ISO 3166-3
The information on ISO 3166-3:1999 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions - Part 3: Code for formerly used names of countries on this page is grouped under three headings:
Development of ISO 3166-3
The need for a code for the representation of non-current country names was recognized by ISO Technical Committee 46 Information and documentation (ISO/TC 46) when elaborating ISO 3166 in the 1970s. It soon became clear, however, that defining the concept of a former or historical country name was the a difficult task. It was necesary to find a past cut-off date from which the coding should start.
ISO/TC 46 finally decided that for the framework of ISO 3166 it would be sufficient to create a standard which provided the user with a solution for consistently coding the names of those countries that were removed from ISO 3166-1 since its first publication. Thus the definition of the term "formerly used country name" is:
"Name of a country, dependency, or other area of particular geopolitical interest removed from ISO 3166 since the first edition in 1974"
Structure of the code
There are several different reasons why entries can be removed from ISO 3166-1. For example, they can be removed when
- a country changes a significant part of its name
- a country is divided into two or more new ones
- two or more countries merge
These different categories are reflected in different ways in which the code element for the formerly used name is built. See these three examples:
- The name BURMA (BU) was changed to MYANMAR (MM) in 1989. The code element for the formerly used country name for BURMA is BUMM
- The country CZECHOSLOVAKIA (CS) was divided into CZECH REPUBLIC (CZ) and SLOVAKIA (SK) in 1993. The code element for the formerly used country name CZECHOSLOVAKIA is CSHH. HH meaning that no single successor country exists.
- The countries DEMOCRATIC YEMEN (YD) and YEMEN ARAB REPUBLIC (YE) merged into REPUBLIC OF YEMEN (YE) in 1990. The code element for the formerly used country name for DEMOCRATIC YEMEN is YDYE.
As you can see, the code elements for formerly used country names have a length of four alphabetical characters (alpha-4 code elements). The first two characters are in all cases the original alpha-2 code element representing the former country name removed from ISO 3166(-1). Characters three and four are allocated according to rules established in ISO 3166-3.
Updates on ISO 3166-3
The updating of ISO 3166-3 is totally dependent on the updating of ISO 3166-1. Since the latter is very stable only six Newsletters on ISO 3166-3 have been published by the ISO 3166/MA since 1999 when ISO 3166-3 was first published. If and when further changes in ISO 3166-1 lead to the need to change ISO 3166-3 we will post such modifications on our Web site on the Updates on ISO 3166 page
If you need further information on ISO 3166-3 please contact the ISO 3166/MA.
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