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ISO 3166-1 numeric (or numeric-3) codes are three-digit 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 similar to the three-digit country codes developed and maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division, from which they originate in its UN M.49 standard. They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its second edition in 1981, but they were released by the United Nations Statistics Division since as early as 1970. [1]

An advantage of numeric codes over alphabetic codes is script ( writing system) independence. [2] The ISO 3166-1 alphabetic codes ( alpha-2 and alpha-3) use letters from the 26-letter English alphabet and are suitable for languages based on the Latin alphabet. For people and systems using non-Latin scripts (such as Arabic or Japanese), the English alphabet may be unavailable or difficult to use, understand, or correctly interpret. While numeric codes overcome the problems of script dependence, this independence comes at the cost of loss of mnemonic convenience.

Another advantage is that when countries merge or split, they will get a new numeric code, while the alphabetic code stays in use for (a part of) that country. A persistent number is needed in datasets with historical country information.

Current codes

Officially assigned code elements

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

Code Country name Notes
004 Afghanistan
008 Albania
010 Antarctica
012 Algeria
016 American Samoa
020 Andorra
024 Angola
028 Antigua and Barbuda
031 Azerbaijan Until 1991 part of the USSR
032 Argentina
036 Australia
040 Austria
044 Bahamas
048 Bahrain
050 Bangladesh
051 Armenia Until 1991 part of the USSR
052 Barbados
056 Belgium
060 Bermuda
064 Bhutan
068 Bolivia, Plurinational State of
070 Bosnia and Herzegovina Until 1992 part of Yugoslavia
072 Botswana
074 Bouvet Island
076 Brazil
084 Belize Formerly British Honduras
086 British Indian Ocean Territory
090 Solomon Islands Formerly British Solomon Islands
092 Virgin Islands (British)
096 Brunei Darussalam
100 Bulgaria
104 Myanmar Formerly Burma
108 Burundi
112 Belarus Formerly Byelorussian SSR
116 Cambodia
120 Cameroon
124 Canada
132 Cabo Verde Formerly Cape Verde
136 Cayman Islands
140 Central African Republic
144 Sri Lanka Formerly Ceylon
148 Chad
152 Chile
156 China
158 Taiwan, Province of China
162 Christmas Island
166 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
170 Colombia
174 Comoros
175 Mayotte Until 1975 part of Comoros, own ISO code since 1993
178 Congo
180 Congo, Democratic Republic of the
184 Cook Islands
188 Costa Rica
191 Croatia Until 1992 part of Yugoslavia
192 Cuba
196 Cyprus
203 Czechia Until 1993 part of Czechoslovakia
204 Benin Formerly Dahomey
208 Denmark
212 Dominica
214 Dominican Republic
218 Ecuador
222 El Salvador
226 Equatorial Guinea
231 Ethiopia
232 Eritrea Until 1993 part of Ethiopia
233 Estonia Until 1991 part of the USSR
234 Faroe Islands Previously spelled Faeroe Islands
238 Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
239 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Until 1993 part of the Falkland Islands
242 Fiji
246 Finland
248 Åland Islands Until 2004 part of Finland
250 France
254 French Guiana
258 French Polynesia
260 French Southern Territories
262 Djibouti Formerly French Territory of the Afars and the Issas
266 Gabon
268 Georgia Until 1991 part of the USSR
270 Gambia
275 Palestine, State of Replaced the Gaza Strip, which was assigned code 274
by the United Nations Statistics Division
276 Germany Unified country since 1990
288 Ghana
292 Gibraltar
296 Kiribati Formerly Gilbert and Ellice Islands
300 Greece
304 Greenland
308 Grenada
312 Guadeloupe
316 Guam
320 Guatemala
324 Guinea
328 Guyana
332 Haiti
334 Heard Island and McDonald Islands
336 Holy See
340 Honduras
344 Hong Kong
348 Hungary
352 Iceland
356 India
360 Indonesia
364 Iran, Islamic Republic of
368 Iraq
372 Ireland
376 Israel
380 Italy
384 Côte d'Ivoire Formerly Ivory Coast
388 Jamaica
392 Japan
398 Kazakhstan Until 1991 part of the USSR
400 Jordan
404 Kenya
408 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
410 Korea, Republic of
414 Kuwait
417 Kyrgyzstan Until 1991 part of the USSR
418 Lao People's Democratic Republic
422 Lebanon
426 Lesotho
428 Latvia Until 1991 part of the USSR
430 Liberia
434 Libya
438 Liechtenstein
440 Lithuania Until 1991 part of the USSR
442 Luxembourg
446 Macao
450 Madagascar
454 Malawi
458 Malaysia
462 Maldives
466 Mali
470 Malta
474 Martinique
478 Mauritania
480 Mauritius
484 Mexico
492 Monaco
496 Mongolia
498 Moldova, Republic of Until 1991 part of the USSR
499 Montenegro Until 2006 part of Yugoslavia/ Serbia and Montenegro
500 Montserrat
504 Morocco
508 Mozambique
512 Oman Formerly Muscat and Oman
516 Namibia
520 Nauru
524 Nepal
528 Netherlands, Kingdom of the
531 Curaçao Until 2010 part of the Netherlands Antilles
533 Aruba Until 1986 part of the Netherlands Antilles
534 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Until 2010 part of the Netherlands Antilles
535 Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Until 2010 part of the Netherlands Antilles
540 New Caledonia
548 Vanuatu Formerly New Hebrides
554 New Zealand
558 Nicaragua
562 Niger
566 Nigeria
570 Niue
574 Norfolk Island
578 Norway
580 Northern Mariana Islands Until 1986 part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)
581 United States Minor Outlying Islands Merger of uninhabited U.S. islands on the Pacific Ocean in 1986
583 Micronesia, Federated States of Until 1986 part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)
584 Marshall Islands Until 1986 part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)
585 Palau Until 1986 part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)
586 Pakistan
591 Panama
598 Papua New Guinea
600 Paraguay
604 Peru
608 Philippines
612 Pitcairn
616 Poland
620 Portugal
624 Guinea-Bissau Formerly Portuguese Guinea
626 Timor-Leste Formerly Portuguese Timor and East Timor
630 Puerto Rico
634 Qatar
638 Réunion
642 Romania
643 Russian Federation Until 1991 part of the USSR
646 Rwanda
652 Saint Barthélemy Until 2007 part of Guadeloupe
654 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
659 Saint Kitts and Nevis Until 1985 part of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla
660 Anguilla Until 1985 part of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla
662 Saint Lucia
663 Saint Martin (French part) Until 2007 part of Guadeloupe
666 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
670 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
674 San Marino
678 Sao Tome and Principe
682 Saudi Arabia
686 Senegal
688 Serbia Until 2006 part of Yugoslavia/ Serbia and Montenegro
690 Seychelles
694 Sierra Leone
702 Singapore
703 Slovakia Until 1993 part of Czechoslovakia
704 Viet Nam Official name Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
705 Slovenia Until 1992 part of Yugoslavia
706 Somalia
710 South Africa
716 Zimbabwe Formerly Southern Rhodesia
724 Spain
728 South Sudan Until 2011 part of Sudan
729 Sudan
732 Western Sahara Formerly Spanish Sahara
740 Suriname
744 Svalbard and Jan Mayen
748 Eswatini Formerly Swaziland
752 Sweden
756 Switzerland
760 Syrian Arab Republic
762 Tajikistan Until 1991 part of the USSR
764 Thailand
768 Togo
772 Tokelau
776 Tonga
780 Trinidad and Tobago
784 United Arab Emirates Formerly Trucial States
788 Tunisia
792 Türkiye
795 Turkmenistan Until 1991 part of the USSR
796 Turks and Caicos Islands
798 Tuvalu
800 Uganda
804 Ukraine Until 1991 part of the USSR
807 North Macedonia Until 1993 part of Yugoslavia
818 Egypt Formerly United Arab Republic
826 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
831 Guernsey Until 2006 part of the United Kingdom
832 Jersey Until 2006 part of the United Kingdom
833 Isle of Man Until 2006 part of the United Kingdom
834 Tanzania, United Republic of
840 United States of America
850 Virgin Islands (U.S.)
854 Burkina Faso Formerly Upper Volta
858 Uruguay
860 Uzbekistan Until 1991 part of the USSR
862 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
876 Wallis and Futuna
882 Samoa Formerly Western Samoa
887 Yemen Unified country since 1990
894 Zambia

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. The ISO 3166/MA will never use these codes in the updating process of the standard. The numeric codes 900 to 999 can be user-assigned. [4]

Withdrawn codes

When countries merge, split, or undergo territorial change, their numeric codes are withdrawn and new numeric codes are assigned. For example:

  • East Germany and West Germany used numeric codes 278 and 280 respectively before their unification in 1990. Since then, the unified Germany has used numeric code 276, while keeping the alphabetic codes for West Germany (except in the banking area where they still use the 280 code [5]).
  • Ethiopia used numeric code 230 before Eritrea split away in 1993. Since then, Ethiopia has used numeric code 231, while keeping the same alphabetic codes.
  • Sudan used numeric code 736 before South Sudan split away in 2011. Since then, Sudan has used numeric code 729, while keeping the same alphabetic codes.

If a country changes its name without any territorial change, its numeric code remains the same. For example, when Burma was renamed Myanmar without territorial change in 1989, its alphabetic codes were changed, but its numeric code 104 has remained the same.

The following numeric codes have been withdrawn from ISO 3166-1: [6]

Code Country name Notes
128 Canton and Enderbury Islands
200 Czechoslovakia
216 Dronning Maud Land
230 Ethiopia before Eritrea split away in 1993
249 France, Metropolitan
278 German Democratic Republic i.e., East Germany
280 Germany, Federal Republic of i.e., West Germany
396 Johnston Island
488 Midway Islands
530 Netherlands Antilles after Aruba split away in 1986
532 Netherlands Antilles before Aruba split away in 1986
536 Neutral Zone
582 Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)
590 Panama before adding Panama Canal Zone in 1979
658 Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla
720 Yemen, Democratic i.e., South Yemen
736 Sudan before South Sudan split away in 2011
810 USSR
849 United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands
872 Wake Island
886 Yemen Arab Republic i.e., North Yemen
890 Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of
891 Serbia and Montenegro original name: Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of

The following numeric codes were also assigned by the United Nations Statistics Division, but these territories were never officially included in ISO 3166-1: [1]

Code Territory name
274 Gaza Strip (Palestine)
282 German Democratic Republic, Berlin
284 Germany, West Berlin
650 Ryukyu Islands
728 Spanish North Africa (note: this code is now used by South Sudan)
830 Channel Islands

In the UN M.49 standard developed by the United Nations Statistics Division, additional numeric codes are used to represent geographical regions and groupings of countries and areas for statistical processing purposes, but these codes are not included in ISO 3166-1. Unlike alphabetic codes, there are no reserved numeric codes in ISO 3166-1.

References

  1. ^ a b "Appendix 1. United Nations Standard Country Codes" (PDF). Cancer Registration: Principles and Methods, IARC Scientific Publication No. 95. International Agency for Research on Cancer. 1991. pp. 208–211. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  2. ^ "ISO 3166 – FAQs – General questions". International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
  3. ^ "Country names and code elements". ISO.
  4. ^ "Glossary for ISO 3166 - Codes for countries and their subdivisions". ISO.
  5. ^ https://www.girocard.eu/media/weiternutzung_iso3166-code-280_deutschland.pdf[ bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ Clive Feather (2003-07-25). "Country codes in ISO 3166 (Table 2: codes withdrawn from use)".

Sources and external links