Arrangement of the List  (Introduction)

The country code list is made up of three parts:  Name Sequence, Code Sequence, and Regional Sequence.  A description of these parts follows.

Part I.  Name Sequence

In this part, the places are listed alphabetically by the name.  An entry for a place represented by a code gives the name followed by the code in brackets, both in boldface.  Any variant names of the place or names of places assigned to use that code are listed on successive lines, with the first such name preceded by the symbol UF (used for).  For example:

American Samoa  [as]

UF    Eastern Samoa

Samoa, American

These UF names may represent alternate names of the place, older names of the place, names representing component or subjurisdictional parts of the place, or names of places formerly assigned a separate code.  The UF names from each entry also appear in their alphabetic position in the list as references, but not in boldface.  These references do not give the code; the entry under the name referred to must be consulted to determine the code.  For example:

Eastern Samoa

USE  American Samoa

Samoa, American

USE  American Samoa

Entries may also include a note in italics explaining a change in the use of codes.  For example:

Mayotte  [ot]

[Coded [cq] (Comoros) before July 1987]

Manra Atoll

[Coded [gn] (Gilbert and Ellice Islands) before Oct. 1978]

USE  Kiribati

Portuguese Timor

[Coded [pt] (Portuguese Timor) before Jan. 1978]

USE  Indonesia

See Changes in the Codes for more information about these notes.

Part II.  Code Sequence

In this part, the places and their codes are listed alphabetically by the code.  Only the code and the name of the place are given in this part.  Tracings or references for variant forms of the place names are not included.  For example:

Discontinued codes are also listed in this part in their alphabetical sequence.  They are identified by a hyphen preceding the code.  For example:

-ac    Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Part III.  Regional Sequence

In this part, the places and their codes are arranged in 12 groups by region.  The groups are:

The groups and the allocation of places to the groups are based on the arrangement in the MARC Code List for Geographic Areas.  Within each group, the places are arranged alphabetically by name.  States of the United States, provinces and territories of Canada, and divisions of the United Kingdom are arranged alphabetically under the name of the parent jurisdiction.  Places with discontinued codes are not included in this part.

See also:

Introduction