See also: Independent States in the World
! New change, since previous list
Short-form name | Long-form name | Sovereignty | GENC 2A Code (see note 1) |
GENC 3A Code (see note 1) |
Administrative Center |
Akrotiri (see note 15) | Akrotiri | United Kingdom | QZ | XQZ | Episkopi (see note 16) |
American Samoa | Territory of American Samoa |
United States | AS | ASM | Pago Pago |
Anguilla | Anguilla | United Kingdom | AI | AIA | The Valley |
Antarctica | (no long-form name) | None (see note 2) |
AQ | ATA | None |
Aruba | Country of Aruba | Netherlands | AW | ABW | Oranjestad |
Ashmore and Cartier Islands | Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands |
Australia | XA | XAC | Administered from Canberra |
Baker Island | Baker Island | United States | XB | XBK | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Bermuda | Bermuda | United Kingdom | BM | BMU | Hamilton |
Bouvet Island | Bouvet Island | Norway | BV | BVT | Admin. from Oslo |
British Indian Ocean Territory (see note 3) |
British Indian Ocean Territory |
United Kingdom | IO | IOT | None |
Cayman Islands | Cayman Islands | United Kingdom | KY | CYM | George Town |
Christmas Island | Territory of Christmas Island |
Australia | CX | CXR | Flying Fish Cove |
Clipperton Island | Clipperton Island | France | CP | CPT | Administered from Paris |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Australia | CC | CCK | West Island |
Cook Islands | Cook Islands | New Zealand | CK | COK | Avarua |
Coral Sea Islands | Coral Sea Islands Territory |
Australia | XC | XCS | Administered from Canberra |
Curaçao (see note 11) |
Country of Curaçao | Netherlands | CW | CUW | Willemstad |
Dhekelia (see note 15) | Dhekelia | United Kingdom | XD | XXD | Episkopi (see note 16) |
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | (see note 4) | FK | FLK | Stanley |
Faroe Islands | Faroe Islands | Denmark | FO | FRO | Tórshavn |
French Guiana (see note 5) |
GF | GUF | |||
French Polynesia | French Polynesia | France | PF | PYF | Papeete |
French Southern and Antarctic Lands (see note 6) |
French Southern and Antarctic Lands |
France | TF | ATF | Administered from Paris |
Gibraltar | Gibraltar | United Kingdom | GI | GIB | Gibraltar |
Greenland | Greenland | Denmark | GL | GRL | Nuuk (Godthåb) |
Guadeloupe (see note 5) |
GP | GLP | |||
Guam | Territory of Guam | United States | GU | GUM | Hagatna |
Guernsey (see note 7) |
Bailiwick of Guernsey | British Crown Dependency | GG | GGY | Saint Peter Port |
Heard Island and McDonald Islands | Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands |
Australia | HM | HMD | Administered from Canberra |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | China (see note 8) |
HK | HKG | None |
Howland Island | Howland Island | United States | XH | XHO | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Isle of Man | Isle of Man | British Crown Dependency |
IM | IMN | Douglas |
Jan Mayen | Jan Mayen | Norway | XJ | XJM | Administered from Oslo (see note 9) |
Jarvis Island | Jarvis Island | United States | XQ | XJV | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Jersey | Bailiwick of Jersey | British Crown Dependency | JE | JEY | Saint Helier |
Johnston Atoll | Johnston Atoll | United States | XU | XJA | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Kingman Reef | Kingman Reef | United States | XM | XKR | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Macau | Macau Special Administrative Region | China (see note 10) |
MO | MAC | Macau |
Martinique (see note 5) |
MQ | MTQ | |||
Mayotte (see note 5) |
YT | MYT | |||
Midway Islands | Midway Islands | United States | QM | XMW | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Montserrat | Montserrat | United Kingdom | MS | MSR | Plymouth |
Navassa Island | Navassa Island | United States | XV | XNV | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
New Caledonia | New Caledonia | France | NC | NCL | Nouméa |
Niue | Niue | New Zealand | NU | NIU | Alofi |
Norfolk Island | Territory of Norfolk Island |
Australia | NF | NFK | Kingston |
Northern Mariana Islands |
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands |
United States | MP | MNP | Saipan |
Palmyra Atoll | Palmyra Atoll | United States | XL | XPL | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Paracel Islands | (no long-form name) | Undetermined | XP | XPR | None |
Pitcairn Islands | Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno Islands |
United Kingdom | PN | PCN | Adamstown |
Puerto Rico | Commonwealth of Puerto Rico |
United States | PR | PRI | San Juan |
Reunion (see note 5) |
RE | REU | |||
Saint Barthelemy | Saint Barthelemy | France | BL | BLM | Gustavia |
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha (see note 13) |
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha | United Kingdom | SH | SHN | Jamestown |
Saint Martin (see note 17) |
Saint Martin | France | MF | MAF | Marigot |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
France | PM | SPM | Saint-Pierre |
Sint Maarten (see note 11) |
Country of Sint Maarten | Netherlands | SX | SXM | Philipsburg |
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | United Kingdom (see note 4) |
GS | SGS | None |
Spratly Islands | (no long-form name) | Undetermined | XS | XSP | None |
Svalbard | Svalbard | Norway | XR | XSV | Longyearbyen |
Tokelau | Tokelau | New Zealand | TK | TKL | None |
Turks and Caicos Islands |
Turks and Caicos Islands | United Kingdom | TC | TCA | Grand Turk |
Virgin Islands, British | British Virgin Islands | United Kingdom | VG | VGB | Road Town |
Virgin Islands, U.S. | United States Virgin Islands |
United States | VI | VIR | Charlotte Amalie |
Wake Island | Wake Island | United States | QW | XWK | Administered from Washington, D.C. |
Wallis and Futuna | ! Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands | France | WF | WLF | Mata-Utu |
NOTES
Note 1: 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.
Note 2: Antarctica consists of the territory south of 60 degrees south latitude. This area includes claims by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the legal status of which remains in suspense under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. The United States recognizes no claims to Antarctica.
Note 3: Chagos Archipelago (including Diego Garcia).
Note 4: Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by Argentina.
Note 5: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion are first-order administrative divisions of overseas France, and are therefore not dependencies or areas of special sovereignty. They are included in this list only for the convenience of the user. The Department of Guadeloupe includes the nearby islands of Marie-Galante, La Desirade, and Iles des Saintes.
Note 6: The French Southern and Antarctic Lands includes Île Amsterdam, Île Saint-Paul, Îles Crozet, and Îles Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean; the “Iles Eparses” (Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island and Tromelin Island) in the Mozambique Channel and western Indian Ocean; and the French-claimed sector of Antarctica, “Terre Adélie.” The United States does not recognize the French claim to “Terre Adélie” (see note 2).
Note 7: The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the islands of Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and nearby smaller islands.
Note 8: Under a Sino-British declaration of September 1984, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control on July 1, 1997. It is now a semi-autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People’s Republic of China.
Note 9: Administered from Oslo, Norway, through a governor resident in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.
Note 10: Under the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau signed in 1987, Macau reverted to Chinese control on December 20, 1999. It is now a semi-autonomous entity that exists pursuant to international agreement and maintains its own government apart from the People’s Republic of China.
Note 11: The Netherlands Antilles dissolved on October 10, 2010. Curaçao and Sint Maarten (the Dutch two-fifths of the island of Saint Martin) became autonomous territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius now fall under the direct administration of the Netherlands.
Note 12: South China Sea islands occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam.
Note 13: The territory of Saint Helena includes the island group of Tristan da Cunha and Ascension Island.
Note 14: South China Sea islands claimed in entirety by China and Vietnam and in part by Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia; each of these states occupies some part of the islands.
Note 15: United Kingdom sovereign base area on the island of Cyprus.
Note 16: The joint force headquarters, under the Commander of the British Forces Cyprus, administers both sovereign base areas from Episkopi.
Note 17: The island of Saint Martin is divided: the northern three-fifths form the French collectivity of Saint-Martin, while the southern two-fifths (Sint Maarten) is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Source: Office of The Geographer and Global Issues, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC.