Country names change, as do state boundaries. Keeping up can be a real challenge. Fortunately, several groups help to keep on top of this issues for us.
The following list is my own small list of country names, used primarily for me to track development project locations and historical records about where specific developmental activities took places (referred to at varying places throughout this repository).
I'd like to eventually see a group help to compile time-sequenced changes in state naming and coding classifications liked to chaning boundary information.
| Short-form name | Long-form name | ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | GENC 3A Code (see Note 2) | GENC 2A Code (see Note 2) | Fips Cntry |
| Afghanistan | Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | AFG | ABW | AW | AA |
| Åland Islands | Åland Islands | ALA | ATG | AG | AC |
| Albania | Republic of Albania | ALB | ARE | AE | AE |
| Algeria | People's Democratic Republic of Algeria | DZA | AFG | AF | AF |
| American Samoa | American Samoa | ASM | DZA | DZ | AG |
| Andorra | Principality of Andorra | AND | AZE | AZ | AJ |
| Angola | Republic of Angola | AGO | ALB | AL | AL |
| Anguilla | Anguilla | AIA | ARM | AM | AM |
| Antarctica | Antarctica | ATA | AND | AD | AN |
| Antigua & Barbuda | Antigua and Barbuda | ATG | AGO | AO | AO |
| Argentina | Argentine Republic | ARG | ASM | AS | AQ |
| Armenia | Republic of Armenia | ARM | ARG | AR | AR |
| Aruba | Aruba | ABW | AUS | AU | AS |
| Australia | Commonwealth of Australia | AUS | AUT | AT | AU |
| Austria | Republic of Austria | AUT | AIA | AI | AV |
| Azerbaijan | Republic of Azerbaijan | AZE | AX | AX | |
| Bahamas | Commonwealth of the Bahamas | BHS | ATA | AQ | AY |
| Bahrain | Kingdom of Bahrain | BHR | BHR | BH | BA |
| Baker Islands | Baker Islands | BRB | BB | BB | |
| Bangladesh | People's Republic of Bangladesh | BGD | BWA | BW | BC |
| Barbados | Barbados | BRB | BMU | BM | BD |
| Belarus | Republic of Belarus | BLR | BEL | BE | BE |
| Belgium | Kingdom of Belgium | BEL | BHS | BS | BF |
| Belize | Belize | BLZ | BGD | BD | BG |
| Benin | Republic of Benin | BEN | BLZ | BZ | BH |
| Bermuda | Bermuda | BMU | BIH | BA | BK |
| Bhutan | Kingdom of Bhutan | BTN | BOL | BO | BL |
| Bolivia | Plurinational State of Bolivia | BOL | MMR | MM | BM |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius & Saba | Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | BES | BEN | BJ | BN |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BIH | BLR | BY | BO |
| Botswana | Republic of Botswana | BWA | SLB | SB | BP |
| Bouvet Island | Bouvet Island | BVT | BQ | ||
| Brazil | Federative Republic of Brazil | BRA | BRA | BR | BR |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | British Indian Ocean Territory | IOT | BTN | BT | BT |
| Brunei | Brunei Darussalam | BRN | BGR | BG | BU |
| Bulgaria | Republic of Bulgaria | BGR | BVT | BV | BV |
| Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso | BFA | BRN | BN | BX |
| Burma / Myanmar | Union of Burma | MMR | BDI | BI | BY |
| Burundi | Republic of Burundi | BDI | CAN | CA | CA |
| Cambodia | Kingdom of Cambodia | KHM | KHM | KH | CB |
| Cameroon | Republic of Cameroon | CMR | TCD | TD | CD |
| Canada | Canada | CAN | LKA | LK | CE |
| Cape Verde | Republic of Cabo Verde | CPV | COG | CG | CF |
| Cayman Island | Cayman Is. | CYM | COD | CD | CG |
| Central African Republic | Central African Republic | CAF | CHN | CN | CH |
| Chad | Republic of Chad | TCD | CHL | CL | CI |
| Chile | Republic of Chile | CHL | CYM | KY | CJ |
| China | People's Republic of China | CHN | CCK | CC | CK |
| Christmas Island | Christmas I. | CXR | CMR | CM | CM |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | CCK | COM | KM | CN |
| Colombia | Republic of Colombia | COL | COL | CO | CO |
| Comoros | Union of the Comoros | COM | MNP | MP | CQ |
| Congo (Brazzaville) | Republic of the Congo | COG | CRI | CR | CS |
| Congo (Kinshasa) | Democratic Republic of Congo | COD | CAF | CF | CT |
| Cook Islands | Cook Islands | COK | CUB | CU | CU |
| Costa Rica | Republic of Costa Rica | CRI | COK | CK | CW |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Republic of Côte d'Ivoire | CIV | CYP | CY | CY |
| Croatia | Republic of Croatia | HRV | DNK | DK | DA |
| Cuba | Republic of Cuba | CUB | DJI | DJ | DJ |
| Curaçao | Curaçao | CUW | DMA | DM | DO |
| Cyprus | Republic of Cyprus | CYP | DQ | ||
| Czechia | Czech Republic | CZE | DOM | DO | DR |
| Denmark | Kingdom of Denmark | DNK | ECU | EC | EC |
| Djibouti | Republic of Djibouti | DJI | EGY | EG | EG |
| Dominica | Commonwealth of Dominica | DMA | IRL | IE | EI |
| Dominican Republic | Dominican Republic | DOM | GNQ | GQ | EK |
| Ecuador | Republic of Ecuador | ECU | EST | EE | EN |
| Egypt | Arab Republic of Egypt | EGY | ERI | ER | ER |
| El Salvador | Republic of El Salvador | SLV | SLV | SV | ES |
| Equatorial Guinea | Republic of Equatorial Guinea | GNQ | ETH | ET | ET |
| Eritrea | State of Eritrea | ERI | CZE | CZ | EZ |
| Estonia | Republic of Estonia | EST | GUF | GF | FG |
| Eswatini / Swaziland | Kingdom of Eswatini | SWZ | FIN | FI | FI |
| Ethiopia | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | ETH | FJI | FJ | FJ |
| Falkl& Islands | Falkland Islands | FLK | FLK | FK | FK |
| Faroe Islands | Faroe Islands | FRO | FSM | FM | FM |
| Fiji | Republic of Fiji | FJI | FRO | FO | FO |
| Finland | Republic of Finland | FIN | PYF | PF | FP |
| France | French Republic | FRA | FQ | ||
| French Guiana | French Guiana | GUF | FRA | FR | FR |
| French Polynesia | French Polynesia | PYF | ATF | TF | FS |
| French Southern & Antarctic Lands | French Southern & Antarctic Lands | ATF | GMB | GM | GA |
| Gabon | Gabonese Republic | GAB | GAB | GA | GB |
| Gambia | Republic of The Gambia | GMB | GEO | GE | GG |
| Gaza Strip | Gaza Strip | GHA | GH | GH | |
| Georgia | Georgia | GEO | GIB | GI | GI |
| Germany | Federal Republic of Germany | DEU | GRD | GD | GJ |
| Ghana | Republic of Ghana | GHA | GGY | GG | GK |
| Gibraltar | Gibraltar | GIB | GRL | GL | GL |
| Glorioso Islands | Glorioso Is. | DEU | DE | GM | |
| Greece | Hellenic Republic | GRC | GO | ||
| Greenland | Greenland | GRL | GLP | GP | GP |
| Grenada | Grenada | GRD | GUM | GU | GQ |
| Guadeloupe | Guadeloupe | GLP | GRC | GR | GR |
| Guam | Guam | GUM | GTM | GT | GT |
| Guatemala | Republic of Guatemala | GTM | GIN | GN | GV |
| Guernsey | Guernsey | GGY | GUY | GY | GY |
| Guinea | Republic of Guinea | GIN | GZ | ||
| Guinea-Bissau | Republic of Guinea-Bissau | GNB | HTI | HT | HA |
| Guyana | Co-operative Republic of Guyana | GUY | HK | ||
| Haiti | Republic of Haiti | HTI | HMD | HM | HM |
| Heard Isl& & McDonald Islands | Heard Island and McDonald Islands | HMD | HND | HN | HO |
| Holy See / Vatican City | Holy See (Vatican City State) | VAT | HQ | ||
| Honduras | Republic of Honduras | HND | HRV | HR | HR |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong | HKG | HUN | HU | HU |
| Howl& Island | Howland I. | ISL | IS | IC | |
| Hungary | Hungary | HUN | IDN | ID | ID |
| Iceland | Republic of Iceland | ISL | IMN | IM | IM |
| India | Republic of India | IND | IND | IN | IN |
| Indonesia | Republic of Indonesia | IDN | IOT | IO | IO |
| Iran | Islamic Republic of Iran | IRN | IRN | IR | IR |
| Iraq | Republic of Iraq | IRQ | ISR | IL | IS |
| Ireland | Ireland | IRL | ITA | IT | IT |
| Isle of Man | Isle of Man | IMN | CIV | CI | IV |
| Israel | State of Israel | ISR | IRQ | IQ | IZ |
| Italy | Italian Republic | ITA | JPN | JP | JA |
| Jamaica | Jamaica | JAM | JEY | JE | JE |
| Jan Mayen | Jan Mayen | JAM | JM | JM | |
| Japan | Japan | JPN | JN | ||
| Jarvis Island | Jarvis I. | JOR | JO | JO | |
| Jersey | Jersey | JEY | JQ | ||
| Johnston Atoll | Johnston Atoll | JU | |||
| Jordan | Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | JOR | KEN | KE | KE |
| Juan De Nova Island | Juan De Nova I. | KGZ | KG | KG | |
| Kazakhstan | Republic of Kazakhstan | KAZ | PRK | KP | KN |
| Kenya | Republic of Kenya | KEN | KIR | KI | KR |
| Kiribati | Republic of Kiribati | KIR | KOR | KR | KS |
| Korea, North | Democratic People's Republic of Korea | PRK | CXR | CX | KT |
| Korea, South | Republic of Korea | KOR | KWT | KW | KU |
| Kosovo | Republic of Kosovo | KAZ | KZ | KZ | |
| Kuwait | State of Kuwait | KWT | LAO | LA | LA |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz Republic | KGZ | LBN | LB | LE |
| Laos | Lao People's Democratic Republic | LAO | LVA | LV | LG |
| Latvia | Republic of Latvia | LVA | LTU | LT | LH |
| Lebanon | Lebanese Republic | LBN | LBR | LR | LI |
| Lesotho | Kingdom of Lesotho | LSO | SVK | SK | LO |
| Liberia | Republic of Liberia | LBR | LIE | LI | LS |
| Libya | State of Libya | LBY | LSO | LS | LT |
| Liechtenstein | Principality of Liechtenstein | LIE | LUX | LU | LU |
| Lithuania | Republic of Lithuania | LTU | LBY | LY | LY |
| Luxembourg | Grand Duchy of Luxembourg | LUX | MDG | MG | MA |
| Macao | Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China | MAC | MTQ | MQ | MB |
| Macedonia | Republic of Macedonia | MKD | MC | ||
| Madagascar | Republic of Madagascar | MDG | MDA | MD | MD |
| Malawi | Republic of Malawi | MWI | MYT | YT | MF |
| Malaysia | Malaysia | MYS | MNG | MN | MG |
| Maldives | Republic of Maldives | MDV | MSR | MS | MH |
| Mali | Republic of Mali | MLI | MWI | MW | MI |
| Malta | Republic of Malta | MLT | MKD | MK | MK |
| Marshall Islands | Republic of the Marshall Islands | MHL | MLI | ML | ML |
| Martinique | Martinique | MTQ | MCO | MC | MN |
| Mauritania | Islamic Republic of Mauritania | MRT | MAR | MA | MO |
| Mauritius | Republic of Mauritius | MUS | MUS | MU | MP |
| Mayotte | Mayotte | MYT | MQ | ||
| Mexico | United Mexican States | MEX | MRT | MR | MR |
| Micronesia | Federated States of Micronesia | FSM | MLT | MT | MT |
| Midway Islands | Midway Is. | OMN | OM | MU | |
| Moldova | Republic of Moldova | MDA | MDV | MV | MV |
| Monaco | Principality of Monaco | MCO | MNE | ME | MW |
| Mongolia | Mongolia | MNG | MEX | MX | MX |
| Montenegro | Montenegro | MNE | MYS | MY | MY |
| Montserrat | Montserrat | MSR | MOZ | MZ | MZ |
| Morocco | Kingdom of Morocco | MAR | NCL | NC | NC |
| Mozambique | Republic of Mozambique | MOZ | NIU | NU | NE |
| Namibia | Republic of Namibia | NAM | NFK | NF | NF |
| Nauru | Republic of Nauru | NRU | NER | NE | NG |
| Nepal | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal | NPL | VUT | VU | NH |
| Netherlands | Kingdom of the Netherlands | NLD | NGA | NG | NI |
| Netherlands Antilles | Netherlands Antilles | NLD | NL | NL | |
| New Caledonia | New Caledonia | NCL | NOR | NO | NO |
| New Zealand | New Zealand | NZL | NPL | NP | NP |
| Nicaragua | Republic of Nicaragua | NIC | NRU | NR | NR |
| Niger | Republic of Niger | NER | SUR | SR | NS |
| Nigeria | Federal Republic of Nigeria | NGA | NT | ||
| Niue | Niue | NIU | NIC | NI | NU |
| Norfolk Island | Norfolk Island | NFK | NZL | NZ | NZ |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Northern Mariana Is. | MNP | PRY | PY | PA |
| Norway | Kingdom of Norway | NOR | PCN | PN | PC |
| Oman | Sultanate of Oman | OMN | PER | PE | PE |
| Pakistan | Islamic Republic of Pakistan | PAK | PF | ||
| Palau | Republic of Palau | PLW | PG | ||
| Palestinian Territory, Occupied | Palestinian Territory, Occupied | PSE | PAK | PK | PK |
| Panama | Republic of Panama | PAN | POL | PL | PL |
| Papua New Guinea | Independent State of Papua New Guinea | PNG | PAN | PA | PM |
| Paracel Islands | Paracel Is. | PRT | PT | PO | |
| Paraguay | Republic of Paraguay | PRY | PNG | PG | PP |
| Peru | Republic of Peru | PER | PLW | PW | PS |
| Philippines | Republic of the Philippines | PHL | PSE | ||
| Pitcairn Islands | Pitcairn Is. | PCN | GNB | GW | PU |
| Poland | Republic of Poland | POL | QAT | QA | QA |
| Portugal | Portuguese Republic | PRT | REU | RE | RE |
| Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico | PRI | MHL | MH | RM |
| Qatar | State of Qatar | QAT | RN | ||
| Réunion | Réunion | REU | ROU | RO | RO |
| Romania | Romania | ROU | PHL | PH | RP |
| Russian Federation | Russian Federation | RUS | PRI | PR | RQ |
| Rwanda | Republic of Rwanda | RWA | RUS | RU | RS |
| Saint Barthélemy | Saint Barthélemy | BLM | RWA | RW | RW |
| Saint Helena, Ascension & Tristan da Cunha | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | SHN | SAU | SA | SA |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis | KNA | SPM | PM | SB |
| Saint Lucia | Saint Lucia | LCA | KNA | KN | SC |
| Saint Martin (French part) | Saint Martin (French part) | MAF | SYC | SC | SE |
| Saint Pierre & Miquelon | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | SPM | ZAF | ZA | SF |
| Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VCT | SEN | SN | SG |
| Samoa | Independent State of Samoa | WSM | SHN | SH | SH |
| San Marino | Republic of San Marino | SMR | SVN | SI | SI |
| Sao Tome & Principe | Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe | STP | SLE | SL | SL |
| Saudi Arabia | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | SAU | SMR | SM | SM |
| Senegal | Republic of Senegal | SEN | SGP | SG | SN |
| Serbia | Republic of Serbia | SRB | SOM | SO | SO |
| Seychelles | Republic of Seychelles | SYC | ESP | ES | SP |
| Sierra Leone | Republic of Sierra Leone | SLE | SRB | RS | SR |
| Singapore | Republic of Singapore | SGP | SSD | SS | SS |
| Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | SXM | LCA | LC | |
| Slovakia | Slovak Republic | SVK | SDN | SD | SU |
| Slovenia | Republic of Slovenia | SVN | SJM | SJ | SV |
| Solomon Islands | Solomon Islands | SLB | SWE | SE | SW |
| Somalia | Federal Republic of Somalia | SOM | SGS | GS | |
| South Africa | Republic of South Africa | ZAF | SXM | SX | |
| South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands | South Georgia & the South Sandwich Is. | SGS | SYR | SY | SY |
| South Sudan | Republic of South Sudan | SSD | CHE | CH | SZ |
| Spain | Kingdom of Spain | ESP | TB | ||
| Spratly Islands | Spratly Is. | TTO | TT | TD | |
| Sri Lanka | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | LKA | THA | TH | TH |
| Sudan | Republic of the Sudan | SDN | TJK | TJ | TI |
| Suriname | Republic of Suriname | SUR | TCA | TC | TK |
| Svalbard & Jan Mayen | Svalbard and Jan Mayen | SJM | TKL | TK | TL |
| Sweden | Kingdom of Sweden | SWE | TLS | TL | TM |
| Switzerland | Swiss Confederation | CHE | TON | TO | TN |
| Syria | Syrian Arab Republic | SYR | TGO | TG | TO |
| Taiwan | Taiwan | TWN | STP | ST | TP |
| Tajikistan | Republic of Tajikistan | TJK | TUN | TN | TS |
| Tanzania | United Republic of Tanzania | TZA | TUR | TR | TU |
| Thailand | Kingdom of Thailand | THA | TUV | TV | TV |
| Timor-Leste / East Timor | Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste | TLS | TWN | TW | TW |
| Togo | Togolese Republic | TGO | TKM | TM | TX |
| Tokelau | Tokelau | TKL | TZA | TZ | TZ |
| Tonga | Kingdom of Tonga | TON | CUW | CW | UC |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Republic of Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | UGA | UG | UG |
| Tunisia | Republic of Tunisia | TUN | GBR | GB | UK |
| Turkey | Republic of Turkey | TUR | UM | ||
| Turkmenistan | Turkmenistan | TKM | UKR | UA | UP |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands | TCA | USA | US | US |
| Tuvalu | Tuvalu | TUV | BFA | BF | UV |
| Uganda | Republic of Uganda | UGA | URY | UY | UY |
| Ukraine | Ukraine | UKR | UZB | UZ | UZ |
| United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | ARE | VCT | VC | VC |
| United Kingdom | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | GBR | VEN | VE | VE |
| United States | United States of America | USA | VGB | VG | VQ |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | United States Minor Outlying Islands | UMI | VIR | VI | VQ |
| Uruguay | Oriental Republic of Uruguay | URY | VNM | VN | VM |
| Uzbekistan | Republic of Uzbekistan | UZB | VAT | VA | VT |
| Vanuatu | Republic of Vanuatu | VUT | NAM | NA | WA |
| Venezuela | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela | VEN | WE | ||
| Vietnam | Socialist Republic of Vietnam | VNM | WLF | WF | WF |
| Virgin Islands, British | Virgin Islands, British | VGB | ESH | EH | WI |
| Virgin Islands, U.S. | Virgin Islands, U.S. | VIR | WQ | ||
| Wake Island | Wake I. | WSM | WS | WS | |
| Wallis & Futuna | Wallis & Futuna | WLF | SWZ | SZ | WZ |
| West Bank | West Bank | YEM | YE | YM | |
| Western Sahara | Western Sahara | ESH | ZMB | ZM | ZA |
| Yemen | Republic of Yemen | YEM | ZWE | ZW | ZI |
| Zambia | Republic of Zambia | ZMB | CPV | CV | |
| Zimbabweernment / Zimbabwe | Republic of Zimbabwe | ZWE | XKS | XK | |
| Zambia | Republic of Zambia | ZM | ZA | ZMB | ZMB |
| Zimbabweernment / Zimbabwe | Republic of Zimbabwe | ZW | ZI | ZWE | ZWE |
ISO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-3
FIPS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIPS_country_codes
GENC - Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) Standard two-letter and three-letter codes. GENC is the replacement standard for FIPS 10-4 and is the U.S. Government profile of the ISO 3166 international country code standard.
For more information on GENC please see https://nsgreg.nga.mil/genc/discovery Also refer to the US Department of State list of Independent Countires: https://www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm
NSG Standards Registry. "Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes Standard".
The Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) Standard is the U.S. Government profile of ISO 3166 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions. It specifies an authoritative set of country codes and names for use by the Federal Government for information exchange, using ISO 3166 (Parts 1 and 2) names and code elements wherever possible, with modifications only where necessary to comply with U.S. law and U.S. Government recognition policy. Information regarding events leading to the development of the GENC Standard is documented here. Frequently asked questions regarding the content and use of the GENC Standard are answered here.
The GENC Standard is specified by the combination of a stable information design document and information content consisting of dynamically-managed entries in this registry. In accordance with OMB Circular A-119, federal agencies are directed to use voluntary consensus standards in lieu of government-unique standards except where inconsistent with law or otherwise impractical. ISO 3166 is the base standard for the profile that is the GENC Standard. The GENC Standard asserts both restrictions to, and extensions of, the ISO 3166 base standard; it is a Class 2 profile in accordance with the provisions of ISO 19106.
The information content of the GENC Standard is specified with respect to ISO 3166 (Parts 1 and 2). Entries of the GENC Standard are either based on direct reuse of ISO 3166 code elements, or are a type of variation from that standard (Exclusion, Exception, Extension, or Exigent) based on U.S. government requirements. Note that in the case of Exceptions, the codes do not differ from ISO 3166. Exceptions are based on differences in naming (some politically significant, others simply stylistic) as approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names, and/or differences in how the territorial extent of an entity is understood. GENC Extensions introduce entities not included in ISO 3166. Entries from ISO 3166 that are excluded from the GENC Standard may be browsed in the GENC Registry.
Infrequently, ISO 3166-1 code elements for a given country name are revised for reasons that are not related to a change in the country name itself. In consequence, a given country name may be assigned differing code element values over time. To enable information systems to easily recognize these occasions, a file specifying country code element correspondences is maintained here.
For those occasions when it may be necessary to reference the names of countries that are not included in the content of the GENC Standard due to the disestablishment of those countries prior to the initial publication of the GENC, the Codes for Historical Country Names information guidance document specifies applicable codes and their corresponding names for use in "country coding" such data.
Country listing with the given two letter code (ISO alpha-2) and the three letter code (ISO alpha-3), the UN numeric code (ISO 3166-1 numeric-3), as well as the Geopolitical Entities and Codes (formerly FIPS PUB 10-4 code) for countries, dependencies, and other areas.
ISO 3166 a standard developed for the current names of countries, dependencies, and other areas of particular geopolitical interest, on the basis of lists of country names obtained from the United Nations and maintained by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency established by the ISO Council, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The international two letter country code (ISO alpha-2) is used in the Internet as the country code Top Level Domain identifiers (ccTLDs). The code is based on the ISO 3166-1 "Country Codes".
ISO 3166-1 numeric-3 is a set of 3-digit codes, independent of a writing system, developed and maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division to represent the names of countries and dependent areas.
Geopolitical Entities and Codes (formerly FIPS PUB 10-4) are intended for general use throughout the US Government, especially in activities associated with the mission of the US Department of State and US defense programs.
Refer to: The Nations Online Project. "[International Country Codes]https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countrycodes.htm)".
Also refer to:
The Nations Online Project. "Country Codes List: ISO Alpha-2, Alpha-3, and Numeric Country Codes".
Wikipedia. "ISO 3166-1 alpha-3."
National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. "NGA GEOnet Names Server (GNS)".
http://geonames.nga.mil/gns/html/countrycodes.html
Codes for geopolitical entities used in the GNS are based on the U.S. Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 10-4 "Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions" (FIPS PUB 10-4).
On September 2, 2008, the U.S. Department of Commerce withdrew FIPS PUB 10-4. The specifics of this action were announced in the U.S. Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 170. The withdrawal of FIPS 10-4 was based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119 Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities. Circular A-119 directs federal agencies to use voluntary consensus standards in lieu of government-unique standards except where inconsistent with law or otherwise impractical.
Following the withdrawal, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), as the maintenance agency for FIPS PUB 10-4, maintained and provided regular content updates in an informal document known as Geopolitical Entities and Codes (GEC) (formerly FIPS PUB 10-4). GEC maintenance was discontinued on 31 December 2014. A compilation of the complete GEC content as of 31 December 2014 may be found here (GEC_31DEC2014.xlsx). The original GEC recompilation and the 18 GEC Updates may be found here (GEC Updates)
The Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes (GENC) Standard, the US Government profile of ISO 3166, has been designated as the replacement standard for FIPS PUB 10-4. GENC provides a list of the basic geopolitical entities in the world, together with the administrative subdivisions that comprise each entity. The names of the geopolitical entities are derived from official meeting records of the Foreign Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Further information and the GENC content may be found in the GENC Registry online at: https://nsgreg.nga.mil/genc/discovery.
The GNS will continue to use geopolitical codes based on GEC (formerly FIPS PUB 10-4) for the foreseeable future. Once implementation of GENC codes begins, there will likely be a transition period during which both GEC and GENC codes are available to the GNS user. As more information becomes available it will be posted here.
A crosswalk workbook of GENC and GEC codes is available here (GENC_ED3U7_GEC_XWALK.xlsx). This document will be updated quarterly.
Wikipedia."Federal Information Processing Standards". Wikipedia."FIPS county code". Wikipedia."List of FIPS country codes".