Editing Country code

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{{Short description|Identification code for countries}}

A '''country code''' is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in [[data processing]] and [[communication]]s. Several identification systems have been developed.

The term ''country code'' frequently refers to [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]], as well as the telephone country code, which is embodied in the [[E.164]] recommendation by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

==ISO 3166-1==
The standard [[ISO 3166-1]] defines short identification codes for most countries and dependent areas:

*[[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]]: two-letter code
*[[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3]]: three-letter code
*[[ISO 3166-1 numeric]]: three-digit code

The two-letter codes are used as the basis for other codes and applications, for example,

*for [[ISO 4217]] [[currency]] codes
*with deviations, for [[country code top-level domain]] names (ccTLDs) on the Internet: [[list of Internet TLDs]].

Other applications are defined in [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]].

==ITU==
===Telephone country codes===
{{main|Telephone country code}}
{{See also|List of telephone country codes}}

Telephone country codes are [[telephone number]] prefixes for [[international direct dialing]] (IDD), a system for reaching subscribers in foreign areas via international telecommunication networks. Country codes are defined by the [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) in [[ITU-T]] standards [[E.123]] and [[E.164]].

Country codes constitute the international [[telephone numbering plan]]. They are dialed before the national telephone number of a destination in a foreign country or area, but typically require at least one additional prefix, the [[International direct dialing#International call prefix|international call prefix]] which is an exit code from the national numbering plan to the international one. ITU standards recommend the digit sequence ''00'' for the prefix, and most countries comply.

===Other ITU codes===
The ITU also maintains the following other country codes:
* The [[International mobile subscriber identity|E.212]] [[mobile country codes]] (MCC), for mobile/wireless phone addresses.
* The [[ITU prefix]], the first few characters of [[call sign]]s of radio and television stations (maritime, aeronautical, broadcasting, and other types) to identify their country of origin
** [[ITU prefix - amateur and experimental stations]], specific prefixes for [[amateur radio|amateur]] and experimental radio use, so that operators can be identified by their country of origin. These prefixes are legally administered by the national entity to which prefix ranges are assigned.
* [[Maritime identification digits]], to identify countries in maritime mobile radio transmissions.
* [[ITU letter codes]], to identify ITU member-countries.

==Other country codes==
{{dynamic list}}
The developers of ISO 3166 intended that in time it would replace other coding systems.

===Other general-purpose systems===
* '''[[List of FIPS country codes|FIPS country codes]]''': [[Federal Information Processing Standard]] (FIPS) [[FIPS 10-4|10-4]] defined two-letter codes used by the [[U.S. government]] and in the [[CIA World Factbook]]. On September 2, 2008, FIPS 10-4 was one of ten standards withdrawn by [[NIST]] as a Federal Information Processing Standard.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Federal Register |date= Sep 2, 2008 |volume= 73 |issue= 170 |page= 51276 |id= E8-20138 |url= https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/09/02/E8-20138/announcing-approval-of-the-withdrawal-of-ten-federal-information-processing-standards-fips |title= Announcing Approval of the Withdrawal of Ten Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) }}</ref>
* '''[[GOST 7.67]]''': country codes in [[Cyrillic]] from the [[GOST]] standards committee.
* '''[[List of NATO country codes|NATO country codes]]''': [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO) initially used two-letter codes largely borrowed from the FIPS 10-4 codes mentioned above. In 2003, the eighth edition of the Standardisation Agreement ([[STANAG]]) adopted the ISO 3166 three-letter codes with one exception (the code for Macedonia). With the ninth edition, NATO is transitioning to four- and six-letter codes based on ISO 3166 with a few exceptions and additions.
* The '''[[First-level NUTS of the European Union|first-level]]''' of the [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics]] of the [[European Union]], mostly focusing on EU member states.
* '''[[List of UNDP country codes|UNDP country codes]]''', used by the [[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP).
* '''[[World Area Codes]]''', used by the [[Bureau of Transportation Statistics]], part of the [[United States Department of Transportation]].

===Business===
* '''[[List of GS1 country codes|GS1 country codes]]''', defined by the nonprofit international organization [[GS1]] for its [[Global Trade Item Number]] (GTIN) and other standards for barcodes and the corresponding issue company prefixes.
* '''[[WIPO ST.3]]''', defined by [[World Intellectual Property Organization]] (WIPO) to identify both countries and regional intellectual property organizations.

===Sport===
* '''[[List of IOC country codes|IOC country codes]]''', defined by the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) to identify member countries, specifically [[National Olympic Committee]]s.
* '''[[List of FIFA country codes|FIFA country codes]]''', to identify member and non-member countries of [[FIFA]] (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).

===Transport===
* '''[[International vehicle registration code]]s''', under the 1949 [[Geneva Convention on Road Traffic]] and the 1968 [[Vienna Convention on Road Traffic]] to identify the country that issued a motor vehicle's [[vehicle registration plate]].
** After the [[Enlargement of the European Union|2004 EU enlargement]], the EU began instead using the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for license plate codes, but with two modifications: EL for Greece (instead of GR) and (formerly) UK for United Kingdom (instead of GB)[https://web.archive.org/web/20190628014602/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/4904.pdf]
** [[Diplomatic license plates in the United States]], issued by the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] to accredited diplomats, include a two-letter country code to identify that representative's country.
* '''[[List of aircraft registration prefixes|ICAO aircraft registration prefixes]]''', defined by the [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (ICAO) to identify an aircraft's country of registration.
* '''[[ICAO airport code]] prefixes''', defined by the ICAO to identify an airport's country.
* '''[[List of UIC country codes|UIC country codes]]''', to identify members of the [[International Union of Railways]] (UIC).

===Other specific-purpose codes===
* '''[[Country code top-level domain]]''' (ccTLD), an Internet [[top-level domain]]. Originally defined by the [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]] (IANA), it was initially based on ISO 3166-1 alpha-2.
* '''[[World Meteorological Organization]]''' (WMO) maintains its own list of country codes in reporting meteorological observations.

==Other codings==
Country identities may be encoded in the following coding systems:
*The initial digits of [[International Standard Book Number]]s (ISBN) are group identifiers for countries, areas, or language regions.

==Lists of country codes by country==
[[Country codes: A|A]] -
[[Country codes: B|B]] -
[[Country codes: C|C]] -
[[Country codes: D–E|D–E]] -
[[Country codes: F|F]] -
[[Country codes: G|G]] -
[[Country codes: H–I|H–I]] -
[[Country codes: J–K|J–K]] -
[[Country codes: L|L]] -
[[Country codes: M|M]] -
[[Country codes: N|N]] -
[[Country codes: O–Q|O–Q]] -
[[Country codes: R|R]] -
[[Country codes: S|S]] -
[[Country codes: T|T]] -
[[Country codes: U–Z|U–Z]]

==See also==
*[[List of ISO 3166 country codes]]
*[[ISO 639]] language codes
*[[Language code]]
*[[Numbering scheme]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/codes/country.htm Comparison of various systems]
*Another comparison: {{statoids|id=wab|title=Country Codes}}
*A comparison with [https://web.archive.org/web/20100613013243/http://maurits.myweb.uga.edu/CountryCodes.xls ISO, IFS and others] with [https://web.archive.org/web/20100613013156/http://maurits.myweb.uga.edu/CountryCodesSourcebook.txt notes]
*[http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49alpha.htm United Nations Region Codes]

{{Telecommunications}}

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[[Category:Country codes| ]]
[[Category:Geocodes]]