The flag of the international Olympic movement

The flag of the international Paralympic movement

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses three-letter abbreviation country codes^[1] to refer to each group of athletes that participate in the Olympic Games. Each code usually identifies a National Olympic Committee (NOC), but there are several codes that have been used for other instances in past Games, such as teams composed of athletes from multiple nations, or groups of athletes not formally representing any nation.

Several of the IOC codes are different from the standard ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes. Other sporting organisations, such as FIFA, use similar country codes to refer to their respective teams, but with some differences. Still others, such as the Commonwealth Games Federation or Association of Tennis Professionals, use the IOC list verbatim.

History[edit]

The 1956 Winter Olympics and 1960 Summer Olympics were the first Games to feature Initials of Nations to refer to each NOC in the published official reports.^[2] However, the codes used at the next few Games were often based on the host nation's language (e.g., GIA for Japan at the 1956 Winter Olympics and 1960 Summer Olympics, both held in Italy, from Italian Giappone) or based on the French name for the nation (e.g., COR for Korea, from Corée). By the 1972 Winter Olympics, most codes were standardized on the current usage, but several have changed in recent years. Additionally, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, division and unification of Germany, breakup of Yugoslavia, dissolution of Czechoslovakia, and several other instances of geographical renaming have all resulted in code changes.

In addition to this list of over 200 NOCs, the participation of National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) at the Paralympic Games requires standardised IOC codes, such as Macau (or as "Macau, China" since 1999) and the Faroe Islands, coded MAC and FRO respectively.^[3][4]

Current NOCs[edit]

There are 206 current NOCs (National Olympic Committees) within the Olympic Movement. The following tables show the currently used code for each NOC and any different codes used in past Games, per the official reports from those Games. Some of the past code usage is further explained in the following sections. Codes used specifically for a Summer Games only or a Winter Games only, within the same year, are indicated by "S" and "W" respectively.

Code	Link	National Olympic Committee	Other codes used
AFG	[1]	Afghanistan
ALB	[2]	Albania
ALG	[3]	Algeria	AGR (1964), AGL (1968 S)
AND	[4]	Andorra
ANG	[5]	Angola
ANT	[6]	Antigua and Barbuda
ARG	[7]	Argentina
ARM	[8]	Armenia
ARU	[9]	Aruba
ASA	[10]	American Samoa
AUS	[11]	Australia
AUT	[12]	Austria
AZE	[13]	Azerbaijan
BAH	[14]	Bahamas
BAN	[15]	Bangladesh
BAR	[16]	Barbados	BAD (1964)
BDI	[17]	Burundi
BEL	[18]	Belgium
BEN	[19]	Benin	DAY (1964), DAH (1968–1976)
BER	[20]	Bermuda
BHU	[21]	Bhutan
BIH	[22]	Bosnia and Herzegovina	BSH (1992 S)
BIZ	[23]	Belize	HBR (1968–1972)
BLR	[24]	Belarus
BOL	[25]	Bolivia
BOT	[26]	Botswana
BRA	[27]	Brazil
BRN	[28]	Bahrain
BRU	[29]	Brunei
BUL	[30]	Bulgaria
BUR	[31]	Burkina Faso	VOL (1972–1984)
CAF	[32]	Central African Republic	AFC (1968)
CAM	[33]	Cambodia	CAB (1964), KHM (1972–1976)
CAN	[34]	Canada
CAY	[35]	Cayman Islands
CGO	[36]	Congo
CHA	[37]	Chad	CHD (1964)
CHI	[38]	Chile	CIL (1956 W, 1960 S)
CHN	[39]	China	PRC (1952 S)
CIV	[40]	Ivory Coast	IVC (1964), CML (1968)
CMR	[41]	Cameroon
COD	[42]	Democratic Republic of the Congo	COK (1968), ZAI (1972–1996)
COK	[43]	Cook Islands
COL	[44]	Colombia
COM	[45]	Comoros
CPV	[46]	Cape Verde
CRC	[47]	Costa Rica	COS (1964)
CRO	[48]	Croatia
CUB	[49]	Cuba
CYP	[50]	Cyprus
CZE	[51]	Czech Republic
DEN	[52]	Denmark	DAN (1960 S, 1968 W), DIN (1968 S)
DJI	[53]	Djibouti
DMA	[54]	Dominica
DOM	[55]	Dominican Republic
ECU	[56]	Ecuador
EGY	[57]	Egypt	RAU (1960, 1968), UAR (1964)
ERI	[58]	Eritrea
ESA	[59]	El Salvador	SAL (1964–1976)
ESP	[60]	Spain	SPA (1956–1964, 1968 W)
EST	[61]	Estonia
ETH	[62]	Ethiopia	ETI (1960, 1968)
FIJ	[63]	Fiji	FIG (1960)
FIN	[64]	Finland
FRA	[65]	France
FSM	[66]	Federated States of Micronesia
GAB	[67]	Gabon
GAM	[68]	The Gambia
GBR	[69]	Great Britain	GRB (1956 W–1960), GBI (1964)
GBS	[70]	Guinea-Bissau
GEO	[71]	Georgia
GEQ	[72]	Equatorial Guinea
GER	[73]	Germany
GHA	[74]	Ghana
GRE	[75]	Greece
GRN	[76]	Grenada
GUA	[77]	Guatemala	GUT (1964)
GUI	[78]	Guinea
GUM	[79]	Guam
GUY	[80]	Guyana	GUA (1960), GUI (1964)
HAI	[81]	Haiti
HKG	[82]	Hong Kong	HOK (1960–1968)
HON	[83]	Honduras
HUN	[84]	Hungary	UNG (1956 W, 1960 S)
INA	[85]	Indonesia	INS (1960)
IND	[86]	India
IRI	[87]	Iran	IRN (1956–1988), IRA (1968 W)
IRL	[88]	Ireland
IRQ	[89]	Iraq	IRK (1960, 1968)
ISL	[90]	Iceland	ICE (1960 W, 1964 S)
ISR	[91]	Israel
ISV	[92]	Virgin Islands
ITA	[93]	Italy
IVB	[94]	British Virgin Islands
JAM	[95]	Jamaica
JOR	[96]	Jordan
JPN	[97]	Japan	GIA (1956 W, 1960 S), JAP (1960 W)
KAZ	[98]	Kazakhstan
KEN	[99]	Kenya
KGZ	[100]	Kyrgyzstan
KIR	[101]	Kiribati
KOR	[102]	South Korea	COR (1956 W, 1960 S, 1968 S, 1972 S)
KOS	[103]	Kosovo
KSA	[104]	Saudi Arabia	ARS (1968–1976), SAU (1980–1984)
KUW	[105]	Kuwait
LAO	[106]	Laos
LAT	[107]	Latvia
LBA	[108]	Libya	LYA (1964), LBY (1968 W)
LBN	[109]	Lebanon	LEB (1960 W, 1964 S), LIB (1964-2016)
LBR	[110]	Liberia
LCA	[111]	Saint Lucia
LES	[112]	Lesotho
LIE	[113]	Liechtenstein	LIC (1956 W, 1964 S, 1968 W)
LTU	[114]	Lithuania	LIT (1992 W)
LUX	[115]	Luxembourg
MAD	[116]	Madagascar	MAG (1964)
MAR	[117]	Morocco	MRC (1964)
MAS	[118]	Malaysia	MAL (1964–1988)
MAW	[119]	Malawi
MDA	[120]	Moldova	MLD (1994)
MDV	[121]	Maldives
MEX	[122]	Mexico
MGL	[123]	Mongolia	MON (1968 W)
MHL	[124]	Marshall Islands
MKD	[125]	Macedonia
MLI	[126]	Mali
MLT	[127]	Malta	MAT (1960–1964)
MNE	[128]	Montenegro
MON	[129]	Monaco
MOZ	[130]	Mozambique
MRI	[131]	Mauritius
MTN	[132]	Mauritania
MYA	[133]	Myanmar	BIR (1948-1960, 1968–1988), BUR (1964)
NAM	[134]	Namibia
NCA	[135]	Nicaragua	NCG (1964), NIC (1968)
NED	[136]	Netherlands	OLA (1956 W), NET (1960 W), PBA (1960 S), NLD (1964 S), HOL (1968–1988)
NEP	[137]	Nepal
NGR	[138]	Nigeria	NIG (1960 S), NGA (1964)
NIG	[139]	Niger	NGR (1964)
NOR	[140]	Norway
NRU	[141]	Nauru
NZL	[142]	New Zealand	NZE (1960, 1968 W)
OMA	[143]	Oman
PAK	[144]	Pakistan
PAN	[145]	Panama
PAR	[146]	Paraguay
PER	[147]	Peru
PHI	[148]	Philippines	FIL (1960, 1968)
PLE	[149]	Palestine
PLW	[150]	Palau
PNG	[151]	Papua New Guinea	NGY (1976–1980), NGU (1984–1988)
POL	[152]	Poland
POR	[153]	Portugal
PRK	[154]	North Korea	NKO (1964 S, 1968 W), CDN (1968)
PUR	[155]	Puerto Rico	PRI (1960), PRO (1968)
QAT	[156]	Qatar
ROU	[157]	Romania	ROM (1956–1960, 1972–2006), RUM (1964–1968)
RSA	[158]	South Africa	SAF (1960–1972)
RUS	[159]	Russia
RWA	[160]	Rwanda
SAM	[161]	Samoa
SEN	[162]	Senegal	SGL (1964)
SEY	[163]	Seychelles
SGP	[164]	Singapore	SIN (1959–2016)
SKN	[165]	Saint Kitts and Nevis
SLE	[166]	Sierra Leone	SLA (1968)
SLO	[167]	Slovenia
SMR	[168]	San Marino	SMA (1960–1964)
SOL	[169]	Solomon Islands
SOM	[170]	Somalia
SRB	[171]	Serbia
SRI	[172]	Sri Lanka	CEY (1948-1964, 1972), CEI (1968 S)
SSD	[173]	South Sudan
STP	[174]	São Tomé and Príncipe
SUD	[175]	Sudan
SUI	[176]	Switzerland	SVI (1956 W, 1960 S), SWI (1960 W, 1964 S)
SUR	[177]	Suriname
SVK	[178]	Slovakia
SWE	[179]	Sweden	SVE (1956 W, 1960 S), SUE (1968 S)
SWZ	[180]	Swaziland
SYR	[181]	Syria	SIR (1968)
TAN	[182]	Tanzania
TGA	[183]	Tonga	TON (1984)
THA	[184]	Thailand
TJK	[185]	Tajikistan
TKM	[186]	Turkmenistan
TLS	[187]	East Timor
TOG	[188]	Togo
TPE	[189]	Chinese Taipei[5]	RCF (1956-1960), TWN (1964–1968), ROC (1972–1976)
TTO	[190]	Trinidad and Tobago	TRT (1964–1968) TRI (1972–2012)
TUN	[191]	Tunisia
TUR	[192]	Turkey
TUV	[193]	Tuvalu
UAE	[194]	United Arab Emirates
UGA	[195]	Uganda
UKR	[196]	Ukraine
URU	[197]	Uruguay	URG (1968)
USA	[198]	United States	SUA (1960 S), EUA (1968 S)
UZB	[199]	Uzbekistan
VAN	[200]	Vanuatu
VEN	[201]	Venezuela
VIE	[202]	Vietnam	VET (1964), VNM (1968–1976)
VIN	[203]	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
YEM	[204]	Yemen
ZAM	[205]	Zambia	NRH (1964)
ZIM	[206]	Zimbabwe	RHO (1960–1972)

Current NPCs[edit]

Most National Paralympic Committees (NPC) cover a territory with an active NOC. In these cases the NPC codes matches the IOC codes shown above. The two current NPCs without a corresponding NOC use the following NPC codes.

Code	Link	National Paralympic Committee	Other codes used
MAC	Associação Recreativa dos Deficientes de Macau	Macau
FRO	The Faroese Sport Organisation for Disabled	Faroe Islands

Historic NOCs and teams[edit]

Codes still in use[edit]

Fourteen historical NOCs or teams have codes that are still used in the IOC results database^[6] to refer to past medal winners from these teams.

Code	Nation/Team	Other codes used
AHO	Netherlands Antilles
ANZ	Australasia
BOH	Bohemia
BWI	British West Indies	ANT (1960, 1968), WID (1964)
EUA	United Team of Germany	GER (1956–1964)
EUN	Unified Team
FRG	West Germany	ALL (1968 W), ALE (1968 S), GER (1972–1976)
GDR	East Germany	ADE (1968)
RU1	Russian Empire
SCG	Serbia and Montenegro
TCH	Czechoslovakia	CSL (1956 W), CZE (1960 W), CSV (1960 S), CZS (1964 S), CHE (1968 S)
URS	Soviet Union	SOV (1968 W)
YUG	Yugoslavia	JUG (1956–1960, 1968 W), YUS (1964 S)
ZZX	Mixed teams

Obsolete codes[edit]

Code	Nation (NOC)	Years	Notes
IHO	Dutch East Indies	1934–1938	Now  Indonesia (INA)
BIR	Burma	1948–1988	Now  Myanmar (MYA)
CEY	Ceylon	1948–1972	Now  Sri Lanka (SRI)
DAH	Dahomey	1964–1976	Now  Benin (BEN)
GUI	British Guiana	1948–1964	Now  Guyana (GUY)
HBR	British Honduras	1968–1972	Now  Belize (BIZ)
KHM	Khmer Republic	1972–1976	Now  Cambodia (CAM)
MAL	Malaya	1956–1960	Competed independently prior to the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Now  Malaysia (MAS)
NBO	North Borneo	1956
NRH	Northern Rhodesia	1964	Now  Zambia (ZAM)
RAU	United Arab Republic	1960	Now  Egypt (EGY) and  Syria (SYR)
RHO	Rhodesia	1960–1972	Now  Zimbabwe (ZIM)
ROC	Republic of China	1932–1976	Now competing under the name  Chinese Taipei (TPE)
SAA	Saar	1952	Competed independently prior to rejoining  West Germany (FRG) in 1957
UAR	United Arab Republic	1964–1968	Now  Egypt (EGY)
VOL	Upper Volta	1972–1984	Now  Burkina Faso (BUR)
YAR	North Yemen	1984–1988	Competed independently prior to Yemeni unification in 1990. Now  Yemen (YEM)
YMD	South Yemen	1988
ZAI	Zaire	1972–1996	Now  Democratic Republic of the Congo (COD)
——	Gold Coast	1952	Now  Ghana (GHA)

Two other significant code changes have occurred, both because of a change in the nation's designation as used by the IOC:

• 
  HOL was changed to NED for the Netherlands for the 1992 Games, reflecting the change in designation from Holland.


• 
  IRN was changed to IRI for Iran for the 1992 Games, reflecting the change in designation to Islamic Republic of Iran.

Special codes for Olympics[edit]

Code	Nation/Team	Years	Notes
ANZ	Australasia	1908–1912	Used in the IOC's medal database[6] to identify the team from Australasia, composed of athletes from both Australia and New Zealand for the 1908 and 1912 Games. By 1920, both nations competed separately.
COR	Korea	2018	Used for a unified Korean ice hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Also used when the delegations of the two Korean NOCs enter together during the opening ceremony.[7]
EUA	United Team of Germany	1956–1964	Used in the IOC's medal database[6] to identify the United Team of Germany, composed of athletes representing the NOCs of both East Germany and West Germany for the 1956–1964 Games. At the time, the team was simply known as Germany in the official reports for those six Games.
EUN	Unified Team	1992	Used in 1992 (both Summer and Winter Games) for the Unified Team, composed of athletes from most of the ex-republics of the Soviet Union. Only the Baltic states were able to compete as independent teams in 1992; the other twelve new nations competed independently for the first time in 1994 and/or 1996.
IOP	Independent Olympic Participants	1992, 2014	Used for Independent Olympic Participants at the 1992 Summer Olympics as a designation used for athletes from FR Yugoslavia who could not compete as a team due to United Nations sanctions. At the 1992 Summer Olympics IOP was used as a designation for athletes from the Republic of Macedonia too. IOP was also used during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi by Indian athletes due to the Indian Olympic Association suspension.
IOA	Independent Olympic Athletes	2000, 2012, 2016	Used for Individual Olympic Athletes in 2000,[8] a designation used for athletes from Timor-Leste prior to the formation of its NOC. IOA was used again in the 2012 Games, when it stood for Independent Olympic Athletes,[9] comprising athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles and a runner from South Sudan. The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee's membership from the IOC was withdrawn the previous year, and South Sudan has not formed an NOC. IOA was used again in 2016 for athletes from Kuwait as a result of the suspension of its National Olympic Committee.[10]
IOC	Athletes from Kuwait	2010	Used as the country code for Athletes from Kuwait at the 2010 Asian Games, as the Kuwait Olympic Committee was suspended.
MIX	Mixed-NOCs	2010–2016	Used as the country code for Mixed NOCs at the Youth Olympics.[11]
OAR	Olympic Athletes from Russia	2018	Used for Olympic Athletes from Russia competing as neutral athletes due to the state-sponsored doping scandal.[12]
ROT	Refugee Olympic Team	2016	Used for the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics for athletes to compete who have been displaced from their home countries.[13]
ZZX	Mixed team	1896–1904	Used in the IOC's medal database[6] to identify medals won by mixed teams of athletes from multiple nations (such as the combination of France and Great Britain, for example), a situation that happened several times in the Games of 1896, 1900, and 1904.

Special codes for Paralympics[edit]

Code	Nation/Team	Years	Notes
IPP	Independent Paralympic Participants	1992	Used for Independent Paralympic Participants at the 1992 Summer Paralympics as a designation used for athletes from FR Yugoslavia who could not compete as a team due to United Nations sanctions. At the 1992 Summer Paralympics IPP was used as a designation for athletes from the Republic of Macedonia too.
IPA	Individual Paralympic Athletes	2000,2016
NPA	Neutral Paralympic Athletes	2018	Used for Neutral Paralympic Athletes competing as neutral athletes due to the state-sponsored doping scandal.

See also[edit]

• Comparison of IOC, FIFA, and ISO 3166 country codes


• List of FIFA country codes


• Lists of National Olympic Committees by continental association:
  
  • Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa
  
  
  • European Olympic Committees
  
  
  • Oceania National Olympic Committees
  
  
  • Olympic Council of Asia
  
  
  • Pan American Sports Organization
  
  


• List of participating nations at the Summer Olympic Games


• List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games


• List of CGF country codes

References[edit]