ISO 3166-3

Template:Short description 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 the following rules:

• 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 Template:Mono), or the special code Template:Mono is used if its alpha-2 code was 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 Template:Mono).
• If the country was divided into several parts, the special code Template:Mono 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 Template:Mono is used to avoid duplicate use of the same ISO 3166-3 code, as the alpha-2 code Template:Mono 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.

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 be transitionally reserved for 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, when Burma was renamed Myanmar without territorial change in 1989, its alphabetic codes were changed, but its numeric code Template:Mono has 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 the Domain Name System in the late 1980s and early 1990s were never used for the Internet's country 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

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 3166-1 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
• 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 3166-3 code	New country names and codes
British Antarctic Territory	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1979	Template:Mono	Merged into Antarctica (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Burma	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1989	Template:Mono	Name changed to Myanmar (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Byelorussian SSR	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1992	Template:Mono	Name changed to Belarus (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Canton and Enderbury Islands	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1984	Template:Mono	Merged into Kiribati (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Czechoslovakia	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1993	Template:Mono	Divided into: Czechia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Slovakia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Dahomey	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1977	Template:Mono	Name changed to Benin (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Dronning Maud Land	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1983	Template:Mono	Merged into Antarctica (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
East TimorTemplate:Refn	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–2002	Template:Mono	Name changed to Timor-Leste (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
France, Metropolitan	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1993–1997	Template:Mono	Merged into France (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
French Afars and Issas	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1977	Template:Mono	Name changed to Djibouti (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
French Southern and Antarctic Territories	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1979	Template:Mono	Divided into: Part of Antarctica (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) (i.e., Adélie Land) French Southern Territories (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
German Democratic Republic	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1990	Template:Mono	Merged into Germany (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Gilbert IslandsTemplate:Refn	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1979	Template:Mono	Name changed to Kiribati (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Johnston Island	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1986	Template:Mono	Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Midway Islands	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1986	Template:Mono	Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Netherlands Antilles	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono Template:Refn	1974–2010Template:Refn	Template:Mono	Divided into: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)Template:Refn Curaçao (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Sint Maarten (Dutch part) (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Neutral Zone	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1993	Template:Mono	Divided into: Part of Iraq (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Part of Saudi Arabia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
New Hebrides	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1980	Template:Mono	Name changed to Vanuatu (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1986	Template:Mono	Divided into: Marshall Islands (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Micronesia (Federated States of) (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Northern Mariana Islands (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Palau (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Panama Canal Zone	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1980	Template:Mono	Merged into Panama (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Serbia and Montenegro	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	2003–2006	Template:Mono Template:Refn	Divided into: Montenegro (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Serbia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Sikkim	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1975	Template:Mono	Merged into India (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Southern Rhodesia	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1980	Template:Mono	Name changed to Zimbabwe (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1986	Template:Mono	Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Upper Volta	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1984	Template:Mono	Name changed to Burkina Faso (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
USSR	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1992	Template:Mono	Divided into:Template:Refn Armenia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Azerbaijan (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Estonia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Georgia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Kazakhstan (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Kyrgyzstan (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Latvia (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Lithuania (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Moldova, Republic of (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Russian Federation (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Tajikistan (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Turkmenistan (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono) Uzbekistan (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Viet-Nam, Democratic Republic of	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1977	Template:Mono	Merged into Viet Nam (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Wake Island	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1986	Template:Mono	Merged into United States Minor Outlying Islands (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Yemen, Democratic	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1990	Template:Mono	Merged into Yemen (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Yugoslavia	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono Template:Refn	1974–2003	Template:Mono	Name changed to Serbia and Montenegro (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)
Zaire	Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono	1974–1997	Template:Mono	Name changed to Congo, Democratic Republic of the (Template:Mono, Template:Mono, Template:Mono)

Changes

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 with ISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-5 and Newsletter 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 with ISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-8
Newsletter I-4	2006-09-26	Serbia and Montenegro	In accordance with ISO 3166-1 Newsletter V-12
Newsletter I-5	2006-12-01	None	Rectify Newsletter I-4 by assigning the code Template:Mono to represent Serbia and Montenegro
Newsletter I-6	2011-03-14 (corrected 2013-02-06)	Netherlands Antilles	In accordance with ISO 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

• International Organization for Standardization
  • ISO 3166
    • ISO 3166-1
    • ISO 3166-2
    • ISO 3166-3
  • List of ISO 3166 country codes
• Lists of countries and territories
  • Sovereign state
    • List of sovereign states
    • List of states with limited recognition
  • Dependent territory
• United Nations
  • Member states of the United Nations
  • United Nations list of non-self-governing territories

Sources and external links

• ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
  • Country codes - Online Browsing Platform (OBP)
• Administrative Divisions of Countries ("Statoids"), Statoids.com
  • ISO 3166-1 Change History