ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
Reserved code elements are codes which, while not ISO 3166-1 codes, are in use for some applications in conjunction with the ISO 3166 codes. The ISO 3166/MA therefore reserves them, so that they are not used for new official ISO 3166 codes, thereby creating conflicts between the standard and those applications. The alpha-2 reserved code elements list is divided into the following four categories.
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Exceptional reservations
Exceptionally reserved alpha-2 code elements are reserved permanently at the request of national ISO member bodies, governments and international organizations because they are needed for particular purposes. ISO 3166/MA only authorizes their use for the particular purpose for which they were established. The following alpha-2 codes are currently exceptionally reserved:
| Alpha-2 | Country name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AC | Ascension Island | Reserved on request of UPU Used for the Internet ccTLD .ac |
| CP | Clipperton Island | Reserved on request of ITU |
| DG | Diego Garcia | Reserved on request of ITU |
| EA | Ceuta and Melilla | Reserved on request of WCO to represent area outside EU customs territory |
| EU | European Union | Originally reserved on request of ISO 4217/MA to provide country code for Euro Later extended for use in the ISO 6166 International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) system Later extended by ISO 3166/MA to any application needing to represent the name European Union Used for the Internet ccTLD .eu |
| FX | France, Metropolitan | Reserved on request of France |
| IC | Canary Islands | Reserved on request of WCO to represent area outside EU customs territory |
| TA | Tristan da Cunha | Reserved on request of UPU |
| UK | United Kingdom | Reserved on request of the United Kingdom Used for the Internet ccTLD .uk, and by the European Commission |
The following three codes were also under exceptional reservation, until the update from 2006-03-29 included them in the standard as official codes:
| Alpha-2 | Country name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GG | Guernsey | Reserved on request of UPU Used for the Internet ccTLD .gg |
| IM | Isle of Man | Reserved on request of UPU Used for the Internet ccTLD .im |
| JE | Jersey | Reserved on request of UPU Used for the Internet ccTLD .je |
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Transitional reservations
A transitional reservation refers to a code which was formerly present in ISO 3166, but which since has been deleted. It will be maintained as a transitional reservation for at least five years, for the sake of users who still need to refer to the former entity or whose systems have not yet been updated to refer to the new code. The following alpha-2 codes are currently transitionally reserved:
| Alpha-2 | Country name | Date of reservation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BU | Burma | December 1989 | |
| CS | Serbia and Montenegro | September 2006 | CS previously represented Czechoslovakia |
| NT | Neutral Zone | July 1993 | |
| SF | Finland | September 1995 | Finland currently uses the code FI |
| SU | U.S.S.R. | September 1992 | Still used for the Internet ccTLD .su |
| TP | East Timor | May 2002 | Still used for the Internet ccTLD .tp |
| YU | Yugoslavia | July 2003 | Still used for the Internet ccTLD .yu |
| ZR | Zaire | July 1997 |
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Indeterminate reservations
The indeterminately reserved alpha-2 code elements are code elements used to identify vehicles under the 1949 and 1968 United Nations Road Traffic Conventions. These codes differ from those used in ISO 3166. The ISO 3166/MA hopes that these codes will eventually be phased out and that ISO 3166-1 codes will be used instead; but in the meantime they are reserved, to avoid conflicts between ISO 3166-1 and the Conventions, and to facilitate any transition from the Convention codes to ISO 3166-1 codes. However, they can be reassigned at any time by the ISO 3166/MA. The following alpha-2 codes are currently indeterminately reserved:
| Alpha-2 | Country |
|---|---|
| DY | Benin 1 |
| EW | Estonia 1 |
| FL | Liechtenstein 2 |
| JA | Jamaica 3 |
| LF | Libya Fezzan 2 |
| PI | Philippines 3 |
| RA | Argentina 3 |
| RB | Bolivia 2,5 |
| RB | Botswana 3,5 |
| RC | China 3 |
| RH | Haiti 1 |
| RI | Indonesia 3 |
| RL | Lebanon 3 |
| RM | Madagascar 3 |
| RN | Niger 4 |
| RP | Philippines 4 |
| WG | Grenada 1 |
| WL | Saint Lucia 1 |
| WV | Saint Vincent 1 |
| YV | Venezuela 1 |
The following codes have been reassigned:
| Alpha-2 | Country |
|---|---|
| LT | Libya Tripoli 2 — Reassigned to Lithuania |
| ME | Western Sahara 2 — Reassigned to Montenegro |
| RU | Burundi 2 — Reassigned to Russian Federation |
Notes:
1 Code notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 and/or 1968 Road Traffic Conventions
2 Code in use for road transport purposes, but not notified to United Nations Secretary-General under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
3 Code under 1949 Road Traffic Convention
4 Code under 1968 Road Traffic Convention
5 This code in use to refer to both Bolivia and Botswana
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Codes currently agreed not to use
In addition, the ISO 3166/MA has undertaken, for the time being, not to use the following alpha-2 codes from WIPO Standard ST.3. However, this undertaking is not classified as a transitional, indeterminate or transitional reservation, since the codes do not refer to countries, dependent areas or other geographic regions or localities:
| Alpha-2 | Organization |
|---|---|
| AP | African Regional Intellectual Property Organization |
| BX | Benelux Trademarks and Design Offices |
| EF | Union of Countries under the European Community Patent Convention |
| EM | European Trademark Office |
| EP | European Patent Organization |
| EV | Eurasian Patent Organization |
| GC | Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) |
| IB | International Bureau of WIPO |
| OA | African Intellectual Property Organization |
| WO | World Intellectual Property Organization |
WIPO Standard ST.3 actually uses EA to code the Eurasian Patent Organization. However, ISO 3166/MA has stated it cannot guarantee to reserve the code EA from use, since it is already used for customs purposes to represent Ceuta and Melilla. ISO 3166/MA proposed in 1995 that EV be used by WIPO for the purpose of representing the Eurasian Patent Organization; however, this request was not honoured by WIPO.
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Other withdrawn codes
- See also: ISO 3166-3 for a full list of withdrawn codes
Besides the codes currently transitionally reserved and FX (now exceptionally reserved), these alpha-2 codes have also been withdrawn since the first edition of ISO 3166 in 1974:
| Alpha-2 | Country name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AI | French Afar and Issas | AI has been reassigned to Anguilla |
| BQ | British Antarctic Territory | |
| CS | Czechoslovakia | CS was reassigned to Serbia and Montenegro until its split in 2006 |
| CT | Canton and Enderbury Islands | |
| DD | German Democratic Republic | |
| DY | Dahomey | |
| FQ | French Southern and Antarctic Territories | |
| GE | Gilbert and Ellice Islands | GE has been reassigned to Georgia |
| HV | Upper Volta | |
| JT | Johnston Island | |
| MI | Midway Islands | |
| NH | New Hebrides | |
| NQ | Dronning Maud Land | |
| PC | Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the | |
| PU | U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands | |
| PZ | Panama Canal Zone | |
| RH | Southern Rhodesia | |
| SK | Sikkim | SK has been reassigned to Slovakia |
| VD | Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of | |
| WK | Wake Island | |
| YD | Yemen, Democratic |
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Sources and external links
- ^ IANA – Root Zone Database, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.
- ^ Publications Office – Interinstitutional style guide – Countries, European Commission.
- ^ UN/LOCODE by UNECE
- ^ 國家_貨品表_同期比(貨品)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO): Maintenance Agency
- CIA World Factbook, Appendix D – Cross-Reference List of Country Data Codes (public domain)
- Statoids, Country codes
- Country codes in ISO 3166 (outdated, include withdrawn codes)
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