Everyday world · Updated September 2026
ISO country codes
ISO 3166 country codes: two letters (US, GB, IN) and three letters (USA, GBR, IND). Why the UK is GB, and how codes appear on domains and passports.
ISO 3166-1 gives each country a two-letter code (alpha-2) and a three-letter code (alpha-3). US / USA, IN / IND, AU / AUS, CA / CAN, DE / DEU (Germany), FR / FRA. These codes appear on internet domains, sports, shipping and data forms.
The United Kingdom’s alpha-2 code is GB, not UK. .uk is still the famous web domain. UK exists as a reserved code in some lists. That mismatch is the number-one search on this topic.
Numeric codes also exist (India is 356). Do not confuse country codes with currency codes (INR) or phone dialling codes (+91). Those are three different standards.
ISO country codes — key facts (2026)
| Topic | Fact |
|---|---|
| Standard | ISO 3166-1 |
| United States | US / USA |
| United Kingdom | GB / GBR (domain often .uk) |
| India | IN / IND |
| Australia | AU / AUS |
| Germany | DE / DEU |
| China | CN / CHN |
| Not the same as | Telephone codes (+1, +44, +91) or currency codes |
Figures are the usual classroom and news-desk numbers for 2026. Border disputes and membership votes can change a count by one or two.
People also ask
Why is the UK code GB not UK?
ISO kept GB from “Great Britain.” UK is reserved. Websites still love .uk.
What is India’s country code?
IN (two-letter), IND (three-letter). Phone code is +91 — different list.
Are .com and .us the same kind of code?
.us is a country-code top-level domain tied to US. .com is generic. Related idea, different rulebook.