FIPS PUB 10-3
Supersedes FIPS PUB 10-2
1977 March 1
1. Name of Standard: Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions (FIPS PUB 10-3).
2. Category of Standard: Federal Program Data Standard, Representations and Codes.
A Federal Program Standard is intended for use in a particular program or mission where more than one executive branch department or independent agency is involved with its use. This standard is intended for use in activities associated with the mission of the U.S. Department of State and in national defense programs.
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 10-2, 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 of FIPS PUB 10-2, 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. FIPS PUB 10-2 is superseded in its entirety by this Standard.
The purposes of data element standardization are to eliminate unnecessary duplications and incompatibilities 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, 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 Bureau of Standards 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.
Change notices to this FIPS PUB will be issued by the National Bureau of Standards. 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. Cross Index: FIPS PUB 104, Guideline for Implementation of ANSI Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty.
7. Applicability: This Federal program data element and representation standard is made available for interchange among Federal departments and independent agencies and for Federal interchange 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 5-1, States and Outlying Areas of the United States.
This Standard shall not apply to applications involving interchange of international data that require the use of the country codes of the International Organization for Standardization, i.e., ISO 3166. For the convenience of such users, the ISO 3166 country codes are published in FIPS PUB 104, Guideline for Implementation of ANSI Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty. FIPS PUB 104 provides both two- and three-character alphabetic codes for each entity listed. Federal agencies that do not require FIPS PUB 104 for international data interchange, and are not involved in national defense programs or with the mission of the U.S. Department of State, may adopt either set of codes.
8. Implementation Schedule: This Standard became effective February 9, 1984. Use by Federal agencies is encouraged when such use contributes to operational benefits, efficiency, or economy.
9. Specifications: Federal Information Processing Standard 10-3 (FIPS PUB 10-3), Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions (affixed).
10. Where to Obtain Copies of the Standard: Copies of this publication 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 10-3 (FIPS PUB 10-3) and title. When microfiche is desired, this should be specified.
Inquiries concerning the FIPS data elements program may be directed
to the Manager, Data Administration Group, Data Management and
Programming Languages Division, Institute for Computer Sciences
and Technology, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
20899; telephone (301) 921-3491.
FIPS PUB 10-3
Supersedes FIPS PUB 10-2
1977 March 1
1. Name of Standard: Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions.
2. Category of Standard: Federal Program Data Standard, Representations and Codes.
A Federal Program Standard is intended for use in a particular program or mission where more than one executive branch department or independent agency is involved with its use. This standard is intended for use in activities associated with the mission of the U.S. Department of State and in national defense programs.
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 10-2, Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty, as updated, is included; it is represented by the same two-character, alphabetic "country code." Each principal 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 of FIPS PUB 10-2, in which only a basic entity is identified, or in the four-character format that identifies a basic entity and one of its principal administrative divisions. If a complete basic entity is to be represented in the four-character format, blanks are to be used for its "administrative division code." FIPS PUB 10-2 is superseded in its entirety by this Standard.
Basic geopolitical entities assigned "country codes" include the following categories: (a) independent states; (b) dependent areas; (c) areas of quasi-independence, non-contiguous territories, possessions without populations, areas with special sovereignty associations, areas without sovereignty; (d) political regimes not recognized by the United States; and (e) outlying areas of the United States. The list of basic entities provides complete coverage of the land areas of the world without overlap or duplication.
For purposes of this Standard, a principal administrative division is defined as an administrative area directly subordinate to the pertinent governing authority. Even though all principal administrative divisions within an entity may not be of equal rank, this Standard considers them as "principal."
Geographic names in current use that are listed in this Standard are approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN), the authority established under Public Law 80-242 to "provide for uniformity in geographic nomenclature and orthography throughout the Federal Government." Names in this Standard approved by the Board include current names of countries, dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and their principal administrative divisions.
4. Specifications:
4.1 Table 1: The basic geopolitical entities and their divisions are named in table 1, where they are sequenced in alphabetic order by basic entity. A typical entry in table I consists of the two-character, alphabetic "country code" of each basic entity; the entity name; a scope note, where necessary, to explain some geographical or political circumstance associated with the entity; the designatory term or terms for administrative divisions of that entity; and the names and complete four-character codes of all the principal divisions that comprise the entity.
The two-character "administrative division code" is alphanumeric, although it is purely numeric in most cases. An alphanumeric code is used to distinguish administrative divisions such as in New Zealand where there are more than 99.
The designatory terms of divisions in non-English-speaking areas are presented in English translation followed by their indigenous forms, where these are available. For example, in Norway, "fylke" is the indigenous term for an administrative division and "province" is the English equivalent for that term. In the entry for Norway in table 1, this information is presented after the scope note as "province/fylke."
Some countries have more than one class of administrative division, for example, province and territory. Asterisks are used in table I to distinguish members of different classes. In the case of province and territory, these designatory terms would be presented after the scope note as:
Then, each name of a territory listed in table I would be followed by an asterisk, while each name of a province would be left unmarked. To distinguish third and fourth designatory terms, two and three asterisks are used, respectively.
For entities in which a script other than the Roman is locally used, BGN-approved Romanization systems indicate Roman script equivalents for names. For reference purposes, conventional names approved by BGN and names formerly approved by BGN are indicated where available. This information is presented to the right of the name of the division. Conventional names are enclosed in parentheses and formerly approved names are enclosed in square brackets.
4.2 Table 2: This table presents a list of the basic geopolitical entities, both current and former, sequenced alphabetically by country code. Current basic entities are presented in capital letters; former entity names are presented in upper- and lower-case letters. Table 2 lists the former entities to provide a summary of all changes that have taken place since the initial publication of FIPS PUB 10. Each change listed in table 2 is identified by a "Change Number" keyed to the version of FIPS PUB 10 to which the change was applied. Consequently, the list of Change Numbers provides a chronology of changes made to any particular entity.
The leftmost digit of the Change Number identifies the relevant version of FIPS PUB 10 in which the change appeared. This may be revision 10-1 or 10-2, identified by "1," "2," respectively. The next two digits identify whether a particular change was reported in the published version, identified by "00," or in a separately issued and numbered Change Notice, identified by the Change Notice number: 0l" to "15" in the case of FIPS PUB 10-1, and "0l" to "15" in the case of FIPS PUB 10-2. Not all Change Notice numbers appear because some changes concerned scope notes and did not require alterations of names or codes. There were no Change Notices to the original FIPS PUB 10 and, of course, no Change Notices have been issued yet to this version, FIPS PUB 10-3. Changes to the original FIPS PUB 10 were all reported in the first revision, FIPS PUB 10-1.
The two rightmost digits provide a sequence number for individual changes that appeared in the same published version or in the same Change Notice. For example, Change Number 2-07-04 indicates that the identified change was the fourth item to appear in Change Notice No. 7 to FIPS PUB 10-2. Change Number 1-00-01 identifies the first change item that was reported in FIPS PUB 10-1 when it was published.
4.3 Appendix A: This Appendix provides a finding list for places, features, and former names associated with entities not listed in the Standard.
4.4 Appendix B: This Appendix provides a cross-reference listing between the two-character codes as published in FIPS PUB 104 and the FIPS 10-3 codes. Differences in definitions of entities are noted in the Remarks columns of Appendix B.
5. Qualifications: None.
FIPS PUB 10-3
FEDERAL INFORMATION
PROCESSING STANDARDS PUBLICATION
1984 February 9
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/National Institute of Standards and
Technology
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Ernest Ambler,
Director
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 computers 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 standards 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
This Standard sets forth a list of the basic geopolitical entities in the world, together with the principal divisions that comprise each entity. The generic name of each division type is given. The Standard also provides a four- character alphanumeric identifier for each division listed. The two-character alphabetic portion of this identifier serves as the country code of a basic entity. This code is identical to that published in Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-2. Countries, Dependencies, and Areas of Special Sovereignty. The remainder of the identifier, primarily numerical, differentiates the principal divisions in each basic entity. This Standard supersedes FIPS 10-2 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.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERENCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
FIPS PBULICATION CHANGE NOTICE
TITLE OF PUBLICATION
This office has a record of your interest in receiving changes
to the above FIPS PUB. The change(s) indicated below have been
provided by the Maintenance Agency for this publication and will
be included in the next published revision to this FIPS PUB. Questions
or requests for additional information should be addressed to
the Maintenance Agency:
Department Of Commerce
National Bureau Of Standards
Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology
Washington, D.C. 20234