ISO country codes for shipping and customs

Shipping and customs systems identify countries by ISO 3166-1 codes, almost always the two-letter alpha-2 form, such as US, DE or GB. ISO publishes three forms for each country: alpha-2, which it recommends for general use, alpha-3, which is closer to the country's name, and a three-digit numeric code assigned by the United Nations.

Rules as of 30 October 2026.

What are ISO 3166 country codes?#

ISO 3166 is the international standard for codes that represent countries and their subdivisions. Part 1 covers country codes, Part 2 covers subdivisions such as states and provinces, and Part 3 covers codes for country names no longer in use. ISO defines the codes but not the names, which it takes from United Nations sources.

A maintenance agency of 15 members keeps the standard up to date, including national standards bodies, the Universal Postal Union and the UN Economic Commission for Europe. When the UN admits a new member state, the agency assigns its alpha-2 and alpha-3 codes, and the UN assigns the numeric code. As a rule, ISO doesn't give official codes to places that aren't UN member states, though it can give them to dependencies that are physically separate from their parent country.

What is the difference between alpha-2, alpha-3 and numeric codes?#

Alpha-2 is the two-letter code that ISO recommends for general use, and it's the one carriers, customs declarations, payment systems and internet domains rely on. Alpha-3 is a three-letter code that usually looks more like the country's name. Numeric is a three-digit code, useful where Latin letters can't be used, and it matches the UN's M49 statistical code.

Every country and territory, with all three codes and its currency, is in the full table below; type a name or code in its filter box to find one.

Codes that drop out of use go into Part 3 as four-letter codes. When Burma became Myanmar in 1989, its old code BU became BUMM, joining the old code and the new one, MM.

Every country's ISO codes#

The table lists every country and territory in ISO 3166-1 with its flag, alpha-2, alpha-3 and numeric codes and the currency it uses, from border.bot's reference data. De minimis thresholds are stated in the destination's currency, so convert a price before comparing it with one. The landed cost calculator works out duty and tax for a destination.

Download this table as CSV or JSON, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab) with credit to border.bot. To cite it: border.bot, “ISO 3166-1 country codes”, https://border.bot/docs/guides/country-codes.

Which country codes cause mistakes?#

The codes that cause most mistakes are the ones that don't match a country's usual abbreviation. The United Kingdom is GB, not UK: ISO keeps UK exceptionally reserved at the UK's request, so it can't go to any other country. Customs systems also use codes that ISO doesn't assign, such as XK for Kosovo and XI for Northern Ireland.

ISO sets aside the ranges AA, QM to QZ, XA to XZ and ZZ for users who need codes the standard doesn't include. That's where XK and XI come from, and it's why they aren't universal: ISO warns that user-assigned codes can mean different things to different organizations.

Which code should you use on a customs declaration?#

Use the destination's own customs code list, which for most countries is ISO alpha-2 with a few local exceptions. The UK's list records Great Britain and Northern Ireland together under GB, while UK EORI numbers use XI for Northern Ireland. In the origin field, give the country where the goods were made, not where they shipped from.

Country codes also feed tax and duty. A wrong origin code changes the duty rate and any extra duties, and a wrong destination code sends a parcel to the wrong tariff. Our country of origin guide covers how origin is decided, and the country pages show each destination's import rules by name and code. Below the country level, states and provinces have codes of their own: see subdivision codes.

Common questions#

Is the country code for the United Kingdom GB or UK?#

GB. ISO 3166 assigns GB to the United Kingdom and keeps UK reserved at the UK's request, and UK customs declarations use GB.

What is the country code for Kosovo?#

XK. Kosovo has no official ISO 3166-1 code, so systems use XK from ISO's user-assigned range, as EU statistics and the UK's customs code list do.

What does the XI prefix mean?#

Northern Ireland. EORI numbers for customs activity in Northern Ireland start with XI and fall under EU rules, while GB EORI numbers cover England, Scotland and Wales.

Who assigns country codes?#

The ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency assigns the alpha-2 and alpha-3 codes, and the United Nations assigns the numeric codes.

Sources#

• ISO: ISO 3166 Country Codes (opens in a new tab), International Organization for Standardization, checked 2026-10-30
• ISO: Glossary for ISO 3166 (opens in a new tab), International Organization for Standardization, checked 2026-10-30
• UN Statistics Division: Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49) (opens in a new tab), United Nations, checked 2026-10-30
• HMRC: Country codes for the Customs Declaration Service (opens in a new tab), HM Revenue and Customs, updated 2026-07-10
• HMRC: Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) (opens in a new tab), HM Revenue and Customs, updated 2025-09-10
• Eurostat: Glossary: Country codes (opens in a new tab), European Commission, checked 2026-10-30