science

ISO 3166-2

ISO 3166-2 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ISO 3166-2 rather than just read about it. In short: ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for identifying the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 2: Country subdivision code.

Key takeaways

ISO 3166-2 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ISO 3166-2 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ISO 3166-2 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ISO 3166-2 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for identifying the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 2: Country subdivision code. It was first published in 1998. The purpose of ISO 3166-2 is to establish an international standard of short and unique alphanumeric codes to represent the relevant administrative divisions and dependent territories of all countries in a more convenient and less ambiguous form than their full names. Each complete ISO 3166-2 code consists of two parts, separated by a hyphen:

The first part is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the country; The second part is a string of up to three alphanumeric characters, which is usually obtained from national sources and stems from coding systems already in use in the country concerned, but may also be developed by the ISO itself. Each complete ISO 3166-2 code can then be used to uniquely identify a country subdivision in a global context. As of 23 November 2023 there are 5,046 codes defined in ISO 3166-2. For some countries, codes are defined for more than one level of subdivisions.

Current codes The following table can be used to access the current ISO 3166-2 codes of each country, and comprises three columns:

Entry: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code, click to view the ISO 3166-2 codes of the country Country name: English short name officially used by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency (ISO 3166/MA) Subdivisions assigned codes: Number and category of subdivisions assigned codes in ISO 3166-2; if there are more than one level of subdivisions, the first-level subdivisions are shown in italics

Subdivisions included in ISO 3166-1 For the following countries, a number of their subdivisions in ISO 3166-2, most of them dependent territories, are also officially assigned their own country codes in ISO 3166-1:

Notes

Format The format of the ISO 3166-2 codes is different for each country. The codes may be alphabetic, numeric, or alphanumeric, and they may also be of constant or variable length. The following is a table of the ISO 3166-2 codes of each country (those with codes defined), grouped by their format:

Changes The ISO 3166/MA updates ISO 3166-2 when necessary. Changes in ISO 3166-2 consist mostly of spelling corrections, addition and deletion of subdivisions, and modification of the administrative structure. ISO used to announce changes in newsletters which updated the currently valid standard, and releasing new editions which comprise a consolidation of newsletter changes. As of July 2013, changes are published in the online catalogue of ISO only and no newsletters are published anymore. Past newsletters remain available on the ISO website.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ISO 3166-2

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ISO 3166-2 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ISO 3166-2 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ISO 3166-2 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ISO 3166-2

In research: ISO 3166-2 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ISO 3166-2 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ISO 3166-2 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Country subdivision codes, ISO 3166, Lists of administrative divisions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ISO 3166-2 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ISO 3166-2 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ISO 3166-2 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ISO 3166-2 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ISO 3166-2 in simple terms?

Why does ISO 3166-2 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ISO 3166-2?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ISO 3166-2.