ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
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, to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. They are the most widely used of the country codes published by ISO, and are used most prominently for the Internet's country code top-level domains. They are also used as country identifiers extending the postal code when appropriate within the international postal system for paper mail, and has replaced the previous one consisting one-letter codes. 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:| Short name | Long name | Comment |
| ISO 3166-2 | Country subdivision code | |
| ISO 3901 | International Standard Recording Code | |
| ISO 4217 | Currency code | |
| ISO 6166 | International Securities Identifying Number | |
| ISO 9362 | Bank Identifier Codes | Also known as SWIFT codes |
| ISO 13616 | International Bank Account Number | |
| ISO 15511 | International Standard Identifier for Libraries and Related Organizations | |
| 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. 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, uses.uk instead of.gb as its ccTLD, as 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 generally uses ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes with two exceptions: is used to represent Greece, and is used to represent the United Kingdom. This notwithstanding, the Official Journal of the European Communities specified that and be used to represent Greece and United Kingdom respectively. For VAT administration purposes, the European Commission uses and for Greece and the United Kingdom 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, 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.
IETF language tags are also partially derived from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes. The full list of ISO 3166-1 codes assigned to countries and territories are usable as region subtags. Also, the "exceptionally reserved" alpha-2 codes defined in ISO 3166-1 are also usable as region subtags for language tags. However, newer stability policies have been implemented to avoid deleting subtags that have been withdrawn in ISO 3166-1 ; instead they are kept and aliased to the new preferred subtags, or kept as subtags grouping several countries. Some other region grouping subtags are derived from other standards. Under the newer stability policies, old assigned codes that have been withdrawn from ISO 3166-1 should no longer be reassigned to another country or territory.
Current codes
Decoding table
The following is a colour-coded decoding table of all ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes.Officially assigned code elements
The following is a complete list of the 249 current officially assigned ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes, with the following columns:- Code — ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code
- Country name — English short name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency
- Year — Year when alpha-2 code was first officially assigned
- ccTLD — Corresponding country code top-level domain ; exceptions where another ccTLD is assigned for the country are shown in parentheses
- ISO 3166-2 — Corresponding ISO 3166-2 codes
- Notes — Any unofficial notes
| Code | Country name | Year | ccTLD | Notes | |
| Andorra | 1974 | .ad | |||
| United Arab Emirates | 1974 | .ae | |||
| Afghanistan | 1974 | .af | |||
| Antigua and Barbuda | 1974 | .ag | |||
| Anguilla | 1985 | .ai | previously represented French Afars and Issas | ||
| Albania | 1974 | .al | |||
| Armenia | 1992 | .am | |||
| Angola | 1974 | .ao | |||
| Antarctica | 1974 | .aq | Covers the territories south of 60° south latitude Code taken from name in French: Antarctique | ||
| Argentina | 1974 | .ar | |||
| American Samoa | 1974 | .as | |||
| Austria | 1974 | .at | |||
| Australia | 1974 | .au | Includes the Ashmore and Cartier Islands and the Coral Sea Islands | ||
| Aruba | 1986 | .aw | |||
| 2004 | .ax | An autonomous province of Finland | |||
| Azerbaijan | 1992 | .az | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1992 | .ba | |||
| Barbados | 1974 | .bb | |||
| Bangladesh | 1974 | .bd | |||
| Belgium | 1974 | .be | |||
| Burkina Faso | 1984 | .bf | Name changed from Upper Volta | ||
| Bulgaria | 1974 | .bg | |||
| Bahrain | 1974 | .bh | |||
| Burundi | 1974 | .bi | |||
| Benin | 1977 | .bj | Name changed from Dahomey | ||
| Saint Barthélemy | 2007 | .bl | |||
| Bermuda | 1974 | .bm | |||
| Brunei Darussalam | 1974 | .bn | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Bolivia | 1974 | .bo | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | 2010 | .bq | Consists of three Caribbean "special municipalities", which are part of the Netherlands proper: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba Previous ISO country name: Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba previously represented British Antarctic Territory | ||
| Brazil | 1974 | .br | |||
| Bahamas | 1974 | .bs | |||
| Bhutan | 1974 | .bt | |||
| Bouvet Island | 1974 | .bv | Belongs to Norway | ||
| Botswana | 1974 | .bw | |||
| Belarus | 1974 | .by | Code taken from previous ISO country name: Byelorussian SSR Code assigned as the country was already a UN member since 1945 | ||
| Belize | 1974 | .bz | |||
| Canada | 1974 | .ca | |||
| Cocos Islands | 1974 | .cc | |||
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 1997 | .cd | Name changed from Zaire | ||
| Central African Republic | 1974 | .cf | |||
| Congo | 1974 | .cg | |||
| Switzerland | 1974 | .ch | Code taken from name in Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica | ||
| 1974 | .ci | ISO country name follows UN designation | |||
| Cook Islands | 1974 | .ck | |||
| Chile | 1974 | .cl | |||
| Cameroon | 1974 | .cm | |||
| China | 1974 | .cn | |||
| Colombia | 1974 | .co | |||
| Costa Rica | 1974 | .cr | |||
| Cuba | 1974 | .cu | |||
| Cabo Verde | 1974 | .cv | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Curaçao | 2010 | .cw | |||
| Christmas Island | 1974 | .cx | |||
| Cyprus | 1974 | .cy | |||
| Czechia | 1993 | .cz | Previous ISO country name: Czech Republic | ||
| Germany | 1974 | .de | Code taken from name in German: Deutschland Code used for West Germany before 1990 | ||
| Djibouti | 1977 | .dj | Name changed from French Afars and Issas | ||
| Denmark | 1974 | .dk | |||
| Dominica | 1974 | .dm | |||
| Dominican Republic | 1974 | .do | |||
| Algeria | 1974 | .dz | Code taken from name in Arabic الجزائر al-Djazā'ir, Algerian Arabic الدزاير al-Dzāyīr, or Berber ⴷⵣⴰⵢⵔ Dzayer | ||
| Ecuador | 1974 | .ec | |||
| Estonia | 1992 | .ee | Code taken from name in Estonian: Eesti | ||
| Egypt | 1974 | .eg | |||
| Western Sahara | 1974 | Previous ISO country name: Spanish Sahara ccTLD has not been implemented. | |||
| Eritrea | 1993 | .er | |||
| Spain | 1974 | .es | Code taken from name in Spanish: España | ||
| Ethiopia | 1974 | .et | |||
| Finland | 1974 | .fi | |||
| Fiji | 1974 | .fj | |||
| Falkland Islands | 1974 | .fk | ISO country name follows UN designation due to the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute | ||
| Micronesia | 1986 | .fm | Previous ISO country name: Micronesia | ||
| Faroe Islands | 1974 | .fo | Code taken from name in Faroese: Føroyar | ||
| France | 1974 | .fr | Includes Clipperton Island | ||
| Gabon | 1974 | .ga | |||
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 1974 | .gb | Code taken from Great Britain .uk is the primary ccTLD of the United Kingdom instead of.gb | ||
| Grenada | 1974 | .gd | |||
| Georgia | 1992 | .ge | previously represented Gilbert and Ellice Islands | ||
| French Guiana | 1974 | .gf | Code taken from name in French: Guyane française | ||
| Guernsey | 2006 | .gg | a British Crown dependency | ||
| Ghana | 1974 | .gh | |||
| Gibraltar | 1974 | .gi | |||
| Greenland | 1974 | .gl | |||
| Gambia | 1974 | .gm | |||
| Guinea | 1974 | .gn | |||
| Guadeloupe | 1974 | .gp | |||
| Equatorial Guinea | 1974 | .gq | Code taken from name in French: Guinée équatoriale | ||
| Greece | 1974 | .gr | |||
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 1993 | .gs | |||
| Guatemala | 1974 | .gt | |||
| Guam | 1974 | .gu | |||
| Guinea-Bissau | 1974 | .gw | |||
| Guyana | 1974 | .gy | |||
| Hong Kong | 1974 | .hk | |||
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands | 1974 | .hm | |||
| Honduras | 1974 | .hn | |||
| Croatia | 1992 | .hr | Code taken from name in Croatian: Hrvatska | ||
| Haiti | 1974 | .ht | |||
| Hungary | 1974 | .hu | |||
| Indonesia | 1974 | .id | |||
| Ireland | 1974 | .ie | |||
| Israel | 1974 | .il | |||
| Isle of Man | 2006 | .im | a British Crown dependency | ||
| India | 1974 | .in | |||
| British Indian Ocean Territory | 1974 | .io | |||
| Iraq | 1974 | .iq | |||
| Iran | 1974 | .ir | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Iceland | 1974 | .is | Code taken from name in Icelandic: Ísland | ||
| Italy | 1974 | .it | |||
| Jersey | 2006 | .je | a British Crown dependency | ||
| Jamaica | 1974 | .jm | |||
| Jordan | 1974 | .jo | |||
| Japan | 1974 | .jp | |||
| Kenya | 1974 | .ke | |||
| Kyrgyzstan | 1992 | .kg | |||
| Cambodia | 1974 | .kh | Code taken from former name: Khmer Republic Previous ISO country name: Kampuchea | ||
| Kiribati | 1979 | .ki | |||
| Comoros | 1974 | .km | Code taken from name in Comorian: Komori | ||
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1974 | .kn | Previous ISO country name: Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla | ||
| Korea | 1974 | .kp | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Korea, Republic of | 1974 | .kr | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Kuwait | 1974 | .kw | |||
| Cayman Islands | 1974 | .ky | |||
| Kazakhstan | 1992 | .kz | Previous ISO country name: | ||
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | 1974 | .la | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Lebanon | 1974 | .lb | |||
| Saint Lucia | 1974 | .lc | |||
| Liechtenstein | 1974 | .li | |||
| Sri Lanka | 1974 | .lk | |||
| Liberia | 1974 | .lr | |||
| Lesotho | 1974 | .ls | |||
| Lithuania | 1992 | .lt | |||
| Luxembourg | 1974 | .lu | |||
| Latvia | 1992 | .lv | |||
| Libya | 1974 | .ly | Previous ISO country name: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | ||
| Morocco | 1974 | .ma | Code taken from name in French: Maroc | ||
| Monaco | 1974 | .mc | |||
| Moldova, Republic of | 1992 | .md | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Montenegro | 2006 | .me | |||
| Saint Martin | 2007 | .mf | The Dutch part of Saint Martin island is assigned code #SX| | ||
| Madagascar | 1974 | .mg | |||
| Marshall Islands | 1986 | .mh | |||
| North Macedonia | 1993 | .mk | Code taken from name in Macedonian: Severna Makedonija Previous ISO country name: Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of | ||
| Mali | 1974 | .ml | |||
| Myanmar | 1989 | .mm | Name changed from Burma | ||
| Mongolia | 1974 | .mn | |||
| Macao | 1974 | .mo | Previous ISO country name: Macau | ||
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1986 | .mp | |||
| Martinique | 1974 | .mq | |||
| Mauritania | 1974 | .mr | |||
| Montserrat | 1974 | .ms | |||
| Malta | 1974 | .mt | |||
| Mauritius | 1974 | .mu | |||
| Maldives | 1974 | .mv | |||
| Malawi | 1974 | .mw | |||
| Mexico | 1974 | .mx | |||
| Malaysia | 1974 | .my | |||
| Mozambique | 1974 | .mz | |||
| Namibia | 1974 | .na | |||
| New Caledonia | 1974 | .nc | |||
| Niger | 1974 | .ne | |||
| Norfolk Island | 1974 | .nf | |||
| Nigeria | 1974 | .ng | |||
| Nicaragua | 1974 | .ni | |||
| Netherlands | 1974 | .nl | Officially includes the islands Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, which also have code [|BQ] in ISO 3166-1. Within ISO 3166-2, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are also coded as subdivisions of NL. | ||
| Norway | 1974 | .no | |||
| Nepal | 1974 | .np | |||
| Nauru | 1974 | .nr | |||
| Niue | 1974 | .nu | |||
| New Zealand | 1974 | .nz | |||
| Oman | 1974 | .om | |||
| Panama | 1974 | .pa | |||
| Peru | 1974 | .pe | |||
| French Polynesia | 1974 | .pf | Code taken from name in French: Polynésie française | ||
| Papua New Guinea | 1974 | .pg | |||
| Philippines | 1974 | .ph | |||
| Pakistan | 1974 | .pk | |||
| Poland | 1974 | .pl | |||
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 1974 | .pm | |||
| Pitcairn | 1974 | .pn | |||
| Puerto Rico | 1974 | .pr | |||
| Palestine, State of | 1999 | .ps | Previous ISO country name: Palestinian Territory, Occupied Consists of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip | ||
| Portugal | 1974 | .pt | |||
| Palau | 1986 | .pw | |||
| Paraguay | 1974 | .py | |||
| Qatar | 1974 | .qa | |||
| 1974 | .re | ||||
| Romania | 1974 | .ro | |||
| Serbia | 2006 | .rs | Republic of Serbia | ||
| Russian Federation | 1992 | .ru | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Rwanda | 1974 | .rw | |||
| Saudi Arabia | 1974 | .sa | |||
| Solomon Islands | 1974 | .sb | Code taken from former name: British Solomon Islands | ||
| Seychelles | 1974 | .sc | |||
| Sudan | 1974 | .sd | |||
| Sweden | 1974 | .se | |||
| Singapore | 1974 | .sg | |||
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | 1974 | .sh | Previous ISO country name: Saint Helena | ||
| Slovenia | 1992 | .si | |||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen | 1974 | .sj | Consists of two arctic territories of Norway: Svalbard and Jan Mayen | ||
| Slovakia | 1993 | .sk | previously represented Sikkim | ||
| Sierra Leone | 1974 | .sl | |||
| San Marino | 1974 | .sm | |||
| Senegal | 1974 | .sn | |||
| Somalia | 1974 | .so | |||
| Suriname | 1974 | .sr | |||
| South Sudan | 2011 | .ss | |||
| São Tomé and Príncipe| | 1974 | .st | |||
| El Salvador | 1974 | .sv | |||
| Sint Maarten | 2010 | .sx | The French part of Saint Martin island is assigned code #MF| | ||
| Syrian Arab Republic | 1974 | .sy | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Eswatini | 1974 | .sz | Previous ISO country name: Swaziland | ||
| Turks and Caicos Islands | 1974 | .tc | |||
| Chad | 1974 | .td | Code taken from name in French: Tchad | ||
| French Southern Territories | 1979 | .tf | Covers the French Southern and Antarctic Lands except Adélie Land Code taken from name in French: Terres australes françaises | ||
| Togo | 1974 | .tg | |||
| Thailand | 1974 | .th | |||
| Tajikistan | 1992 | .tj | |||
| Tokelau | 1974 | .tk | |||
| Timor-Leste | 2002 | .tl | Name changed from East Timor | ||
| Turkmenistan | 1992 | .tm | |||
| Tunisia | 1974 | .tn | |||
| Tonga | 1974 | .to | |||
| Turkey | 1974 | .tr | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1974 | .tt | |||
| Tuvalu | 1977 | .tv | |||
| Taiwan, Province of China | 1974 | .tw | Covers the current jurisdiction of the Republic of China ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Tanzania, United Republic of | 1974 | .tz | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Ukraine | 1974 | .ua | Previous ISO country name: Ukrainian SSR Code assigned as the country was already a UN member since 1945 | ||
| Uganda | 1974 | .ug | |||
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | 1986 | Consists of nine minor insular areas of the United States: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island ccTLD was revoked in 2007 | |||
| United States of America | 1974 | .us | |||
| Uruguay | 1974 | .uy | |||
| Uzbekistan | 1992 | .uz | |||
| Holy See | 1974 | .va | Covers Vatican City, territory of the Holy See Previous ISO country name: Vatican City State | ||
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1974 | .vc | |||
| Venezuela | 1974 | .ve | ISO country name follows UN designation | ||
| Virgin Islands | 1974 | .vg | |||
| Virgin Islands | 1974 | .vi | |||
| Viet Nam | 1974 | .vn | ISO country name follows UN designation Code used for Republic of Viet Nam before 1977 | ||
| Vanuatu | 1980 | .vu | Name changed from New Hebrides | ||
| Wallis and Futuna | 1974 | .wf | |||
| Samoa | 1974 | .ws | Code taken from former name: Western Samoa | ||
| Yemen | 1974 | .ye | Previous ISO country name: Yemen, Republic of Code used for North Yemen before 1990 | ||
| Mayotte | 1993 | .yt | |||
| South Africa | 1974 | .za | Code taken from name in Dutch: Zuid-Afrika | ||
| Zambia | 1974 | .zm | |||
| Zimbabwe | 1980 | .zw | Name changed from Southern Rhodesia |
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:, to, to, and. For example:- The International Standard Recording Code uses as a second country code for the United States, as it ran out of three-character registrant codes within the prefix. It also uses for some registrants assigned directly.
- The Unicode Common Locale Data Repository assigns to represent Outlying Oceania, and to represent "Unknown or Invalid Territory". Before the adoption of the macroregion code by ISO, CLDR also used to represent the European Union.
- The code is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for the Community Plant Variety Office.
- The code is being used by Switzerland, as a country code for the Canary Islands, although is already reserved for that purpose.
- The code is being used by the European Commission, the IMF, and SWIFT, CLDR and other organizations as a temporary country code for Kosovo.
- The code is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for the Nordic Patent Institute, an international organization common to Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
- The code is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants.
- The code is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for the Visegrad Patent Institute.
- The code is being used by the World Intellectual Property Organization as an indicator for unknown states, other entities or organizations.
- UN/LOCODE assigns to represent installations in international waters.
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:| Code | Area name or country name | Current actual country | ccTLD | Notes |
| Ascension Island | United Kingdom | .ac | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area | |
| Clipperton Island | France | — | Reserved on request of ITU for location of certain telecommunications installations | |
| Diego Garcia | United Kingdom | — | Reserved on request of ITU for location of certain telecommunications installations | |
| Ceuta, Melilla | Spain | — | Reserved on request of WCO for area not covered by European Union Customs arrangements Part of Spanish North Africa | |
| European Union | multiple | .eu | Reserved on request of ISO 4217/MA for the European monetary unit Euro Extended for ISO 6166 "Securities - International securities identification numbering system " in March 1998 Extended for any application needing to represent the name European Union in August 1999 | |
| Eurozone | multiple | — | Reserved on request of ISO 6166/RA for the European OTC derivatives within International securities identification numbering system | |
| France, Metropolitan | France | — | Reserved on request of France Officially assigned before deleted from ISO 3166-1 | |
| Canary Islands | Spain | — | Reserved on request of WCO for area not covered by European Union Customs arrangements. Code taken from name in Spanish: Islas Canarias | |
| USSR | multiple | .su | From June 2008; Transitionally reserved from September 1992 Officially assigned before deleted from ISO 3166-1 Official name: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | |
| Tristan da Cunha | United Kingdom | — | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area | |
| United Kingdom | United Kingdom | .uk | Reserved on request of the United Kingdom lest be used for any other country Also used by the European Commission United Kingdom is officially assigned the alpha-2 code | |
| United Nations | multiple | — | Reserved directly by ISO 3166/MA for the United Nations |
The following alpha-2 codes were previously exceptionally reserved, but are now officially assigned:
| Code | Area name or country name | Notes |
| Åland Islands | Reserved on request of Finland | |
| Guernsey | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area | |
| Isle of Man | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area | |
| Jersey | Reserved on request of UPU for stamp issuing area |
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:| Code | Formerly used country name | Reserved from | Reserved to | ccTLD | Notes | ||
| Netherlands Antilles | 2010-12 | 2060-12 | ISO 3166-3#ANHH| | Divided into,, | |||
| Burma | 1989-12 | 2039-12 | — | — | ISO 3166-3#BUMM| | Name changed to Myanmar | |
| Originally Czechoslovakia, later Serbia and Montenegro | 2006-09 | 2056-09 | ISO 3166-3#CSHH| ISO 3166-3#CSXX| | Code taken from name in Serbian: Srbija i Crna Gora Now divided into Montenegro and Serbia previously represented Czechoslovakia. Czechia uses and Slovakia | |||
| Neutral Zone | 1993-07 | 2043-07 | — | — | ISO 3166-3#NTHH| | Divided between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | |
| Finland | 1995-09 | ? | — | — | — | Previously used in international postal codes and vehicle registration codes to represent Finland Code taken from name in Finnish and Swedish combined: Suomi Finland Finland is officially assigned the alpha-2 code Listed as [|transitionally reserved] until 2012-06. Since then listed as indeterminately reserved. | |
| East Timor | 2002-05 | 2052-05 | .tp | ISO 3166-3#TPTL| | Code taken from previous ISO country name: Portuguese Timor, name changed to Timor-Leste | ||
| Yugoslavia | 2003-07 | 2053-07 | .yu | ISO 3166-3#YUCS| | Code used for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia before 1992 and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after 1992 | ||
| Zaire | 1997-07 | 2047-07 | .zr | — | ISO 3166-3#ZRCD| | Name changed to Congo, the Democratic Republic of the |
The following alpha-2 code was previously transitionally reserved, but was later reassigned to another country as its official code:
| Code | Formerly used country name | Date of reservation | ccTLD | Notes | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 1993-06 | .cs | — | ISO 3166-3#CSHH| | ISO country name from 1990 to 1992: Czech and Slovak Federative Republic Code reassigned to Serbia and Montenegro |
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.
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:| Code | Area name or country name | Notes |
| Benin | ||
| Estonia | ||
| Liechtenstein | ||
| Jamaica | ||
| Libya Fezzan | ||
| Philippines | ||
| Argentina | ||
| Bolivia | ||
| Botswana | ||
| China | ||
| Haiti | ||
| Indonesia | ||
| Lebanon | ||
| Madagascar | ||
| Niger | ||
| Philippines | ||
| Finland | ||
| Grenada | ||
| Saint Lucia | ||
| Saint Vincent | ||
| Venezuela |
The following alpha-2 codes were previously indeterminately reserved, but have been reassigned to another country as its official code:
| Code | Area name or country name | Notes | Code reassigned to |
| Libya Tripoli | Lithuania | ||
| Western Sahara | Montenegro | ||
| Burundi | Russian Federation |
; 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:| Code | Organization name |
| African Regional Industrial Property Organization | |
| Benelux Trademarks and Designs Office | |
| Union of Countries under the | |
| European Trademark Office | |
| European Patent Organization | |
| Eurasian Patent Organization | |
| Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf | |
| International Bureau of WIPO | |
| African Intellectual Property Organization | |
| World Intellectual Property Organization |
WIPO Standard ST.3 actually uses, instead of, to represent the Eurasian Patent Organization. However, 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 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, the following alpha-2 codes have also been deleted from ISO 3166-1:| Code | Formerly used country name | Notes | |
| French Afars and Issas | ISO 3166-3#AIDJ| | Code later reassigned to Anguilla | |
| British Antarctic Territory | ISO 3166-3#BQAQ| | Code later reassigned to Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | |
| Canton and Enderbury Islands | ISO 3166-3#CTKI| | ||
| German Democratic Republic | ISO 3166-3#DDDE| | Code taken from name in German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik Common name: East Germany | |
| Dahomey | ISO 3166-3#DYBJ| | Name changed to Benin The code is now indeterminately reserved. | |
| French Southern and Antarctic Territories | ISO 3166-3#FQHH| | See and. | |
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | ISO 3166-3#GEHH| | Code later reassigned to Georgia | |
| Upper Volta | ISO 3166-3#HVBF| | Code taken from name in French: Haute-Volta | |
| Johnston Island | ISO 3166-3#JTUM| | ||
| Midway Islands | ISO 3166-3#MIUM| | ||
| New Hebrides | ISO 3166-3#NHVU| | ||
| Dronning Maud Land | ISO 3166-3#NQAQ| | Part of Norwegian Antarctic Territory | |
| Pacific Islands | ISO 3166-3#PCHH| | ||
| United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands | ISO 3166-3#PUUM| | Consisted of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll | |
| Panama Canal Zone | ISO 3166-3#PZPA| | ||
| Southern Rhodesia | ISO 3166-3#RHZW| | Name used by country itself: Rhodesia | |
| Sikkim | ISO 3166-3#SKIN| | Code later reassigned to Slovakia | |
| Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of | ISO 3166-3#VDVN| | Common name: North Vietnam | |
| Wake Island | ISO 3166-3#WKUM| | ||
| Yemen, Democratic | ISO 3166-3#YDYE| | Common name: South Yemen |
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.