Geographical Names
Accurate and consistent geographic data is essential for biodiversity records to be meaningful, searchable, and interoperable.
Overview
The Country field is mandatory for all records submitted to BOLD.
BOLD uses country names defined by GeoNames, a global geographical database maintained through community contributions and authoritative sources.
The Province/State field, while not mandatory, is strongly recommended. These values are drawn from GeoNames' first-order administrative divisions, providing a consistent structure for regional comparisons.
This level of standardization improves data quality, reduces duplication, and ensures compatibility with other biodiversity databases and tools.
Country List
| Country | ISO alpha-3 code | ISO alpha-2 code |
| Afghanistan | AFG | AF |
| Aland | ALA | AX |
| Albania | ALB | AL |
| Algeria | DZA | DZ |
| American Samoa | ASM | AS |
| Andorra | AND | AD |
| Angola | AGO | AO |
| Anguilla | AIA | AI |
| Antarctica | ATA | AQ |
| Antigua and Barbuda | ATG | AG |
| Argentina | ARG | AR |
| Armenia | ARM | AM |
| Aruba | ABW | AW |
| Australia | AUS | AU |
| Austria | AUT | AT |
| Azerbaijan | AZE | AZ |
| Bahamas | BHS | BS |
| Bahrain | BHR | BH |
| Bangladesh | BGD | BD |
| Barbados | BRB | BB |
| Belarus | BLR | BY |
| Belgium | BEL | BE |
| Belize | BLZ | BZ |
| Benin | BEN | BJ |
| Bermuda | BMU | BM |
| Bhutan | BTN | BT |
| Bolivia | BOL | BO |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba | BES | BQ |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BIH | BA |
| Botswana | BWA | BW |
| Bouvet Island | BVT | BV |
| Brazil | BRA | BR |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | IOT | IO |
| British Virgin Islands | VGB | VG |
| Brunei | BRN | BN |
| Bulgaria | BGR | BG |
| Burkina Faso | BFA | BF |
| Burundi | BDI | BI |
| Cabo Verde | CPV | CV |
| Cambodia | KHM | KH |
| Cameroon | CMR | CM |
| Canada | CAN | CA |
| Cayman Islands | CYM | KY |
| Central African Republic | CAF | CF |
| Chad | TCD | TD |
| Chile | CHL | CL |
| China | CHN | CN |
| Christmas Island | CXR | CX |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | CCK | CC |
| Colombia | COL | CO |
| Comoros | COM | KM |
| Cook Islands | COK | CK |
| Costa Rica | CRI | CR |
| Croatia | HRV | HR |
| Cuba | CUB | CU |
| Curacao | CUW | CW |
| Cyprus | CYP | CY |
| Czechia | CZE | CZ |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | COD | CD |
| Denmark | DNK | DK |
| Djibouti | DJI | DJ |
| Dominica | DMA | DM |
| Dominican Republic | DOM | DO |
| Ecuador | ECU | EC |
| Egypt | EGY | EG |
| El Salvador | SLV | SV |
| Equatorial Guinea | GNQ | GQ |
| Eritrea | ERI | ER |
| Estonia | EST | EE |
| Eswatini | SWZ | SZ |
| Ethiopia | ETH | ET |
| Falkland Islands | FLK | FK |
| Faroe Islands | FRO | FO |
| Fiji | FJI | FJ |
| Finland | FIN | FI |
| France | FRA | FR |
| French Guiana | GUF | GF |
| French Polynesia | PYF | PF |
| French Southern Territories | ATF | TF |
| Gabon | GAB | GA |
| Gambia | GMB | GM |
| Georgia | GEO | GE |
| Germany | DEU | DE |
| Ghana | GHA | GH |
| Gibraltar | GIB | GI |
| Greece | GRC | GR |
| Greenland | GRL | GL |
| Grenada | GRD | GD |
| Guadeloupe | GLP | GP |
| Guam | GUM | GU |
| Guatemala | GTM | GT |
| Guernsey | GGY | GG |
| Guinea | GIN | GN |
| Guinea-Bissau | GNB | GW |
| Guyana | GUY | GY |
| Haiti | HTI | HT |
| Heard and McDonald Islands | HMD | HM |
| Honduras | HND | HN |
| Hungary | HUN | HU |
| Iceland | ISL | IS |
| India | IND | IN |
| Indonesia | IDN | ID |
| Iran | IRN | IR |
| Iraq | IRQ | IQ |
| Ireland | IRL | IE |
| Isle of Man | IMN | IM |
| Israel | ISR | IL |
| Italy | ITA | IT |
| Ivory Coast | CIV | CI |
| Jamaica | JAM | JM |
| Japan | JPN | JP |
| Jersey | JEY | JE |
| Jordan | JOR | JO |
| Kazakhstan | KAZ | KZ |
| Kenya | KEN | KE |
| Kiribati | KIR | KI |
| Kosovo | XKX | XK |
| Kuwait | KWT | KW |
| Kyrgyzstan | KGZ | KG |
| Laos | LAO | LA |
| Latvia | LVA | LV |
| Lebanon | LBN | LB |
| Lesotho | LSO | LS |
| Liberia | LBR | LR |
| Libya | LBY | LY |
| Liechtenstein | LIE | LI |
| Lithuania | LTU | LT |
| Luxembourg | LUX | LU |
| Madagascar | MDG | MG |
| Malawi | MWI | MW |
| Malaysia | MYS | MY |
| Maldives | MDV | MV |
| Mali | MLI | ML |
| Malta | MLT | MT |
| Marshall Islands | MHL | MH |
| Martinique | MTQ | MQ |
| Mauritania | MRT | MR |
| Mauritius | MUS | MU |
| Mayotte | MYT | YT |
| Mexico | MEX | MX |
| Micronesia | FSM | FM |
| Moldova | MDA | MD |
| Monaco | MCO | MC |
| Mongolia | MNG | MN |
| Montenegro | MNE | ME |
| Montserrat | MSR | MS |
| Morocco | MAR | MA |
| Mozambique | MOZ | MZ |
| Myanmar | MMR | MM |
| Namibia | NAM | NA |
| Nauru | NRU | NR |
| Nepal | NPL | NP |
| Netherlands | NLD | NL |
| New Caledonia | NCL | NC |
| New Zealand | NZL | NZ |
| Nicaragua | NIC | NI |
| Niger | NER | NE |
| Nigeria | NGA | NG |
| Niue | NIU | NU |
| Norfolk Island | NFK | NF |
| North Korea | PRK | KP |
| North Macedonia | MKD | MK |
| Northern Mariana Islands | MNP | MP |
| Norway | NOR | NO |
| Oman | OMN | OM |
| Pakistan | PAK | PK |
| Palau | PLW | PW |
| Palestine | PSE | PS |
| Panama | PAN | PA |
| Papua New Guinea | PNG | PG |
| Paraguay | PRY | PY |
| Peru | PER | PE |
| Philippines | PHL | PH |
| Pitcairn Islands | PCN | PN |
| Poland | POL | PL |
| Portugal | PRT | PT |
| Puerto Rico | PRI | PR |
| Qatar | QAT | QA |
| Republic of the Congo | COG | CG |
| Reunion | REU | RE |
| Romania | ROU | RO |
| Russia | RUS | RU |
| Rwanda | RWA | RW |
| Saint Barthelemy | BLM | BL |
| Saint Helena | SHN | SH |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | KNA | KN |
| Saint Lucia | LCA | LC |
| Saint Martin | MAF | MF |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | SPM | PM |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VCT | VC |
| Samoa | WSM | WS |
| San Marino | SMR | SM |
| Sao Tome and Principe | STP | ST |
| Saudi Arabia | SAU | SA |
| Senegal | SEN | SN |
| Serbia | SRB | RS |
| Seychelles | SYC | SC |
| Sierra Leone | SLE | SL |
| Singapore | SGP | SG |
| Sint Maarten | MAF | SX |
| Slovakia | SVK | SK |
| Slovenia | SVN | SI |
| Solomon Islands | SLB | SB |
| Somalia | SOM | SO |
| South Africa | ZAF | ZA |
| South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | SGS | GS |
| South Korea | KOR | KR |
| South Sudan | SSD | SS |
| Spain | ESP | ES |
| Spratly Islands | XSP | |
| Sri Lanka | LKA | LK |
| Sudan | SDN | SD |
| Suriname | SUR | SR |
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen | SJM | SJ |
| Sweden | SWE | SE |
| Switzerland | CHE | CH |
| Syria | SYR | SY |
| Taiwan | TWN | TW |
| Tajikistan | TJK | TJ |
| Tanzania | TZA | TZ |
| Thailand | THA | TH |
| Timor-Leste | TLS | TL |
| Togo | TGO | TG |
| Tokelau | TKL | TK |
| Tonga | TON | TO |
| Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | TT |
| Tunisia | TUN | TN |
| Turkiye | TUR | TR |
| Turkmenistan | TKM | TM |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | TCA | TC |
| Tuvalu | TUV | TV |
| Uganda | UGA | UG |
| Ukraine | UKR | UA |
| United Arab Emirates | ARE | AE |
| United Kingdom | GBR | GB |
| United States | USA | US |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | UMI | UM |
| United States Virgin Islands | VIR | VI |
| Uruguay | URY | UY |
| Uzbekistan | UZB | UZ |
| Vanuatu | VUT | VU |
| Vatican City | VAT | VT |
| Venezuela | VEN | VE |
| Vietnam | VNM | VN |
| Wallis and Futuna | WLF | WF |
| Western Sahara | ESH | EH |
| Yemen | YEM | YE |
| Zambia | ZMB | ZM |
| Zimbabwe | ZWE | ZW |
Bodies of Water
| Oceans/Seas | Parent Waterbody |
| Arctic Ocean | Arctic Ocean |
| Atlantic Ocean | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coral Sea | Indian Ocean |
| Indian Ocean | Indian Ocean |
| Tasman Sea | Indian Ocean |
| Baltic Sea | North Atlantic Ocean |
| Caribbean Sea | North Atlantic Ocean |
| Gulf of Mexico | North Atlantic Ocean |
| North Atlantic Ocean | North Atlantic Ocean |
| North Sea | North Atlantic Ocean |
| North Pacific Ocean | North Pacific Ocean |
| South China Sea | North Pacific Ocean |
| Pacific Ocean | Pacific Ocean |
| South Atlantic Ocean | South Atlantic Ocean |
| South Pacific Ocean | South Pacific Ocean |
| Southern Ocean | Southern Ocean |
| Caspian Sea | |
| Mediterranean Sea |
Other
| Exception - Aquarium |
| Exception - Cultivated |
| Exception - Culture |
| Exception - Laboratory Colony |
| Exception - Quarantine Capture |
| Exception - Zoological Park |
| Unrecoverable |
| Unspecified country |
BCDM
Geographical names are also embedded in the Barcode Core Data Model (BCDM), a flexible data standard that underpins the BOLD submission framework. You can learn more or contribute via the BCDM GitHub repository.