ISO 3166-3
ISO 3166-3is part of theISO 3166standardpublished by theInternational Organization for Standardization(ISO), and definescodesforcountrynames which have been deleted fromISO 3166-1since its first publication in 1974. The official name of the standard isCodes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 3: Code for formerly used names of countries.[1]It was first published in 1999.
Each former country name in ISO 3166-3 is assigned a four-letter Alpha betic code. The first two letters are theISO 3166-1 Alpha -2code of the former country, while the last two letters are allocated according to the following rules:[2]
- If the country changed its name, the new ISO 3166-1 Alpha -2 code is used (e.g.,Burmachanged its name to Myanmar, whose new Alpha -2 code isMM), or the special codeAAis used if its Alpha -2 code was not changed (e.g.,Byelorussian SSRchanged its name toBelarus,which has kept the same Alpha -2 code).
- If the country merged into an existing country, the ISO 3166-1 Alpha -2 code of this country is used (e.g., theGerman Democratic Republicmerged intoGermany,whose Alpha -2 code isDE).
- If the country was divided into several parts, the special codeHHis used to indicate that there is no single successor country (e.g.,Czechoslovakiawas divided into theCzech RepublicandSlovakia), with the exception ofSerbia and Montenegro,for whichXXis used to avoid duplicate use of the same ISO 3166-3 code, as the Alpha -2 codeCShad twice been deleted from ISO 3166-1, the first time due to the split of Czechoslovakia and the second time due to the split of Serbia and Montenegro.
Besides the former country name and its ISO 3166-3 code, each entry in ISO 3166-3 also contains its former ISO 3166-1 codes, its period of validity, and the new country names and ISO 3166-1 codes used after its deletion from ISO 3166-1.
After a country is deleted from ISO 3166-1, its Alpha -2 and Alpha -3 codes will betransitionally reservedfor a transitional period of at least fifty years. After the expiration of the transitional period, these codes are free to be reassigned.
If a country changes its name without any territorial change, its ISO 3166-1 numeric code remains the same. For example, whenBurmawas renamed Myanmar without territorial change in 1989, its Alpha betic codes were changed, but its numeric code104has remained the same.
Currently, a few ccTLDs using deleted Alpha -2 codes are still active or being phased out. However, Alpha -2 codes which were deleted before the popularization of theDomain Name Systemin the late 1980s and early 1990s were never used for theInternet'scountry code top-level domains(ccTLDs). Likewise,ISO 3166-2,the ISO standard for country subdivision codes which was first published in 1998, predated the deletion of many Alpha -2 codes.
Current codes[edit]
The following is a list of current ISO 3166-3 codes, with the following columns:
- Former country name– English short country name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA)
- Former codes– ISO 3166-1Alpha -2,Alpha -3,andnumericcodes
- Period of validity– Years when codes were officially assigned
- ISO 3166-3 code– Four-letter code assigned for former country name
- New country names and codes– Successor countries and their ISO 3166-1 codes
Click on the button in the header to sort by ISO 3166-3 code.
| Former country name | Former codes | Period of validity | ISO 3166-3code | New country names and codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Antarctic Territory | BQ,ATB,- | 1974–1979 | BQAQ | Merged intoAntarctica(AQ,ATA,010) |
| Burma | BU,BUR,104 | 1974–1989 | BUMM | Name changed toMyanmar(MM,MMR,104) |
| Byelorussian SSR | BY,BYS,112 | 1974–1992 | BYAA | Name changed toBelarus(BY,BLR,112) |
| Canton and Enderbury Islands | CT,CTE,128 | 1974–1984 | CTKI | Merged intoKiribati(KI,KIR,296) |
| Czechoslovakia | CS,CSK,200 | 1974–1993 | CSHH |
Divided into: Czechia(CZ,CZE,203) Slovakia(SK,SVK,703) |
| Dahomey | DY,DHY,- | 1974–1977 | DYBJ | Name changed toBenin(BJ,BEN,204) |
| Dronning Maud Land | NQ,ATN,216 | 1974–1983 | NQAQ | Merged intoAntarctica(AQ,ATA,010) |
| East Timor[note 1] | TP,TMP,626 | 1974–2002 | TPTL | Name changed toTimor-Leste(TL,TLS,626) |
| France, Metropolitan | FX,FXX,249 | 1993–1997 | FXFR | Merged intoFrance(FR,FRA,250) |
| French Afars and Issas | AI,AFI,- | 1974–1977 | AIDJ | Name changed toDjibouti(DJ,DJI,262) |
| French Southern and Antarctic Territories | FQ,ATF,- | 1974–1979 | FQHH | Divided into: Part ofAntarctica(AQ,ATA,010)(i.e.,Adélie Land) French Southern Territories(TF,ATF,260) |
| German Democratic Republic | DD,DDR,278 | 1974–1990 | DDDE | Merged intoGermany(DE,DEU,276) |
| Gilbert Islands[note 2] | GE,GEL,- | 1974–1979 | GEHH | Name changed toKiribati(KI,KIR,296) |
| Johnston Island | JT,JTN,396 | 1974–1986 | JTUM | Merged intoUnited States Minor Outlying Islands(UM,UMI,581) |
| Midway Islands | MI,MID,488 | 1974–1986 | MIUM | Merged intoUnited States Minor Outlying Islands(UM,UMI,581) |
| Netherlands Antilles | AN,ANT,530 [note 3] |
1974–2010[note 4] | ANHH | Divided into: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba(BQ,BES,535)[note 5] Curaçao(CW,CUW,531) Sint Maarten (Dutch part)(SX,SXM,534) |
| Neutral Zone | NT,NTZ,536 | 1974–1993 | NTHH | Divided into: Part ofIraq(IQ,IRQ,368) Part ofSaudi Arabia(SA,SAU,682) |
| New Hebrides | NH,NHB,- | 1974–1980 | NHVU | Name changed toVanuatu(VU,VUT,548) |
| Pacific Islands (Trust Territory) | PC,PCI,582 | 1974–1986 | PCHH | Divided into: Marshall Islands(MH,MHL,584) Micronesia (Federated States of)(FM,FSM,583) Northern Mariana Islands(MP,MNP,580) Palau(PW,PLW,585) |
| Panama Canal Zone | PZ,PCZ,- | 1974–1980 | PZPA | Merged intoPanama(PA,PAN,591) |
| Serbia and Montenegro | CS,SCG,891 | 2003–2006 | CSXX [note 6] |
Divided into: Montenegro(ME,MNE,499) Serbia(RS,SRB,688) |
| Sikkim | SK,SKM,- | 1974–1975 | SKIN | Merged intoIndia(IN,IND,356) |
| Southern Rhodesia | RH,RHO,- | 1974–1980 | RHZW | Name changed toZimbabwe(ZW,ZWE,716) |
| United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands | PU,PUS,849 | 1974–1986 | PUUM | Merged intoUnited States Minor Outlying Islands(UM,UMI,581) |
| Upper Volta | HV,HVO,854 | 1974–1984 | HVBF | Name changed toBurkina Faso(BF,BFA,854) |
| USSR | SU,SUN,810 | 1974–1992 | SUHH | Divided into:[note 7] Armenia(AM,ARM,051) Azerbaijan(AZ,AZE,031) Estonia(EE,EST,233) Georgia(GE,GEO,268) Kazakhstan(KZ,KAZ,398) Kyrgyzstan(KG,KGZ,417) Latvia(LV,LVA,428) Lithuania(LT,LTU,440) Moldova, Republic of(MD,MDA,498) Russian Federation(RU,RUS,643) Tajikistan(TJ,TJK,762) Turkmenistan(TM,TKM,795) Uzbekistan(UZ,UZB,860) |
| Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of | VD,VDR,- | 1974–1977 | VDVN | Merged intoViet Nam(VN,VNM,704) |
| Wake Island | WK,WAK,872 | 1974–1986 | WKUM | Merged intoUnited States Minor Outlying Islands(UM,UMI,581) |
| Yemen, Democratic | YD,YMD,720 | 1974–1990 | YDYE | Merged intoYemen(YE,YEM,887) |
| Yugoslavia | YU,YUG,891 [note 8] |
1974–2003 | YUCS | Name changed toSerbia and Montenegro(CS,SCG,891) |
| Zaire | ZR,ZAR,180 | 1974–1997 | ZRCD | Name changed toCongo, Democratic Republic of the(CD,COD,180) |
- Notes
- ^East Timor was included in ISO 3166-1 under the name ofPortuguese Timorfrom 1974 to 1977.
- ^Included in ISO 3166-1 under the name ofGilbert and Ellice Islandsbefore the split ofTuvaluin 1977.
- ^The ISO 3166-1 numeric code of the Netherlands Antilles was changed from532to530afterArubasplit away in 1986.
- ^The period of validity was corrected from 1974–2011 to 1974–2010 with a reissue of ISO 3166-3 Newsletter I-6.
- ^The territory name was corrected from "Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba" to "Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba" inISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-9.
- ^Initially the ISO 3166-3 codeCSHHwas assigned to represent Serbia and Montenegro (Newsletter I-4), even though it had already been assigned to represent Czechoslovakia. The ISO 3166/MA later rectified the problem by agreeing to assign the ISO 3166-3 codeCSXXto represent Serbia and Montenegro (Newsletter I-5).
- ^Despite being part of the USSR,Belarus(thenByelorussian SSR) andUkraine(thenUkrainian SSR) already had their own ISO 3166-1 codes due to them being UN members since 1945.
- ^The ISO 3166-1 numeric code of Yugoslavia was changed from890(for theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) to891(for theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia) in 1993.
Changes[edit]
The ISO 3166/MA updates ISO 3166-3 when necessary. The updating of ISO 3166-3 is totally dependent on the updating of ISO 3166-1.
ISO used to announce changes in newsletters which updated the currently valid standard, and releasing new editions which comprise a consolidation of newsletter changes. As of July 2013, changes are published in the online catalogue of ISO only and no newsletters are published anymore. Past newsletters remain available on the ISO website.
| Edition/Newsletter | Date issued | Former country name added | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 3166-3:1999 | 1999-03-11 | First edition of ISO 3166-3 | |
| Newsletter I-1 | 2002-11-15 | East Timor | In accordance withISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-5andNewsletter V-6 |
| Newsletter I-2 | 2002-11-22 | France, Metropolitan | Correction. Entry inadvertently omitted from ISO 3166-3 when first published in 1999 |
| Newsletter I-3 | 2003-07-23 | Yugoslavia | In accordance withISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-8 |
| Newsletter I-4 | 2006-09-26 | Serbia and Montenegro | In accordance withISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-12 |
| Newsletter I-5 | 2006-12-01 | None | Rectify Newsletter I-4 by assigning the codeCSXXto representSerbia and Montenegro |
| Newsletter I-6 | 2011-03-14 (corrected 2013-02-06) |
Netherlands Antilles | In accordance withISO 3166-1 Newsletter VI-8 |
| ISO 3166-3:2013 | 2013-11-19 | Second edition of ISO 3166-3 (this is the final print edition of ISO 3166-3; all further changes are published in the online catalogue) | |
| ISO 3166-3:2020 | 2020-08 | Third edition of ISO 3166-3 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"ISO 3166-3:2013".International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
- ^Clive Feather (2003-07-25)."Country codes in ISO 3166 (Table 2: codes withdrawn from use)".
Sources and external links[edit]
- ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency,International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Administrative Divisions of Countries ( "Statoids" ),Statoids