List of IOC country codes

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

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 National Paralympic Committee Link
MAC  Macau, China Associação Recreativa dos Deficientes de Macau
FRO  Faroe Islands The Faroese Sport Organisation for Disabled

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 Netherlands Antilles
ANZ  Australasia
BOH  Bohemia
BWI  British West Indies
  • ANT (1960
  • 1968)
  • WID (1964)
EUA Germany United Team of Germany GER (1956–1964)
EUN International Olympic Committee 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 International Olympic Committee Mixed teams

Obsolete codes[edit]

Code Nation (NOC) Years Notes
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)
IHO  Dutch East Indies 1934–1938 Now  Indonesia (INA)
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 2010–2018 Used as the country code for Mixed NOCs at the Youth Olympics.[11][12]
OAR  Olympic Athletes from Russia 2018 Used for Olympic Athletes from Russia competing as neutral athletes due to the state-sponsored doping scandal.[13]
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.[14]
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]

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Commissions_PDFfiles/Olympic_Solidarity/2011_report_Moving_Forward.pdf
  2. ^ Mallon, Bill; Ove Karlsson (May 2004). "IOC and OCOG Abbreviations for NOCs" (PDF). Journal of Olympic History. 12 (2): 25–28. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  3. ^ Faroe Islands Archived 2012-12-04 at Archive.today
  4. ^ Macau, China Archived 2013-01-03 at Archive.today
  5. ^ Official name given to the Republic of China for Olympic competition
  6. ^ a b c d "Olympic Medal Winners". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  7. ^ IOC. "Olympic Korean Peninsula Declaration" (PDF). Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  8. ^ "The Results" (PDF). la84foundation.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27.
  9. ^ "Independent Olympic Athletes". London2012.com. London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2013-02-28.
  10. ^ "Independent Olympic Athletes". Rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  11. ^ "Mixed NOCs". Archived from the original on 2014-02-25.
  12. ^ https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/youth-olympic-games-2018/medals/
  13. ^ "IOC suspends Russian NOC and creates a path for clean individual athletes to compete in PyeongChang 2018 under the Olympic Flag". 24 January 2018.
  14. ^ Rio2016.org, 3 June 2016 Archived 2016-08-05 at the Wayback Machine