What is an ISO 3166-1 numeric country code?

It is a three-digit code assigned to each country by ISO 3166, such as 826 for the United Kingdom and 840 for the United States. Being digits only, it is independent of any script or language, which makes it useful in international systems.

Where are numeric country codes used?

They appear in payment standards, shipping and customs documents, and statistical data, especially where a non-Latin script is in play. The numeric codes are derived from the United Nations M49 standard, so they align with UN statistical data.

Why use a numeric code instead of letters?

Numeric codes avoid any dependence on the Latin alphabet, so they work identically in Arabic, Chinese, or Cyrillic systems. They also stay stable even when a country's name changes, since the number is not tied to spelling.

Do numeric codes have leading zeros?

Yes. The codes are always three digits, so smaller numbers are zero-padded, for example 004 for Afghanistan and 008 for Albania. Store them as strings rather than integers so the leading zeros are preserved.

Is my search transmitted anywhere?

No. The complete country table is built into the tool and the lookup runs in your browser, so nothing you enter leaves your device.

ISO 3166 Numeric Country Code Lookup

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The ISO 3166-1 numeric standard assigns each country a three-digit code, such as 826 for the United Kingdom. Because they are digits only, these codes are independent of any alphabet, which makes them ideal for payment, shipping, and statistical systems that span many languages. This tool translates a numeric code to a country and back.

How it works

The numeric codes are drawn from the United Nations M49 standard, so they line up with UN statistical data. They are always three digits and are zero-padded: Afghanistan is 004, not 4. The tool handles this for you — typing 4 still finds Afghanistan by also matching the padded form 004. Because the codes carry no spelling, they stay stable even when a country renames itself, an advantage over the letter codes.

A practical note for developers: store these codes as strings, not integers, or you will lose the leading zeros that the standard requires.

Tips and example

To decode a number, type it — 840 resolves to the United States. To find a country’s number, type its name, such as Brazil, which returns 076. Each result also lists the alpha-2 and alpha-3 codes, so you can move between all three ISO 3166-1 representations in a single lookup.