Country names can change, but their country codes stay the same no matter what. This is why country codes are an important international standard. Groups like national postal organizations rely on the country code system to ensure everyone is talking about the same place. Our list of 2-letter and 3-letter country codes organized by continent will ensure you’re on the same page as the rest of the world.
Origins of Country Code Abbreviations
All countries are represented by a 2-letter and 3-letter country code based on the International Naming Convention (ISO - International Organization for Standardization 3166). The 2-letter code is meant for more general purposes, while the 3-letter code more closely resembles the country’s name.
These short codes are intuitive, so they can be used as a universal and instant informative representation of each country. The abbreviations are used in postal services, world currencies, travel and business activities, and web address identification.
Africa Country Abbreviations
There are 54 undisputed countries in Africa, a continent that occupies about 20% of Earth’s total land area.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
Algeria | DZ | DZA |
Angola | AO | AGO |
Benin | BJ | BEN |
Botswana | BW | BWA |
Burkina Faso | BF | BFA |
Burundi | BI | BDI |
Cameroon | CM | CMR |
Cape Verde | CV | CPV |
The Central African Republic | CF | CAF |
Chad | TD | TCD |
The Comoros | KM | COM |
Congo, Democratic Republic of | CD | COD |
Côte d'Ivoire | CI | CIV |
Djibouti | DJ | DJI |
Egypt | EG | EGY |
Equatorial Guinea | GQ | GNQ |
Eritrea | ER | ERI |
Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland | SZ | SWZ |
Ethiopia | ET | ETH |
Gabon | GA | GAB |
Gambia | GM | GMB |
Ghana | GH | GHA |
Guinea | GN | GIN |
Guinea-Bissau | GW | GNB |
Kenya | KE | KEN |
Lesotho | LS | LSO |
Liberia | LR | LBR |
Madagascar | MG | MDG |
Malawi | MW | MWI |
Mali | ML | MLI |
Mauritania | MR | MRT |
Mauritius | MU | MUS |
Mayotte | YT | MYT |
Morocco | MA | MAR |
Mozambique | MZ | MOZ |
Namibia | NA | NAM |
Niger | NE | NER |
Nigeria | NG | NGA |
Reunion | RE | REU |
Rwanda | RW | RWA |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | SH | SHN |
Sao Tome and Principe | ST | STP |
Senegal | SN | SEN |
Seychelles | SC | SYC |
Sierra Leone | SL | SLE |
Somalia | SO | SOM |
South Africa | ZA | ZAF |
South Sudan | SS | SSD |
The Sudan | SD | SDN |
Tanzania | TZ | TZA |
Togo | TG | TGO |
Tunisia | TN | TUN |
Uganda | UG | UGA |
Western Sahara | EH | ESH |
Zambia | ZM | ZMB |
Zimbabwe | ZW | ZWE |
Antarctic Country Codes
While Antarctica is a continent, it is also just one country. There are, however, several islands in the Antarctic Region that can be considered part of the continent of Antarctica.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
Antarctica | AQ | ATA |
Bouvet Island | BV | BVT |
French Southern Territories | TF | ATF |
Heard Island and McDonald Islands | HM | HMD |
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | GS | SGS |
Australia & Oceania Country Codes
Australia is both a country and a continent, while Oceania is the region where Australia and many other island nations are found.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
American Samoa | AS | ASM |
Australia | AU | AUS |
Cook Islands | CK | COK |
Fiji | FJ | FJI |
French Polynesia | PF | PYF |
Guam | GU | GUM |
Kiribati | KI | KIR |
Marshall Islands | MH | MHL |
Micronesia | FM | FSM |
Nauru | NR | NRU |
New Caledonia | NC | NCL |
New Zealand | NZ | NZL |
Niue | NU | NIU |
Norfolk Island | NF | NFK |
Northern Mariana Islands | MP | MNP |
Palau | PW | PLW |
Papua New Guinea | PG | PNG |
Pitcairn Islands | PN | PCN |
Samoa | WS | WSM |
Solomon Islands | SB | SLB |
Tokelau | TK | TKL |
Tonga, Kingdom of | TO | TON |
Tuvalu | TV | TUV |
United States Minor Outlying Islands | UM | UMI |
Vanuatu | VU | VUT |
Wallis and Futuna | WF | WLF |
Asia Country Codes
As the largest continent by both population and area, compiling a list of Asian countries is no simple task. Depending on the list you consult, there are about 48-53 countries in Asia. We’ve provided the country codes for 53.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
Afghanistan | AF | AFG |
Azerbaijan | AZ | AZE |
Bahrain | BH | BHR |
Bangladesh | BD | BGD |
Bhutan | BT | BTN |
British Indian Ocean Territory | IO | IOT |
Brunei Darussalam | BN | BRN |
Cambodia | KH | KHM |
China, People's Republic of | CN | CHN |
Christmas Island | CX | CXR |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands | CC | CCK |
Cyprus | CY | CYP |
Georgia | GE | GEO |
Hong Kong | HK | HKG |
India | IN | IND |
Indonesia | ID | IDN |
Iran, Islamic Republic of | IR | IRN |
Iraq | IQ | IRQ |
Israel | IL | ISR |
Japan | JP | JPN |
Jordan | JO | JOR |
Kazakhstan | KZ | KAZ |
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of | KP | PRK |
Korea, Republic of | KR | KOR |
Kuwait | KW | KWT |
Kyrgyzstan | KG | KGZ |
Lao People's Democratic Republic | LA | LAO |
Lebanon | LB | LBN |
Macao | MO | MAC |
Malaysia | MY | MYS |
Maldives | MV | MDV |
Mongolia | MN | MNG |
Myanmar | MM | MMR |
Nepal | NP | NPL |
Oman | OM | OMN |
Pakistan | PK | PAK |
Palestinian Territory | PS | PSE |
Philippines | PH | PHL |
Qatar | QA | QAT |
Saudi Arabia | SA | SAU |
Singapore | SG | SGP |
Sri Lanka | LK | LKA |
Syrian Arab Republic | SY | SYR |
Taiwan | TW | TWN |
Tajikistan | TJ | TJK |
Thailand | TH | THA |
Timor-Leste | TL | TLS |
Turkey | TR | TUR |
Turkmenistan | TM | TKM |
United Arab Emirates | AE | ARE |
Uzbekistan | UZ | UZB |
Vietnam | VN | VNM |
Yemen | YE | YEM |
Europe Country Codes
Europe consists of 52 countries, some of which are part of the European Union — a group with its own set of country abbreviations.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
Aland Islands | AX | ALA |
Albania | AL | ALB |
Andorra | AD | AND |
Armenia | AM | ARM |
Austria | AT | AUT |
Belarus | BY | BLR |
Belgium | BE | BEL |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | BA | BIH |
Bulgaria, Republic of | BG | BGR |
Croatia | HR | HRV |
Czech Republic (Czechia) | CZ | CZE |
Denmark | DK | DNK |
Estonia | EE | EST |
Faroe Islands | FO | FRO |
Finland | FI | FIN |
France | FR | FRA |
Germany | DE | DEU |
Gibraltar | GI | GIB |
Greece | GR | GRC |
Guernsey | GG | GGY |
Holy See (Vatican City State) | VA | VAT |
Hungary | HU | HUN |
Iceland | IS | ISL |
Ireland | IE | IRL |
Isle of Man | IM | IMN |
Italy | IT | ITA |
Jersey | JE | JEY |
Latvia | LV | LVA |
Liechtenstein | LI | LIE |
Lithuania | LT | LTU |
Luxembourg | LU | LUX |
Republic of North Macedonia | MK | MKD |
Malta | MT | MLT |
Moldova | MD | MDA |
Monaco | MC | MCO |
Montenegro | ME | MNE |
Netherlands | NL | NLD |
Norway | NO | NOR |
Poland | PL | POL |
Portugal | PT | PRT |
Romania | RO | ROU |
Russian Federation | RU | RUS |
San Marino | SM | SMR |
Serbia | RS | SRB |
Slovakia (Slovak Republic) | SK | SVK |
Slovenia | SI | SVN |
Spain | ES | ESP |
Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands | SJ | SJM |
Sweden | SE | SWE |
Switzerland | CH | CHE |
Ukraine | UA | UKR |
United Kingdom | GB | GBR |
North American Country Codes
The continent of North America goes far beyond the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It includes over 30 countries when you count Caribbean and Central American countries.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
Anguilla | AI | AIA |
Aruba | AW | ABW |
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | BQ | BES |
Canada | CA | CAN |
Cuba | CU | CUB |
Curaçao | CW | CUW |
Dominica | DM | DMA |
Dominican Republic | DO | DOM |
El Salvador | SV | SLV |
Greenland | GL | GRL |
Grenada | GD | GRD |
Guadeloupe | GP | GLP |
Guatemala | GT | GTM |
Haiti | HT | HTI |
Honduras | HN | HND |
Jamaica | JM | JAM |
Martinique | MQ | MTQ |
Mexico | MX | MEX |
Montserrat | MS | MSR |
Netherlands Antilles | AN | ANT |
Nicaragua | NI | NIC |
Panama | PA | PAN |
Puerto Rico | PR | PRI |
Saint Barthelemy | BL | BLM |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | KN | KNA |
Saint Lucia | LC | LCA |
Saint Martin | MF | MAF |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | PM | SPM |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VC | VCT |
Sint Maarten (Netherlands) | SX | SXM |
Trinidad and Tobago | TT | TTO |
Turks and Caicos Islands | TC | TCA |
United States Minor Outlying Islands | UM | UMI |
United States of America | US | USA |
United States Virgin Islands | VI | VIR |
South America Country Codes
The continent of South America only includes 12 countries. However, three territories also call South America home.
Country Name | 2-Letter (alpha 2 code) | 3-Letter (alpha 3 code) |
Argentina | AR | ARG |
Bolivia | BO | BOL |
Brazil | BR | BRA |
Chile | CL | CHL |
Colombia | CO | COL |
Ecuador | EC | ECU |
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | FK | FLK |
French Guiana | GF | GUF |
Guyana | GY | GUY |
Paraguay | PY | PRY |
Peru | PE | PER |
Suriname | SR | SUR |
Uruguay | UY | URY |
Venezuela | VE | VEN |
Abbreviations Abound
International abbreviations help keep the world on the same page. Explore more abbreviations that might come in handy for your international affairs: