ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 Code List

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 is an international standard that designates two-letter country codes. These codes are widely adopted across various domains, from automotive labeling to web domain names. In software localization, these codes are essential. They are paired with language codes from the ISO 639-1 standard to form locale identifiers, which are crucial for addressing cultural nuances, terminology differences, and local conventions.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 Country Code List

The country code table is shown below.

Are the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes case sensitive?

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes should be considered case-insensitive. However, they are usually written in uppercase.

What are the differences between ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3?

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 are both parts of the ISO 3166 standard that designates country codes. The primary difference is that the alpha-2 uses two-letter codes, while the alpha-3 uses three-letter codes. In the realm of software localization, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 is generally preferred due to its brevity and the fact that it is preferred as the general-purpose code. However, both serve the purpose of uniquely identifying countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest on a global scale.

How does ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard help to create locale codes that are specific to regions?

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 is a standard commonly used to make region-specific locale codes. These codes, when combined with ISO 639-1 language codes, represent specific language and region pairs. For instance:

fr-CA – French as spoken in Canada
fr-FR – French as spoken in France.