STANDARDS FOR COUNTRY CODES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00933R000300200011-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2001
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: April 14, 1975
• Content Type: MF

Approved For .Release 2002/01/11 : CIA-RDP84-00933JR000300200011-7
14 APR 1975
ACRD FOR: Harry S. White, Jr.
Associate Director for ADP Standards
Institute for Computer Science and Technology
National Bureau of Standards
Washington, D. C. 20234
SUBJECT R Standards for Country Codes
1. This memorandum responds to your 7 March 1975
request for co eats on the actions being proposed
in a revision of FIPS 10-i which relate to the international
codes for the representation of names of countries
recently adopted by the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) as ISO 3166-1974.
2. The Central Intelligence Agency implemented
FIPS 10 in 1971 at considerable cost. We intend to
continue its use as the standard for Countries, Dependencies
and Areas of Special Sovereignty for our computer-based
document storage and retrieval systems and for the
automated dissemination of dints. We have made
this decision because the ISO code does not represent,
as does FIPS 10-1, certain areas which are important
to the Agency's information processing effort; because
we do not foresee our involvement in any international
exchange of data; and because we do not wish to incur
heavy conversion costs again without deriving some
compensating benefits. For these reasons, the continued
maintenance and publication of the codes in PIPS 10-
I is of substantial interest to us,
3. C. is not in favor of publishing ISO 3166
in any revision of FIPS 10-1. A publication that contains
three alternative coding standards for a single area,
with each Federal, user deciding which particular standard
code best meets its need, will produce such confusion
that the exchange of data cannot be accomplished effectively.
Approved For Release 2002/01/11 : CIA-RDP84-00933R000300200011-7
 Approved For R'rslease 2002/01/11 : CIA-RDP84-00933R!000300200011-7
SUBJECT : Standards for Country Codes
This approach appears to us to be unworkable. CIA
prefers that the ISO codes be announced in. a separate
publication as a voluntary data standard. The implementation
of PIPS 10 by CIA and other members of the Intelligence
Community has facilitated the exchange of machine-readable
data bases. It now becomes important to the Agency
that at least the Intelligence Community components
of the federal government retain PIPS 10 as -their standard
for country codes.
4. The proposal that those who have already implemented
the existing TIPS 10-1 codes consider the extent to
which they are (or may be) involved in the exchange
of data on an international basis, and then decide
whether to adopt the ISO code or continue to use the
existing code and convert whenever international interch
is necessary, does not seem to us to a viable solution
since many of the ISO and TIPS 10 codes do not equate
on a one-to-one basis. If it is feasible to produce
an equivalency table, we would welcome such action
by the National Bureau of Standards. The availability
of such a table could then be noted in a revision of
PIPS 10-1 with an announcement of the existence of
the voluntary ISO code for those who need the international
standard. Certainly, any action that facilitates the
exchange of data in important and will receive CIA
support.
STATINTL
Deputy Director of Joint Computer Support
Distribution:
Orig & 1 - Addressee'
1 - DD/OJCS/
1 - D/CRS
STATINTL 1 - C/DSG
CRS/DSG edm/7757 (4 April 1975)
Approved For Release 2002/01/92- CIA-RDP84-00933R000300200011-7
 Approved For? release 2004QI l1n.
I _a
IA-RDP84-00900030000011-7
OJC-3 ill
UNITED STATES DEPAF-.TP'J EfIT OF COMMERCE
National aura w of Standards
Washington, D.C. 2C234
Institute for Computer
Sciences and Technology
MEMORANDUM FOR Data Standards Points of Contact
From: Harry S. White, Jr., Associate Director
/
for ADP Standards %& -+
?
I/V
Subject: Standards for Country Codes
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently
adopted ISO Standard 3166, Codes for the representation of names of
countries (copy attached). This standard is already being adopted
for use in commercial applications involving the international
exchange of data. The banking and transportation industries are
planning to implement this standard in international interchange
within the next year.
In reviewing the codes in this standard, you will observe that*in
many instances they differ from those in FIPS 10-1. During the
development of this International Standard, the FIPS 10-1. entity and
code lists were submitted by the U.S. delegation for consideration
as a basis for the ISO Standard. Other countries and international
organizatio,is also submitted proposals. Our FIPS 10-1 was selected
as the base wor'