samoa
`ATA` | Antarctica
`ATF` | French Southern Territories
`ATG` | Antigua and Barbuda
`AUS` | Australia
`AUT` | Austria
`AZE` | Azerbaijan
`BDI` | Burundi
`BEL` | Belgium
`BEN` | Benin
`BES` | Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
`BFA` | Burkina Faso
`BGD` | Bangladesh
`BGR` | Bulgaria
`BHR` | Bahrain
`BHS` | Bahamas
`BIH` | Bosnia and Herzegovina
`BLM` | Saint Barthélemy
`BLR` | Belarus
`BLZ` | Belize
`BMU` | Bermuda
`BOL` | Bolivia, Plurinational State of
`BRA` | Brazil
`BRB` | Barbados
`BRN` | Brunei Darussalam
`BTN` | Bhutan
`BVT` | Bouvet Island
`BWA` | Botswana
`CAF` | Central African Republic
`CAN` | Canada
`CCK` | Cocos (Keeling) Islands
`CHE` | Switzerland
`CHL` | Chile
`CHN` | China
`CIV` | Côte d'Ivoire
`CMR` | Cameroon
`COD` | Congo, the Democratic Republic of the
`COG` | Congo
`COK` | Cook Islands
`COL` | Colombia
`COM` | Comoros
`CPV` | Cape Verde
`CRI` | Costa Rica
`CUB` | Cuba
`CUW` | Curaçao
`CXR` | Christmas Island
`CYM` | Cayman Islands
`CYP` | Cyprus
`CZE` | Czech Republic
`DEU` | Germany
`DJI` | Djibouti
`DMA` | Dominica
`DNK` | Denmark
`DOM` | Dominican Republic
`DZA` | Algeria
`ECU` | Ecuador
`EGY` | Egypt
`ERI` | Eritrea
`ESH` | Western Sahara
`ESP` | Spain
`EST` | Estonia
`ETH` | Ethiopia
`FIN` | Finland
`FJI` | Fiji
`FLK` | Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
`FRA` | France
`FRO` | Faroe Islands
`FSM` | Micronesia, Federated States of
`GAB` | Gabon
`GBR` | United Kingdom
`GEO` | Georgia
`GGY` | Guernsey
`GHA` | Ghana
`GIB` | Gibraltar
`GIN` | Guinea
`GLP` | Guadeloupe
`GMB` | Gambia
`GNB` | Guinea-Bissau
`GNQ` | Equatorial Guinea
`GRC` | Greece
`GRD` | Grenada
`GRL` | Greenland
`GTM` | Guatemala
`GUF` | French Guiana
`GUM` | Guam
`GUY` | Guyana
`HKG` | Hong Kong
`HMD` | Heard Island and McDonald Islands
`HND` | Honduras
`HRV` | Croatia
`HTI` | Haiti
`HUN` | Hungary
`IDN` | Indonesia
`IMN` | Isle of Man
`IND` | India
`IOT` | British Indian Ocean Territory
`IRL` | Ireland
`IRN` | Iran, Islamic Republic of
`IRQ` | Iraq
`ISL` | Iceland
`ISR` | Israel
`ITA` | Italy
`JAM` | Jamaica
`JEY` | Jersey
`JOR` | Jordan
`JPN` | Japan
`KAZ` | Kazakhstan
`KEN` | Kenya
`KGZ` | Kyrgyzstan
`KHM` | Cambodia
`KIR` | Kiribati
`KNA` | Saint Kitts and Nevis
`KOR` | Korea, Republic of
`KWT` | Kuwait
`LAO` | Lao People's Democratic Republic
`LBN` | Lebanon
`LBR` | Liberia
`LBY` | Libya
`LCA` | Saint Lucia
`LIE` | Liechtenstein
`LKA` | Sri Lanka
`LSO` | Lesotho
`LTU` | Lithuania
`LUX` | Luxembourg
`LVA` | Latvia
`MAC` | Macao
`MAF` | Saint Martin (French part)
`MAR` | Morocco
`MCO` | Monaco
`MDA` | Moldova, Republic of
`MDG` | Madagascar
`MDV` | Maldives
`MEX` | Mexico
`MHL` | Marshall Islands
`MKD` | Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of
`MLI` | Mali
`MLT` | Malta
`MMR` | Myanmar
`MNE` | Montenegro
`MNG` | Mongolia
`MNP` | Northern Mariana Islands
`MOZ` | Mozambique
`MRT` | Mauritania
`MSR` | Montserrat
`MTQ` | Martinique
`MUS` | Mauritius
`MWI` | Malawi
`MYS` | Malaysia
`MYT` | Mayotte
`NAM` | Namibia
`NCL` | New Caledonia
`NER` | Niger
`NFK` | Norfolk Island
`NGA` | Nigeria
`NIC` | Nicaragua
`NIU` | Niue
`NLD` | Netherlands
`NOR` | Norway
`NPL` | Nepal
`NRU` | Nauru
`NZL` | New Zealand
`OMN` | Oman
`PAK` | Pakistan
`PAN` | Panama
`PCN` | Pitcairn
`PER` | Peru
`PHL` | Philippines
`PLW` | Palau
`PNG` | Papua New Guinea
`POL` | Poland
`PRI` | Puerto Rico
`PRK` | Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
`PRT` | Portugal
`PRY` | Paraguay
`PSE` | Palestinian Territory, Occupied
`PYF` | French Polynesia
`QAT` | Qatar
`REU` | Réunion
`ROU` | Romania
`RUS` | Russian Federation
`RWA` | Rwanda
`SAU` | Saudi Arabia
`SDN` | Sudan
`SEN` | Senegal
`SGP` | Singapore
`SGS` | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
`SHN` | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
`SJM` | Svalbard and Jan Mayen
`SLB` | Solomon Islands
`SLE` | Sierra Leone
`SLV` | El Salvador
`SMR` | San Marino
`SOM` | Somalia
`SPM` | Saint Pierre and Miquelon
`SRB` | Serbia
`SSD` | South Sudan
`STP` | Sao Tome and Principe
`SUR` | Suriname
`SVK` | Slovakia
`SVN` | Slovenia
`SWE` | Sweden
`SWZ` | Swaziland
`SXM` | Sint Maarten (Dutch part)
`SYC` | Seychelles
`SYR` | Syrian Arab Republic
`TCA` | Turks and Caicos Islands
`TCD` | Chad
`TGO` | Togo
`THA` | Thailand
`TJK` | Tajikistan
`TKL` | Tokelau
`TKM` | Turkmenistan
`TLS` | Timor-Leste
`TON` | Tonga
`TTO` | Trinidad and Tobago
`TUN` | Tunisia
`TUR` | Turkey
`TUV` | Tuvalu
`TWN` | Taiwan, Province of China
`TZA` | Tanzania, United Republic of
`UGA` | Uganda
`UKR` | Ukraine
`UMI` | United States Minor Outlying Islands
`URY` | Uruguay
`USA` | United States
`UZB` | Uzbekistan
`VAT` | Holy See (Vatican City State)
`VCT` | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
`VEN` | Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
`VGB` | Virgin Islands, British
`VIR` | Virgin Islands, U.S.
`VNM` | Viet Nam
`VUT` | Vanuatu
`WLF` | Wallis and Futuna
`WSM` | Samoa
`YEM` | Yemen
`ZAF` | South Africa
`ZMB` | Zambia
`ZWE` | Zimbabwe

### [edit] 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: `AAA` to `AAZ`, `QMA` to `QZZ`, `XAA` to `XZZ`, and `ZZA` to `ZZZ`. For example, the following codes are used in ISO/IEC 7501-1 for special machine-readable passports:[2]

- `XOM` is used to represent the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- `XXA` is used to represent a stateless person, as defined in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons
- `XXB` is used to represent a refugee, as defined in Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as amended by the 1967 Protocol
- `XXC` is used to represent a refugee, other than as defined above
- `XXX` is used to represent a person of unspecified nationality

### [edit] 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 can be divided into the following four categories: exceptional reservations, transitional reservations, indeterminate reservations, and codes currently agreed not to use.

#### [edit] 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:

- `ASC` Ascension Island — Reserved on request of UPU, also used by ITU
- `CPT` Clipperton Island — Reserved on request of ITU
- `DGA` Diego Garcia — Reserved on request of ITU
- `FXX` France, Metropolitan — Reserved on request of France; Officially assigned before deleted from ISO 3166-1
- `SUN` USSR — From 2008-06; Transitionally reserved from 1992-09; Officially assigned before deleted from ISO 3166-1
- `TAA` Tristan da Cunha — Reserved on request of UPU

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

- `GGY` Guernsey — Reserved on request of UPU
- `IMN` Isle of Man — Reserved on request of UPU
- `JEY` Jersey — Reserved on request of UPU

#### [edit] 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:

- `ANT` Netherlands Antilles — From 2010-12
- `BUR` Burma — From 1989-12
- `BYS` Byelorussian SSR — From 1992-06
- `CSK` Czechoslovakia — From 1993-06
- `NTZ` Neutral Zone — From 1993-07
- `ROM` Romania — From 2002-02; Code changed to `ROU`[5]
- `SCG` Serbia and Montenegro — From 2006-09
- `TMP` East Timor — From 2002-05
- `YUG` Yugoslavia — From 2003-07
- `ZAR` Zaire — From 1997-07

#### [edit] 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-3 codes are currently indeterminately reserved:

- `ADN` Aden
- `BDS` Barbados
- `BRU` Brunei
- `CDN` Canada
- `EAK` Kenya
- `EAT` Tanganyika [Part of Tanzania, United Republic of]
- `EAU` Uganda
- `EAZ` Zanzibar [Part of Tanzania, United Republic of]
- `GBA` Alderney
- `GBG` Guernsey
- `GBJ` Jersey
- `GBM` Isle of Man
- `GBZ` Gibraltar
- `GCA` Guatemala
- `HKJ` Jordan
- `MAL` Malaysia
- `RCA` Central African Republic
- `RCB` Congo, People's Republic of
- `RCH` Chile
- `RMM` Mali
- `RNR` Zambia
- `ROK` Korea, Republic of
- `RSM` San Marino
- `RSR` Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe]
- `SLO` Slovenia
- `SME` Surinam
- `TMN` Turkmenistan
- `WAG` Gambia
- `WAL` Sierra Leone
- `WAN` Nigeria
- `ZRE` Zaire

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

- `ROU` Uruguay — Code reassigned to Romania

#### [edit] Codes currently agreed not to use

In addition, the ISO 3166/MA will not use the following alpha-3 codes at the present stage, as they are used in ISO/IEC 7501-1 for special machine-readable passports:

- `GBD` identifies a British Passport holder who is a British Overseas Territories Citizen
- `GBN` identifies a British Passport holder who is a British National (Overseas)
- `GBO` identifies a British Passport holder who is a British Overseas Citizen
- `GBP` identifies a British Passport holder who is a British Protected Person
- `GBS` identifies a British Passport holder who is a British Subject
- `UNA` is used as a substitute for nationality where the holder is an Official of a Specialized Agency of the UN Organization
- `UNK` identifies Kosovo residents to whom travel documents were issued by the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK)
- `UNO` is used to designate the UN Organization as the issuer and used as a substitute for nationality where the holder is an Official of the UN Organization

## [edit] Deleted codes

Besides the codes currently transitionally reserved and two other codes currently exceptionally reserved (`FXX` for France, Metropolitan and `SUN` for USSR), the following alpha-3 codes have also been deleted from ISO 3166-1:[6]

- `AFI` French Afar and Issas
- `ATB` British Antarctic Territory
- `ATN` Dronning Maud Land
- `CTE` Canton and Enderbury Islands
- `DDR` German Democratic Republic
- `DHY` Dahomey
- `GEL` Gilbert and Ellice Islands
- `HVO` Upper Volta
- `JTN` Johnston Island
- `MID` Midway Islands
- `NHB` New Hebrides
- `PCI` Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the
- `PCZ` Panama Canal Zone
- `PHI` Philippines — Code changed to `PHL`
- `PUS` U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands
- `RHO` Southern Rhodesia
- `SKM` Sikkim
- `VDR` Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of
- `WAK` Wake Island
- `YMD` Yemen, Democratic

## [edit] See also

- List of IOC country codes, used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
- List of FIFA country codes, used by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
- Comparison of IOC, FIFA, and ISO 3166 country codes

## [edit] References

1. ^ "ISO 3166 – FAQs – General questions". International Organization for Standardization (ISO). http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166-faqs/iso_3166_faqs_general.htm.
2. ^ a b "Appendix 7 to Section IV – Three-letter codes". Doc 9303, Machine Readable Travel Documents, Part I – Machine Readable Passports, Volume I – Passports with Machine Readable Data Stored in Optical Character Recognition Format. International Civil Aviation Organization. pp. IV-43–IV-46. http://www.airports.org/aci/aci/file/ACI_Priorities/Security/ICAO%20State%203%20letter%20codes.pdf.
3. ^ "Distinguishing signs used on vehicles in international traffic". United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. http://www.unece.org/trans/conventn/Distsigns.pdf.
4. ^ "Country names and code elements". ISO. http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/country_names_and_code_elements.htm.
5. ^ ISO International Organization for Standardization, ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (1 February 2002). "RE: Change of alpha-3 Code Element". ISO 3166-1 NEWSLETTER No. V-3. http://www.iso.org/iso/newsletter_v-3_romania.pdf. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
6. ^ Clive Feather (2003-07-25). "Country codes in ISO 3166 (Table 2: codes withdrawn from use)". http://www.davros.org/misc/iso3166.html#disused.

## [edit] Sources and external links

- 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
- Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use, United Nations Statistics Division
  - Countries or areas, codes and abbreviations — 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
  - Appendix D – Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes — comparison of FIPS 10, ISO 3166, and STANAG 1059 country codes
- Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids"), Statoids.com
  - Country codes — comparison of ISO 3166-1 country codes with other country codes
  - ISO 3166-1 Change History

ISO 3166 — Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions
ISO 3166-1 | Part 1: Country codes Codes: alpha-2 · alpha-3 · numeric
ISO 3166-2 | Part 2: Country subdivision code Entries: AD · AE · AF · AG · AI · AL · AM · AO · AQ · AR · AS · AT · AU · AW · AX · AZ · BA · BB · BD · BE · BF · BG · BH · BI · BJ · BL · BM · BN · BO · BQ · BR · BS · BT · BV · BW · BY · BZ · CA · CC · CD · CF · CG · CH · CI · CK · CL · CM · CN · CO · CR · CU · CV · CW · CX · CY · CZ · DE · DJ · DK · DM · DO · DZ · EC · EE · EG · EH · ER · ES · ET · FI · FJ · FK · FM · FO · FR · GA · GB · GD · GE · GF · GG · GH · GI · GL · GM · GN · GP · GQ · GR · GS · GT · GU · GW · GY · HK · HM · HN · HR · HT · HU · ID · IE · IL · IM · IN · IO · IQ · IR · IS · IT · JE · JM · JO · JP · KE · KG · KH · KI · KM · KN · KP · KR · KW · KY · KZ · LA · LB · LC · LI · LK · LR · LS · LT · LU · LV · LY · MA · MC · MD · ME · MF · MG · MH · MK · ML · MM · MN · MO · MP · MQ · MR · MS · MT · MU · MV · MW · MX · MY · MZ · NA · NC · NE · NF · NG · NI · NL · NO · NP · NR · NU · NZ · OM · PA · PE · PF · PG · PH · PK · PL · PM · PN · PR · PS · PT · PW · PY · QA · RE · RO · RS · RU · RW · SA · SB · SC · SD · SE · SG · SH · SI · SJ · SK · SL · SM · SN · SO · SR · SS · ST · SV · SX · SY · SZ · TC · TD · TF · TG · TH · TJ · TK · TL (changed from TP) · TM · TN · TO · TR · TT · TV · TW · TZ · UA · UG · UM · US · UY · UZ · VA · VC · VE · VG · VI · VN · VU · WF · WS · YE · YT · ZA · ZM · ZW · Deleted: AN · CS (changed from YU)
ISO 3166-3 | Part 3: Code for formerly used names of countries

ISO standards
Lists List of ISO standards List of ISO romanizations List of IEC standards Categories Category:ISO standards Category:OSI protocols
1–9999 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 16 31 -0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 128 216 217 226 228 233 259 269 302 306 428 518 519 639 -1 -2 -3 -5 -6 646 690 732 764 843 898 1000 1004 1007 1073-1 1413 1538 1745 2014 2015 2022 2108 2145 2146 2240 2281 2709 2711 2788 2852 3029 3103 3166 -1 -2 -3 3297 3307 3602 3864 3901 3977 4031 4157 4217 5218 5775 5776 5800 5964 6166 6344 6346 6425 6429 6438 6523 6709 7001 7002 7098 7185 7200 7498 7736 7810 7811 7812 7813 7816 8000 8178 8217 8571 8583 8601 8632 8652 8691 8807 8820-5 8859 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 8879 9000/9001 9075 9126 9293 9241 9362 9407 9506 9529 9564 9594 9660 9897 9945 9984 9985 9995
10000–19999 | 10006 10118-3 10160 10161 10165 10179 10206 10218 10303 -11 -21 -22 -28 -238 10383 10487 10585 10589 10646 10664 10746 10861 10957 10962 10967 11073 11170 11179 11404 11544 11783 11784 11785 11801 11898 11940 11941 11941 (TR) 11992 12006 12182 12207 12234-2 13211 -1 -2 13216 13250 13399 13406-2 13407 13450 13485 13490 13567 13568 13584 13616 14000 14031 14396 14443 14496 -2 -3 -6 -10 -11 -12 -14 -17 -20 14644 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 14649 14651 14698 -2 14750 14882 14971 15022 15189 15288 15291 15292 15408 15444 15445 15438 15504 15511 15686 15693 15706 -2 15707 15897 15919 15924 15926 15926 WIP 15930 16023 16262 16750 17024 17025 17369 17799 18000 18004 18014 18245 18629 18916 19005 19011 19092 -1 -2 19114 19115 19125 19136 19439 19501:2005 19752 19757 19770 19775-1 19794-5
20000+ | 20000 20022 21000 21047 21827:2002 22000 23270 23360 24613 24707 25178 26000 26300 26324 27000 series 27000 27001 27002 27003 27004 27005 27006 27007 27729 27799 28000 29110 29199-2 29500 31000 32000 38500 42010 80000
See also All articles with prefix "ISO"

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