A quick reference guide for commonly used ISO standards, particularly useful for standardizing financial datasets and geographic data. Compiled for personal use, based on the standards I look up most often (financial sustainability data analysis in which country naming convention can be non-standardised and diffuse between sources!)
Links validated: Sep 03 2025
Geographic territory identification codes.
ISO 3166-1 - Country codes in Alpha-2 and Alpha-3 formats
- Alpha-2 examples: US, GB, DE, JP, IL, CA, AU
- Alpha-3 examples: USA, GBR, DEU, JPN, ISR, CAN, AUS
- Also includes Alpha-2 codes for multilateral bodies: EU (European Union), UN (United Nations)
ISO 3166-2 - Regional subdivisions
- ISO 3166-2:US - US states and territories (e.g., US-CA for California, US-NY for New York) Browse US Codes
- Regional territories for other countries (e.g., Israeli districts/mehozot: IL-D for Southern District)
- Note: Application for territories of disputed sovereignty can be inconsistent
World currencies with standardized codes.
- Alpha-3 examples: USD (US Dollar), EUR (Euro), GBP (British Pound), JPY (Japanese Yen), ILS (Israeli Shekel), CAD (Canadian Dollar), AUD (Australian Dollar)
- Numeric examples: 840 (USD), 978 (EUR), 826 (GBP), 392 (JPY), 376 (ILS), 124 (CAD), 036 (AUD)
Time zone nomenclature and date/time formatting standards.
- Note: Provides formatting standards but not actual time zone data
Basic iconography and graphical symbols for technical documentation.
World languages represented in two or three letter notation.
- Useful for multilingual datasets and internationalization
World writing systems identification codes.
- Useful for multilingual content and script-specific formatting
International standard for quantities and units in science and technology.
- Important for sustainability reporting and scientific data standardization
Standard for electrical plug and socket types used worldwide.
See: israel-ref.md
- Confusing ISO-3166 Codes - Countries with unexpected codes based on native language names
- ISO-3166 Disambiguation - Split territories and disputed sovereigns
- Unofficial Usage - Common non-ISO abbreviations vs official codes