Country nomenclature: The naming of countries (or areas) follows in general the United Nations Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use.[1] The names and composition of countries as reporters are changing over time. Also, countries rarely follow identical nomenclature in the recording of partner information. For example, when former geographical entities commonly referred to in national statistics have changed, countries may introduce the corresponding changes in their statistics at different times. In this publication, wherever possible, areas of the world have been designated the names they currently bear.
It should be noted that:
- Statistics published for China exclude those for Taiwan Province of China. Data representing the trade with Taiwan Province, which any reporting country or area may have reported, are included in the grouping Asia, nes. For statistical purposes, statistics for China also do not include those for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region.
- Russian data provided by the Russian Federation. Includes statistical data for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
- The Government of Ukraine has informed the United Nations that it is not in a position to provide statistical data concerning the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
- On 3 June 2006, Serbia and Montenegro formally dissolved into two independent countries: Montenegro and Serbia.
- On 10 October 2010, the federation of the Netherlands Antilles was formally dissolved. The former Dutch Caribbean dependency ceased to exist with a change in the five islands’ constitutional status. Under the new political structure, Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Dutch part) have become autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, joining Aruba, which gained the status in 1986. The islands of the remaining territorial grouping, alternately known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba or the BES islands, are special municipalities and part of the country of the Netherlands and overseas territories of the European Union. For statistical purposes, the data for the Netherlands do not include the BES islands. Statistics referring to Netherlands Antilles (as a partner) prior to 2011 refer to the former territory, which included Curaçao, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba.
- On 9 July 2011, Sudan formally dissolved into two independent countries: Sudan and South Sudan. Statistics provided for Sudan prior to 1 January 2012 refer to the former Sudan (including South Sudan). Statistics referring to Sudan (as a partner) for 2012 are attributed to Sudan, excluding South Sudan.
- From January 2013 onwards, Saint Barthélemy is no longer part of the customs territory of France. Therefore, it is recognized as a separate statistical area both as a reporter and partner. Whereas from January 2014 onwards, Mayotte became part of the statistical area of France, and it is no longer shown as a reporter or a partner.
- In 2016, Czechia was adopted as the short country name for the Czech Republic.
- In 2018, the Kingdom of Swaziland was renamed the Kingdom of Eswatini.
- On 14 February 2019, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was renamed as Republic of North Macedonia.
- In 2022, Turkey was renamed as Türkiye.
- On 29 January 2025, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali and the Republic of Niger withdrew from Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Aggregations are calculated as the sum of country or area components.
Regional groupings: The composition of regional country groupings used for monitoring and evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). [2]
Additional country groupings: The composition of additional country groupings according to trade or economic integration agreements[3]:
APTA – Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement
Bangladesh, China, India, Korea (Republic of), Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka
ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam
CACM – Central American Common Market
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
CARICOM – Caribbean Community and Common Market
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti (member of the Community only), Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago
CEFTA – Central European Free Trade Agreement
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia
CEMAC – Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon
CIS – Commonwealth of Independent States
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
EAC – East African Community
Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania
ECOWAS – Economic Community of West African States
Benin, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea‑Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo
EU – European Union
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden
GCC – The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
LAIA – Latin American Integration Association
Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
LAS – League of Arab States
Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen
MERCOSUR – Mercado Comun Sud-Americano
Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
* the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is suspended while the Plurinational State of Bolivia is in the process of accession
USMCA – NAFUS-Mexico-Canada Agreement
Canada, Mexico and United States of America, including Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
SADC – Southern African Development Community
Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe
[1] Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use, Series M No. 49, Rev.4, (United Nations publication, Sales No. M.98.XVII.9). The latest information is available online at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/.
[2] For the composition of the regions, see https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/regional-groups.
[3] Note that a few countries belong to multiple trade or economic integration agreements.
