1 UNCLASSIFIED Country Codes FIPS 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 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 FIPS PUB 10-4 FIPS 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dictates policy NGA Maintenance Authority (issued several updates) Federal Register – Intent to Withdraw (July 1995), Withdrawn by NIST (2 September 2008) Mandated with Sunset tag in the Defense Information Technology Standards Registry (DISR)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 ISO 3166 ISO 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by ISO/Geneva - Issued 1974 (5 updates), change notices quarterly (9 published) via UN/3166MA Also known as ANSI Z (withdrawn by NISO 1990), FIPS (withdrawn by NIST July 29, 1997). Referenced by FIPS 5-2 (Withdrawn by NIST Sept 2, New ANSI Standard being worked by Census) Enables “reserved codes” - Nations can request three-character reserved codes (USA via NISO) Mandated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 CIA World Factbook

6 UNCLASSIFIED The Country Code Standards Authority ISO TC211 TC46 ANSI INCITS L1 (GIS) 3166(MA) 191XX ISO/UN JTC1 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 ISO FIPS10-4 Crosswalk

8 UNCLASSIFIED NCGIS Proposal DoD & NGA - Profile ISO trigraph –Includes ISO 3166 trigraph –Includes USA Reserved Codes (geopolitical entities) –Includes USA International “Coalition” Partner codes/reserved codes Civilian – Profile ISO 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 Recommended Transition Plan From FIPS 10-4 to ISO 3166 Trigraphs Strongly recommend transitioning to a profile of ISO 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 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 digraph Consequences to transition to ISO 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 –Mappings available between FIPS 10-4 and ISO digraph –Mappings available between ISO digraph/trigraph –Recommend programs develop their transition plan to profile ISO 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 Questions?? Richard Pearsall NGA/OCIO/NCGIS

12 UNCLASSIFIED