1

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Country CodesFIPS PUB 10-4 & ISO 3166

UNCLASSIFIED

Richard A. Pearsall

NCGIS

FGDC Coordination Working Group

4 November 2008

Richard A. Pearsall

NCGIS

FGDC Coordination Working Group

4 November 2008

UNCLASSIFIED

2

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Agenda

• Country Codes - FIPS 10-4 and ISO 3166– What they are (not the only Country Code “standards”)

– How/Why are they different

• The Country Code Standards Authority

• FIPS 10-4, ISO 3166 Crosswalk

• NGA NCGIS Proposal and Transition Planning

3

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

FIPS PUB 10-4FIPS 10-4 - COUNTRIES, DEPENDENCIES, AREAS OF

SPECIAL SOVEREIGNTY, AND THEIR PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

• FIPS 10 is a coding system for entities (geopolitical)

• Two-character alphabetic country codes (digraph)• Issued April 1995 with updates (FIPS 10-3 February

1984, FIPS 10-2 March 1977)• Used primarily within the US Government• State Department dictates policy• NGA Maintenance Authority (issued several updates)• Federal Register – Intent to Withdraw (July 1995),

Withdrawn by NIST (2 September 2008)• Mandated with Sunset tag in the Defense Information

Technology Standards Registry (DISR)

4

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

ISO 3166ISO 3166 - Codes for the representation of names of countries and

their subdivisions • ISO 3166 is a coding system for country names• two- (digraph) and three-character (trigraph) alphabetic country codes,

three-digit -numeric country codes, and spelled-out country names• Managed by ISO/Geneva - Issued 1974 (5 updates), change notices

quarterly (9 published) via UN/3166MA• Also known as ANSI Z39.27-1984 (withdrawn by NISO 1990), FIPS 104-

1 (withdrawn by NIST July 29, 1997). Referenced by FIPS 5-2 (Withdrawn by NIST Sept 2, 2008 -New ANSI Standard being worked by Census)

• Enables “reserved codes” - Nations can request three-character reserved codes (USA via NISO)

• Mandated in the DISR• Use – Finance and Commerce, internet-ccTLD [.us], European

Commission/Union, IC Security Markings/DoD Message Clearance traffic, STANAGS (1059Ed8), DoD Coalition partners, numerous international commercial vendors. Normative Reference in many ISO (i.e. 191XX) and GeoINT Standards. Partial harmonization - Postal Unions, International Vehicle License plates, IOC

5

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

CIA World Factbookhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-d.html

6

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

The Country Code Standards Authority

ISO

TC211 TC46

ANSI

INCITS

L1 (GIS)

3166(MA)191XX

ISO/UNJTC1

Z39.50

Replace

FIPS 10-4 aka

“FIPS 10-5”

NIST - FIPS

FGDC, USGS, NGA, USACE, Oracle, Bentley, LMC, NGC, …..

NISO – Information and Documentation

7

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

ISO 3166 - FIPS10-4 Crosswalk

CountryISO

3166 digraph

ISO 3166

trigraph

ISO 3166

numeric

ISO 3166 - US

Reserved

ISO 3166 - Reserved

FIPS 10-4

United States

of America

US USA 840 US

Wake Island

No Code

No Code

No Code

XYZ WQ

United States - Minor

Outlying Islands

UM UMI 581 No Code

8

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

NCGIS Proposal• DoD & NGA - Profile ISO

3166-1 trigraph– Includes ISO 3166 trigraph– Includes USA Reserved

Codes (geopolitical entities)– Includes USA International

“Coalition” Partner codes/reserved codes

• Civilian – Profile ISO 3166-1 trigraph– Profile includes only those

Countries recognized by the US State Dept.

– Includes USA Reserved Codes (geopolitical entities)

– Includes USA International Partner reserved codes (GSDI?)

ISO 3166 trigraph

(base)

9

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Recommended Transition Plan From FIPS 10-4 to ISO 3166 Trigraphs

• Strongly recommend transitioning to a profile of ISO 3166-1 trigraph codes– Reserved codes available to accommodate State Dept “geopolitical

entities” and international partner exchange requirements– Many Coalition Partners have adopted 3166 trigraph– Broad use of the trigraph already exits, and would better facilitate

interoperability• Recommend the “Transition” time to occur within the next

four years– A change request has been approved to change the current status of

the FIPS 10-4 in the DISR to mandated sunset, which is not a permanent state in the DISR

• Recommend that any new coding identify which Country Code Standard is being used (i.e., the code AG is used differently in 10-4 and 3166, where one represents Algeria and the other Antigua and Barbuda)

10

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Recommended Transition Plan From FIPS 10-4 to ISO 3166 Digraphs

• If resource constrictions require continued use of a two-letter code for the immediate future, profile the ISO 3166-1 digraph

• Consequences to transition to ISO 3166-1 digraph– There are no reserved codes available to extend the existing set– There is minimal relationship between the digraphs of FIPS 10-4 and ISO

3166-1– Mappings available between FIPS 10-4 and ISO 3166-1 digraph– Mappings available between ISO 3166-1 digraph/trigraph– Recommend programs develop their transition plan to profile ISO 3166-1

trigraph• Recommend the “Transition” time to occur within the next four years

– A change request has been submitted to change the current status of the FIPS 10-4 in the DISR to mandated sunset, which is not a permanent state in the DISR

• Recommend that any new coding identify which Country Code Standard is being used

11

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Questions??

Richard Pearsall

NGA/OCIO/NCGIS

703-814-4556

Richard.A.Pearsall@nga.mil

12

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

www.nga.mil