0 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Technology Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology FIPS PUB 10-4 FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS PUBLICATION (Supersedes FIPS PUB 10-3—1984 February 9) COUNTRIES, DEPENDENCIES, AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND THEIR PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS Category: Data Standards and Guidelines Subcategory: Representation and Codes 1995 April Reflects technical changes through May 6, 1993. 10-4 PUB FIPS . A8A3 N0.10-A 1995 c§ FIPS PUB 10-4 FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS PUBLICATION (Supersedes FIPS PUB 10-3—1984 February 9) COUNTRIES, DEPENDENCIES, AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND THEIR PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS Category: Data Standards and Guidelines Subcategory: Representations and Codes Computer Systems Laboratory National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001 Issued April 1995 Reflects technical changes through May 6, 1993. U.S. Department of Commerce Ronald H. Brown, Secretary Technology Administration Mary L. Good, Under Secretary for Technology National Institute of Standards and Technology Arati Prabhakar, Director Foreword The Federal Information Processing Standards Publication Series of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the official publication relating to standards and guidelines adopted and promulgated under the provisions of Section 111(d) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 as amended by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 100-235. These mandates have given the Secretary of Commerce and NIST important responsibilities for improving the utilization and management of computer and related telecommunications systems in the Federal Government. The NIST, through its Computer Systems Laboratory, provides leadership, technical guidance, and coordination of Government efforts in the development of stan¬ dards and guidelines in these areas. Comments concerning Federal Information Processing Standards Publications are welcomed and should be addressed to the Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. James H. Burrows, Director Computer Systems Laboratory Abstract This Standard provides a list of the basic geopolitical entities in the world, together with the principal divisions that comprise each entity. Each basic geopolitical entity that was listed in FIPS PUB 10-3, Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty, as updated, is included; it is represented by the same two-character alphabetic, “country code.” Each principal administrative division is identified by a four-character code consist¬ ing of the two-character “country code" followed by a two-character “administrative division code." This Standard supersedes FIPS 10-3 in its entirety. Key words: country codes; country division codes; data codes; data elements; data standards; Federal Information Processing Standard; geographic codes; information processing; information resources management; principal administrative divisions. National Institute of Standards U.S. Government Printing Office For sale by the National and Technology Washington: 1995 Technical Information FIPS PUB 10-4 Service 52 pages (Apr. 1995) U.S. Department of Commerce CODEN: FIPPAT Springfield, VA 22161 (703) 487-4650 FIPS PUB 10-4 Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 10-4 1995 April Announcing the Standard for COUNTRIES, DEPENDENCIES, AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND THEIR PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) are issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) after approval by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Section 111 (d) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 as amended by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 100-235. 1. Name of Standard. Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions (FIPS PUB 10-4). 2. Category of Standard. Data Standard, Representations and Codes. 3. Explanation. This Standard provides a list of the basic geopolitical entities in the world, together with the principal administrative divisions that comprise each entity. Each basic geopolitical entity that was listed in FIPS PUB 10-3, Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty, as updated, is included; it is represented by the same two-character, alphabetic “country code.” Each principal administrative division is identified by a four-character code consisting of the two-character “country code” followed by a two- character “administrative division code.” This Standard may be applied either in the two-character format, in which only a basic entity is identified, or in the four-character format that identifies both a basic entity and one of its principal divisions. This Standard incorporates already issued technical changes and supersedes FIPS PUB 10-3 in its entirety. This version, however, differs from FIPS 10-3 in that it does not include diacritics or scope notes. Conventional names and formerly approved names for administrative divisions have also been discontinued, and Table 2, Appendix A, and Appendix B have been eliminated. The purposes of data element standardization are to eliminate unnecessary duplications and incompat¬ ibilities in the collection, processing, and dissemination of data, and to maximize the usefulness of data resources. The use of data referenced to a standard set of representations or codes reduces collection costs by allowing previously collected data to be applied to new uses, and provides a potential for benefit derived from those additional applications. Standardization also reduces conversion costs for interchange of data between databases, and reduces costs of data element maintenance by the implementation of a centrally, maintained standard to replace separately maintained elements. 4. Approving Authority. The Secretary of Commerce. 5. Maintenance Agency. Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20520. Questions concerning the list of entities and codes should be addressed to the Maintenance Agency. The Maintenance Agency will provide information to the National Institute of Standards and Technology on changes as they occur. These may include changes in names (as approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names), or changes in definitions or codes. See Section 9 below for information on how to obtain copies of this standard. 1 FIPS PUB 55-3 Change notices to this FIPS PUB will be issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Users who wish to receive such notices should complete the Change Request Form provided in this publication and return it to the address indicated on the form. 6. Applicability. This data element and representation standard is made available for the interchange of information among Federal departments and independent agencies. It is intended for use in activities associated with the mission of the Department of State and national defense programs. It may also be used for Federal interchanges of information with the non-Federal sector including industry, State, local, and other Governments, and the public at large. This Standard is intended for applications involving the interchange of international data. Applications limited primarily to domestic data, i.e., concerning the United States and its outlying areas, should use FIPS PUB 5-2, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas. For applications involving interchange of international data that require the use of the country codes of the International Organization for Standardization, i.e., ISO 3166, FIPS PUB 104-1, American National Standard Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty for Information Interchange, is available. FIPS PUB 104-1 provides both two-and three-character alphabetic codes for each entity listed. Federal agencies that do not require FIPS PUB 104-1 for international data interchange, and that are not involved in national defense programs or with the mission of the U.S. Department of State, may adopt either FIPS PUB 10-4 or FIPS PUB 104-1. 7. Implementation Schedule. Changes provided by this revision can be implemented immediately. Use by Federal agencies is encouraged when such use contributes to operational benefits, efficiency, or economy. 8. Specifications. Federal Information Processing Standard 10-4 (FIPS PUB 10-4), Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions (affixed). 9. Where to Obtain Copies of the Standard. Copies of this publication, on diskette or hard copy, are available for sale by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161; order desk telephone: (703) 487-4650. When ordering, please refer to Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 10-4 (FIPSPUB10-4) title, and medium desired. 2 FIPS PUB 10-4 Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 10-4 1995 April Specifications for COUNTRIES, DEPENDENCIES, AREAS OF SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND THEIR PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS 1. Name of Standard. Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions. 2. Category of Standard. Data Standard, Representations and Codes. 3. Explanation. This Standard provides