ISO 3166-3 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for country names which have been deleted from ISO 3166-1 since its first publication in 1974. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 3: Code for formerly used names of countries. It was first published in 1999.
Each former country name in ISO 3166-3 is assigned a four-letter alphabetic code. The first two letters are the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the former country, while the last two letters are allocated according to following rules:[1]
- If the country changed its name, the new ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code is used (e.g., Burma changed its name to Myanmar, whose new alpha-2 code is MM), or the special code AA is used if its alpha-2 code is not changed (e.g., Byelorussian SSR changed its name to Belarus, 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., the German Democratic Republic merged into Germany, whose alpha-2 code is DE).
- If the country was divided into several parts, the special code HH is used to indicate that there is no single successor country (e.g., Czechoslovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia), with the exception of Serbia and Montenegro, for which XX is used to avoid confusion.
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.
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[edit] Current codes
The following is a complete list of the current ISO 3166-3 codes, with six columns:
- Former country name — English short country name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA)
- Former codes — ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, alpha-3, and numeric codes
- Period of validity — Years when codes were officially assigned
- ISO 3166-3 code — Four-letter code assigned for former country name (click on the button in the header to sort by ISO 3166-3 code)
- New country names and codes — Successor countries and their ISO 3166-1 codes
- Notes — Any unofficial notes
The alpha-2 code CS had 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. Initially, the code CSHH was assigned to represent Serbia and Montenegro in ISO 3166-3 (Newsletter I-4), even though it had already been assigned to represent Czechoslovakia. To avoid confusion, the ISO 3166/MA later rectified the problem by agreeing to assign the code CSXX to represent Serbia and Montenegro (Newsletter I-5).
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.
After a country is deleted from ISO 3166-1, its alpha-2 and alpha-3 codes will be transitionally reserved for a transitional period of at least five years. After the expiration of the transitional period, these codes are free to be reassigned.
Many of these alpha-2 codes were deleted before the popularization of the Domain Name System, and so were never used for the Internet's country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Currently, a few ccTLDs using deleted codes are still active or being phased out.
Likewise, only a few of these alpha-2 codes were used in ISO 3166-2, the ISO standard for country subdivision codes, which was first published in 1998.
| Former country name | Former codes | Period of validity | ISO 3166-3 code | New country names and codes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Antarctic Territory | BQ, ATB, 080 | 1974–1979 | BQAQ | Merged into Antarctica (AQ, ATA, 010) | |
| Burma | BU, BUR, 104 | 1974–1989 | BUMM | Name changed to Myanmar (MM, MMR, 104) | BU currently transitionally reserved |
| Byelorussian SSR | BY, BYS, 112 | 1974–1992 | BYAA | Name changed to Belarus (BY, BLR, 112) | |
| Canton and Enderbury Islands | CT, CTE, 128 | 1974–1984 | CTKI | Merged into Kiribati (KI, KIR, 296) | |
| Czechoslovakia | CS, CSK, 200 | 1974–1993 | CSHH | Divided into: Czech Republic (CZ, CZE, 203) Slovakia (SK, SVK, 703) |
CS later reassigned to Serbia and Montenegro .cs deleted |
| Dahomey | DY, DHY, 204 | 1974–1977 | DYBJ | Name changed to Benin (BJ, BEN, 204) | |
| Dronning Maud Land | NQ, ATN, 216 | 1974–1983 | NQAQ | Merged into Antarctica (AQ, ATA, 010) | Alphabetic codes taken from name of territory: Norwegian Antarctic Territory |
| East Timor | TP, TMP, 626 | 1974–2002 | TPTL | Name changed to Timor-Leste (TL, TLS, 626) | Included in ISO 3166-1 under the name of Portuguese Timor from 1974 to 1977 Alphabetic codes taken from former name: Portuguese Timor TP currently transitionally reserved .tp currently being phased out ISO 3166-2:TP changed to ISO 3166-2:TL |
| France, Metropolitan | FX, FXX, 249 | 1993–1997 | FXFR | Merged into France (FR, FRA, 250) | FX currently exceptionally reserved |
| French Afar and Issas | AI, AFI, 262 | 1974–1977 | AIDJ | Name changed to Djibouti (DJ, DJI, 262) | AI later reassigned to Anguilla |
| French Southern and Antarctic Territories | FQ, ATF, 260 | 1974–1979 | FQHH | Divided into: Part of Antarctica (AQ, ATA, 010) (i.e., Adélie Land) French Southern Territories (TF, ATF, 260) |
|
| German Democratic Republic | DD, DDR, 278 | 1974–1990 | DDDE | Merged into Germany (DE, DEU, 276) | i.e., East Germany Alphabetic codes taken from name in German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik |
| Gilbert and Ellice Islands | GE, GEL, 296 | 1974–1979 | GEHH | Divided into: Kiribati (KI, KIR, 296) Tuvalu (TV, TUV, 798) |
GE later reassigned to Georgia |
| Johnston Island | JT, JTN, 396 | 1974–1986 | JTUM | Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (UM, UMI, 581) | |
| Midway Islands | MI, MID, 488 | 1974–1986 | MIUM | Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (UM, UMI, 581) | |
| Neutral Zone | NT, NTZ, 536 | 1974–1993 | NTHH | Divided into: Part of Iraq (IQ, IRQ, 368) Part of Saudi Arabia (SA, SAU, 682) |
NT currently transitionally reserved |
| New Hebrides | NH, NHB, 548 | 1974–1980 | NHVU | Name changed to Vanuatu (VU, VUT, 548) | |
| Pacific Islands, Trust Territory of the | 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, 594 | 1974–1980 | PZPA | Merged into Panama (PA, PAN, 591) | |
| Serbia and Montenegro | CS, SCG, 891 | 2003–2006 | CSXX | Divided into: Montenegro (ME, MNE, 499) Serbia (RS, SRB, 688) |
Alphabetic codes taken from name in Serbian: Srbija i Crna Gora CS previously represented Czechoslovakia CS currently transitionally reserved ISO 3166-2:CS deleted |
| Sikkim | SK, SKM, 698 | 1974–1975 | SKIN | Merged into India (IN, IND, 356) | SK later reassigned to Slovakia |
| Southern Rhodesia | RH, RHO, 716 | 1974–1980 | RHZW | Name changed to Zimbabwe (ZW, ZWE, 716) | |
| Upper Volta | HV, HVO, 854 | 1974–1984 | HVBF | Name changed to Burkina Faso (BF, BFA, 854) | Alphabetic codes taken from name in French: Haute-Volta |
| U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands | PU, PUS, 849 | 1974–1986 | PUUM | Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (UM, UMI, 581) | Consists of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll |
| USSR | SU, SUN, 810 | 1974–1992 | SUHH | Divided into: 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) (Note: Belarus and Ukraine already had their separate codes due to them being UN members since 1945)[1] |
Alphabetic codes taken from common name: Soviet Union SU currently exceptionally reserved .su currently active |
| Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of | VD, VDR, 704 | 1974–1977 | VDVN | Merged into Viet Nam (VN, VNM, 704) | i.e., North Vietnam |
| Wake Island | WK, WAK, 872 | 1974–1986 | WKUM | Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (UM, UMI, 581) | |
| Yemen, Democratic | YD, YMD, 720 | 1974–1990 | YDYE | Merged into Yemen (YE, YEM, 887) | i.e., South Yemen |
| Yugoslavia | YU, YUG, 891 | 1974–2003 | YUCS | Name changed to Serbia and Montenegro (CS, SCG, 891) | Alphabetic codes used for both SFR Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia Numeric code changed from 890 (for SFR Yugoslavia) to 891 (for FR Yugoslavia) in 1993 YU currently transitionally reserved .yu currently being phased out ISO 3166-2:YU changed to ISO 3166-2:CS |
| Zaire | ZR, ZAR, 180 | 1974–1997 | ZRCD | Name changed to Congo, the Democratic Republic of the (CD, COD, 180) | ZR currently transitionally reserved .zr deleted |
[edit] Editions and changes
There has been only one edition of ISO 3166-3 (ISO 3166-3:1999), published on 1999-03-11.
Between different editions, the ISO 3166/MA updates the code lists by announcing the changes in newsletters.[2] The updating of ISO 3166-3 is totally dependent on the updating of ISO 3166-1.
| Newsletter updates on the 1st edition of ISO 3166-3 (ISO 3166-3:1999) | |||
| Newsletter | Publication date | Former country name added | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-1 | 2002-11-15 | East Timor | In accordance with ISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-5 and Newsletter V-6 |
| I-2 | 2002-11-22 | France, Metropolitan | Correction. Entry inadvertently omitted from ISO 3166-3 when first published in 1999 |
| I-3 | 2003-07-23 | Yugoslavia | In accordance with ISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-8 |
| I-4 | 2006-09-26 | Serbia and Montenegro | In accordance with ISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-12 |
| I-5 | 2006-12-01 | None | Rectify Newsletter I-4 by assigning the code CSXX to represent Serbia and Montenegro |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Codes to history: Code for formerly used names of countries completes the trilogy of country codes". ISO Bulletin. International Organization for Standardization (ISO). 2000-04. pp. 10–12. http://www.iso.org/iso/codes0004-2.pdf.
- ^ "Updates on ISO 3166". ISO. http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/updates_on_iso_3166.htm.
[edit] Sources and external links
- ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- ISO 3166-1 Change History, Statoids.com
- Country codes in ISO 3166 (last modified: 2003-07-25)
- GHOC Excel Worksheet
, Global Financial Data
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