Difference between revisions of "Country codes"

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* After 1920, the entity must be a member of the United Nations or League of Nations, or have a population greater than 500,000 and receive diplomatic missions from two major powers.
 
* After 1920, the entity must be a member of the United Nations or League of Nations, or have a population greater than 500,000 and receive diplomatic missions from two major powers.
  
Furthermore, looking back until 1880 territorial and/or administrative changes are tracked and related entities are included in the newly created list. Changes are based on COW's "[https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/colonial-dependency-contiguity Colonial Contiguity Data]", more specifically the "Entities" list (included as a PDF file). This way, the list helps in finding the correct numeric COW code when coding data for a certain point in time.
+
Furthermore, looking back until 1880 territorial and/or administrative changes are tracked and related entities are included in the newly created list. Changes are based on COW's "[https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/colonial-dependency-contiguity Colonial Contiguity Data]", more specifically the "Entities" list (included as a PDF file).
  
 
'''Disclaimer''': The inclusion of an entity in WeSIS is based on scientific and analytical grounds. This precludes any judgments about which territories qualify as countries. For this reason, recognizing entities in WeSIS should not be interpreted as judgments about sovereign claims to disputed territories.
 
'''Disclaimer''': The inclusion of an entity in WeSIS is based on scientific and analytical grounds. This precludes any judgments about which territories qualify as countries. For this reason, recognizing entities in WeSIS should not be interpreted as judgments about sovereign claims to disputed territories.

Revision as of 16:27, 21 February 2020

This page lists all "countries" included in WeSIS and their numeric codes. Defining a country, political unit or a state member of the international system is challenging. In order to ensure cross-comparability to other major data collections in the social sciences, we rely on the coding by the Corrrelates of War project (COW).

Identifying entities

Contemporary states existent in 2016 form the basis of this list. COW applies a minimum definition for actors to qualify as a state member of the international system since 1816 (for a detailed discussion and refinements see COW's "State System Membership List, v2016"):

  • Prior to 1920, the entity must have population greater than 500,000 and have had diplomatic missions at or above the rank of charge d’affaires with Britain and France.
  • After 1920, the entity must be a member of the United Nations or League of Nations, or have a population greater than 500,000 and receive diplomatic missions from two major powers.

Furthermore, looking back until 1880 territorial and/or administrative changes are tracked and related entities are included in the newly created list. Changes are based on COW's "Colonial Contiguity Data", more specifically the "Entities" list (included as a PDF file).

Disclaimer: The inclusion of an entity in WeSIS is based on scientific and analytical grounds. This precludes any judgments about which territories qualify as countries. For this reason, recognizing entities in WeSIS should not be interpreted as judgments about sovereign claims to disputed territories.

Relation types

The following types of relationship are coded from COW's "Entity" list:

  1. (Became) part of
  2. (Became) possession of
  3. (Became) colony of
  4. Occupied by
  5. (Became) protectorate
  6. Mandated to
  7. Leased to
  8. (Became) neutral or demilitarized

Entity codes

The following list shows all entities that WeSIS recognizes. It gives information about the time when an entity was/is independent. In addition, it lists relations, the type of relation and corresponding time frames. This way, the list helps finding the proper numeric COW code when coding data for a certain entity and point in time.

The column "pop_over_500k" is a dummy indicating whether the contemporary entity has a population over 500.000 (=1), or not (=0) (Source: Worldbank 2019). This threshold is mentioned in the grant proposal and gives guidance in setting priorities for the data collection. In case of doubt, please talk to your PIs.

Please use the search bar to the right to filter the table when looking for specific entity codes, "country names" or related entities.

cow_code entity_name independence related_list relation_year relation_type pop_over_500k alt_names remark wiki
2 United States of America [(1816, 9999)] 1 United States of America
20 Canada [(1841, 9999)] [200] [(1841, 1931)] [3] 1 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1931 (Statute of Westminster) Canada
21 Newfoundland [(1855, 1934)] [200, 200, 20] [(1825, 1855), (1934, 1949), (1949, 9999)] [3, 3, 1] 0 Newfoundland
31 Bahamas [(1973, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1973)] [3] 0 Bahamas
40 Cuba [(1902, 1906), (1909, 9999)] [230, 2, 2] [(1816, 1898), (1898, 1902), (1906, 1909)] [3, 4, 4] 1 Cuba
41 Haiti [(1859, 1915), (1934, 9999)] [2] [(1915, 1934)] [4] 1 Haiti
42 Dominican Republic [(1844, 1861), (1865, 1916), (1924, 1965), (1966,9999)] [230, 41, 230, 2, 2] [(1816, 1821), (1822,1844), (1861, 1865), (1916, 1924), (1965, 1966)] [3, 4, 3, 4, 4] 1 Dominican Republic
50 West Indies Federation [(0, 0)] [200] [(1958, 1962)] [3] 0 West Indies Federation
51 Jamaica [(1962, 9999)] [200, 50] [(1816, 1958), (1958, 1962)] [3, 1] 1 Jamaica
52 Trinidad and Tobago [(1962, 9999)] [200, 50] [(1816, 1958), (1958, 1962)] [3, 1] 1 Trinidad and Tobago
53 Barbados [(1966, 9999)] [200, 50, 200] [(1816, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1966)] [3, 1, 3] 0 Barbados
54 Dominica [(1967, 9999)] [200, 1063, 1055, 50, 200] [(1816, 1871), (1871, 1940), (1940, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1978)] [3, 1, 1, 1, 3] 0 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1978 Dominica
55 Grenada [(1967, 9999)] [200, 1055, 50, 200, 2] [(1816, 1833), (1833, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1974), (1983, 1985)] [3, 1, 1, 3, 4] 0 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1974 Grenada
56 St. Lucia [(1967, 9999)] [200, 1055, 50, 200] [(1816, 1838), (1838, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1979)] [3, 1, 1, 3] 0 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1979 St. Lucia
57 St. Vincent and the Grenadines [(1967, 9999)] [200, 1055, 50, 200] [(1816, 1833), (1833, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1979)] [3, 1, 1, 3] 0 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1979 St. Vincent and the Grenadines
58 Antigua & Barbuda [(1967, 9999)] [200, 1063, 200, 50, 200] [(1816, 1871), (1871, 1956), (1956, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1981)] [3, 1, 3, 1, 3] 0 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1981 Antigua & Barbuda
60 St. Kitts and Nevis [(1967, 9999)] [1063, 200, 50, 200] [(1882, 1956), (1956, 1958), (1958, 1962), (1962, 1983)] [1, 3, 1, 3] 0 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1983 St. Kitts and Nevis
70 Mexico [(1821, 9999)] [2, 220] [(1847, 1848), (1863, 1867)] [4, 4] 1 Mexico
80 Belize [(1964, 9999)] [200, 51, 200] [(1816, 1862), (1862, 1884), (1884, 1981)] [3, 1, 3] 0 British Honduras Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1981 Belize
90 Guatemala [(1868, 9999)] [1070, 70, 89] [1816, 1821), (1821, 1823), (1823, 1839)] [1, 1, 1] 1 Guatemala
91 Honduras [(1899, 9999)] [1070, 70, 89] [1816, 1821), (1821, 1823), (1823, 1839)] [1, 1, 1] 1 Honduras
92 El Salvador [(1875, 9999)] [1070, 70, 89] [1816, 1821), (1821, 1823), (1823, 1839)] [1, 1, 1] 1 El Salvador
93 Nicaragua [(1900, 9999)] [1070, 70, 89, 2, 2] [1816, 1821), (1821, 1823), (1823, 1839), (1912, 1925), (1927, 1933)] [1, 1, 1, 4, 4] 1 Nicaragua
94 Costa Rica [(1920, 9999)] [1070, 70, 89] [1816, 1821), (1821, 1823), (1823, 1839)] [1, 1, 1] 1 Costa Rica
95 Panama [(1903, 9999)] [230, 100, 100] [(1816, 1819), (1819, 1840), (1841, 1903)] [3, 1, 1] 1 Panama
100 Colombia [(1831, 9999)] [230] [(1816, 1819)] [3] 1 Colombia
101 Venezuela [(1841, 9999)] [230, 100] [(1816, 1819), (1819, 1830)] [3, 1] 1 Venezuela
110 Guyana [(1966, 9999)] [1113, 1114, 200] [(1816, 1831), (1816, 1831), (1831, 1966)] [1, 1, 3] 1 Guyana
115 Suriname [(1954, 9999)] [210] [(1816, 1954)] [3] 1 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1975 Suriname
130 Ecuador [(1854, 9999)] [230, 100] [(1816, 1819), (1819, 1830)] [3, 1] 1 Ecuador
135 Peru [(1839, 9999)] [1135, 230, 136, 155] [(1816, 1817), (1817, 1821), (1836, 1839), (1880, 1883)] [1, 3, 1, 4] 1 Peru
140 Brazil [(1822, 9999)] [235] [(1816, 1822)] [3] 1 Brazil
145 Bolivia [(1848, 9999)] [230, 136] [(1816, 1825), (1836, 1839)] [3, 1] 1 Bolivia
150 Paraguay [(1846, 1870), (1876, 9999)] [140] [(1870, 1876)] [4] 1 Paraguay
155 Chile [(1839, 9999)] [1135] [(1816, 1817)] [1] 1 Chile
160 Argentina [(1841, 9999)] [1160] [(1816, 1816)] [1] 1 Argentina
165 Uruguay [(1882, 9999)] [140] [(1816, 1828)] [1] 1 Uruguay
200 United Kingdom [(1816, 9999)] 1 United Kingdom
205 Ireland [(1922, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1922)] [1] 1 Ireland
210 Netherlands [(1816, 1940), (1945, 9999)] [255] [(1940, 1945)] [4] 1 Netherlands
211 Belgium [(1830, 1940), (1945, 9999)] [210, 255, 255] [(1816, 1830), (1914, 1918), (1940, 1945)] [1, 4, 4] 1 Belgium
212 Luxembourg [(1920, 1940), (1944, 9999)] [210, 255, 255] [(1816, 1892), (1914, 1918), (1940, 1944)] [1, 4, 4] 1 Luxembourg
220 France [(1816, 1942), (1944, 9999)] [200, 255, 255, 255] [(1816, 1818), (1871, 1873), (1914, 1918), (1942, 1944)] [4, 4, 4, 4] 1 France
221 Monaco [(1993, 9999)] [325, 325, 255] [(1816, 1861), (1940, 1943), (1943, 1944)] [5, 4, 4] 0 Monaco
223 Liechtenstein [(1990, 9999)] 0 Liechtenstein
225 Switzerland [(1816, 9999)] 1 Switzerland
230 Spain [(1816, 9999)] 1 Spain
232 Andorra [(1993, 9999)] 0 Andorra
235 Portugal [(1816, 9999)] 1 Portugal
255 Germany [(1816, 1945), (1990, 9999)] [260] [(1945, 1990)] [1] 1 Germany
256 Saar [(0, 0)] [255, 0, 255, 220, 260] [(1871, 1920), (1920, 1935), (1935, 1945), (1945, 1947), (1957, 1990)] [1, 6, 1, 4, 1] 0 Saar
260 German Federal Republic [(1955, 1990)] [2] [(1945, 1955)] [4] 1 German Federal Republic
265 German Democratic Republic [(1954, 1990)] [365] [(1945, 1954)] [4] 1 German Democratic Republic
290 Poland [(1918, 1939), (1945, 9999)] [365, 255, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1939, 1945), (1944, 1949)] [1, 4, 4] 1 Poland
300 Austria-Hungary [(1867, 1918)] 1 Austria-Hungary
305 Austria [(1919, 1938), (1955, 9999)] [300, 255, 365] [(1816, 1919), (1938, 1945), (1945, 1955)] [1, 1, 4] 1 Austria
310 Hungary [(1919, 9999)] [300] [(1816, 1919)] [1] 1 Hungary
315 Czechoslovakia [(1918, 1939), (1945, 1992)] [300, 255, 365, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1939, 1945), (1945, 1945), (1968, 1969)] [1, 4, 4, 4] 1 Czechoslovakia
316 Czech Republic [(1993, 9999)] [315] [(1945, 1992)] [1] 1 Czech Republic
317 Slovakia [(1993, 9999)] [315] [(1945, 1992)] [1] 1 Slovakia
325 Italy [(1816, 9999)] [2, 255] [(1943, 1946), (1943, 1945)] [4, 4] 1 Italy
326 Trieste [(0, 0)] [325, 2, 1, 325] [(1919, 1943), (1943, 1947), (1947, 1954), (1954, 9999)] [1, 4, 6, 1] 0 Trieste
331 San Marino [(1992, 9999)] 0 San Marino
338 Malta [(1964, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1964)] [3] 0 Malta
339 Albania [(1914, 1939), (1944, 9999)] [640, 300, 325, 255] [(1816, 1912), (1914, 1920), (1939, 1943), (1939, 1944)] [1, 4, 4, 4] 1 Albania
341 Montenegro [(2006, 9999)] [300, 345] [(1915, 1918), (1918, 2006)] [4, 1] 1 Montenegro
343 Macedonia [(1993, 9999)] [345] [(1918, 1992)] [1] 1 Macedonia
344 Croatia [(1992, 9999)] [345, 325, 345] [(1918, 1941), (1941, 1945), (1945, 1991)] [1, 4, 1] 1 Croatia
345 Serbia [(1878, 1941), (1944, 9999)] [640, 300, 255] [(1816, 1817), (1914, 1918), (1941, 1944)] [1, 4, 4] 1 Serbia
346 Bosnia and Herzegovina [(1992, 9999)] [345] [(1918, 1991)] [1] 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
347 Kosovo [(2008, 9999)] [345, 325, 345, 0] [(1918, 1941), (1941, 1943), (1944, 1999), (1999, 2008)] [1, 4, 3, 6] 1 Kosovo
349 Slovenia [(1992, 9999)] [345] [(1918, 1991)] [1] 1 Slovenia
350 Greece [(1828, 1941), (1944, 9999)] [640, 325, 255] [(1816, 1828), (1941, 1943), (1941, 1944)] [1, 4, 4] 1 Greece
351 Crete [(0), (0)] [640, 200, 350] [(1816, 1913), (1898, 1913), (1913, 9999)] [1, 4, 1] 0 Crete
352 Cyprus [(1960, 9999)] [640, 200, 200] [(1816, 1878), (1878, 1914), (1914, 1960)] [1, 4, 3] 1 Cyprus
355 Bulgaria [(1908, 9999)] [640, 365, 200, 365] [(1816, 1878), (1878, 1878), (1918, 1919), (1944, 1947)] [1, 4, 4, 4] 1 Bulgaria
359 Moldova [(1991, 9999)] [365, 360, 365] [(1816, 1917), (1918, 1940), (1940, 1991)] [1, 1, 1] 1 Moldova
360 Romania [(1878, 9999)] [255, 365] [(1916, 1918), (1944, 1949)] [4, 4] 1 Romania
365 Russia [(1816, 9999)] [255, 255] [(1915, 1918), (1941, 1943)] [4, 4] 1 Russia
366 Estonia [(1918, 1940), (1991, 9999)] [365, 365, 255, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1940, 1941), (1941, 1943), (1943, 1991)] [1, 1, 4, 1] 1 Estonia
367 Latvia [(1918, 1940), (1991, 9999)] [365, 365, 255, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1940, 1941), (1941, 1943), (1943, 1991)] [1, 1, 4, 1] 1 Latvia
368 Lithuania [(1918, 1940), (1991, 9999)] [365, 365, 255, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1940, 1941), (1941, 1943), (1943, 1991)] [1, 1, 4, 1] 1 Lithuania
369 Ukraine [(1991, 9999)] [365, 365, 255, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1919, 1941), (1941, 1943), (1943, 1991)] [1, 1, 4, 1] 1 Ukraine
370 Belarus [(1991, 9999)] [365, 365, 255, 365] [(1816, 1917), (1918, 1941), (1941, 1943), (1943, 1991)] [1, 1, 4, 1] 1 Belarus
371 Armenia [(1918, 1922), (1991, 9999)] [365, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1922, 1991)] [1, 1] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; Democratic Republic of Armenia added from 1918 to 1922 Armenia
372 Georgia [(1918, 1921), (1991, 9999)] [365, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1921, 1991)] [1, 1] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; Democratic Republic of Georgia added from 1918 to 1921 Georgia
373 Azerbaijan [(1918, 1920), (1991, 9999)] [365, 365] [(1816, 1918), (1920, 1991)] [1, 1] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; Azerbaijan Democratic Republic added from 1918 to 1920 Azerbaijan
375 Finland [(1917, 9999)] [365] [(1816, 1918)] [1] 1 Finland
380 Sweden [(1816, 9999)] 1 Sweden
385 Norway [(1905, 1940), (1945, 9999)] [380, 255] [(1816, 1905), (1940, 1945)] [1, 4] 1 Norway
390 Denmark [(1816, 1940), (1945, 9999)] [255] [(1940, 1945)] [1] 1 Denmark
395 Iceland [(1918, 1940), (1944, 9999)] [390, 200, 2] [(1816, 1919), (1940, 1941), (1941, 1944)] [3, 4, 4] 0 Independence deviates from CoW; added 1918 to 1940 due to Danish–Icelandic Act of Union Iceland
402 Cape Verde [(1975, 9999)] [235] [(1816, 1975)] [3] 1 Cape Verde
403 Sao Tome and Principe [(1975, 9999)] [235] [(1816, 1975)] [3] 0 Sao Tome and Principe
404 Guinea-Bissau [(1974, 9999)] [402, 235] [(1816, 1879), (1879, 1974)] [1, 3] 1 Guinea-Bissau
411 Equatorial Guinea [(1968, 9999)] [230] [(1858, 1968)] [3] 1 Equatorial Guinea
412 Rio Muni [(0, 0)] [230, 411] [(1816, 1968), (1968, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 Added dependency as Spanish colony for entire period Rio Muni
420 Gambia [(1965, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1965)] [3] 1 At times part of Sierra Leone (451) which in turn was under British rule, hence dependency simplified Gambia
430 French West Africa [(0, 0)] [220] [(1895, 1958)] [3] 0 French West Africa
431 Mali Federation [(0, 0)] [430, 220] [(1895, 1958), (1959, 1960)] [1, 3] 0 Mali Federation
432 Mali [(1960, 9999)] [430, 431] [(1895, 1958), (1959, 1960)] [1, 1] 1 French Sudan, Sudanese Republic Mali
433 Senegal [(1960, 9999)] [220, 430, 431] [(1817, 1959), (1895, 1958), (1959, 1960)] [3, 1, 1] 1 Senegal
434 Benin [(1960, 9999)] [220, 430] [(1872, 1960), (1895, 1958)] [3, 1] 1 Dahomey Benin
435 Mauritania [(1960, 9999)] [220, 220, 430] [(1903, 1921), (1921, 1960), (1904, 1958)] [5, 3, 1] 1 Mauritania
436 Niger [(1960, 9999)] [220, 430] [(1904, 1960), (1904, 1958)] [3, 1] 1 Niger
437 Ivory Coast [(1960, 9999)] [220, 220, 430] [(1889, 1893), (1893, 1960), (1895, 1958)] [5, 3, 1] 1 Ivory Coast
438 Guinea [(1958, 9999)] [220, 220, 430] [(1843, 1893), (1893, 1958), (1895, 1958)] [5, 3, 1] 1 Guinea
439 Burkina Faso [(1960, 9999)] [430, 220] [(1895, 1958), (1895, 1960)] [1, 3] 1 At times part of Mali (432) which in turn was under French rule, hence dependency simplified Burkina Faso
450 Liberia [(1862, 9999)] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; set start date to 1862 when the US recognized independence Liberia
451 Sierra Leone [(1961, 9999)] [200, 200] [(1816, 1961), (1896, 1961)] [3, 5] 1 Sierra Leone
452 Ghana [(1957, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1957)] [3] 1 At times part of Sierra Leone (451) which in turn was under British rule, hence dependency simplified Ghana
460 German Togoland [(0, 0)] [255, 200] [(1884, 1916), (1916, 1922)] [3, 4] 0 German Togoland
461 Togo [(1960, 9999)] [220] [(1922, 1960)] [6] 1 Togo
462 British Togoland [(0, 0)] [200, 452] [(1922, 1956), (1956, 9999)] [6, 1] 0 British Togoland
470 Kamerun [(0, 0)] [255, 200] [(1884, 1916), (1916, 1919)] [3, 4] 0 Kamerun
471 Cameroon [(1960, 9999)] [220, 220] [(1919, 1922), (1922 ,1960)] [4, 6] 1 Cameroon
472 British Cameroons [(0, 0)] [220, 220] [(1919, 1922), (1922, 1961)] [4, 6] 0 British Cameroons
475 Nigeria [(1960, 9999)] [200, 200] [(1899, 1914), (1914, 1960)] [5, 3] 1 Nigeria
480 French Equatorial Africa [(0, 0)] [220] [(1910, 1958)] [3] 0 French Equatorial Africa
481 Gabon [(1958, 9999)] [220, 220, 480] [(1839, 1903), (1903, 1958), (1910, 1958)] [5, 3, 1] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1958 due to interim Union of Central African Republics prior to formal independence Gabon
482 Central African Republic [(1958, 9999)] [220, 480] [(1906, 1958), (1910, 1958)] [3, 1] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1958 due to interim Union of Central African Republics prior to formal independence Central African Republic
483 Chad [(1958, 9999)] [220, 480] [(1920, 1958), (1910, 1958)] [3, 1] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1958 due to interim Union of Central African Republics prior to formal independence Chad
484 Congo [(1958, 9999)] [220, 480] [(1882, 1958), (1910, 1958)] [3, 1] 1 Congo-Brazzaville Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1958 due to interim Union of Central African Republics prior to formal independence Congo
490 Democratic Republic of the Congo [(1960, 9999)] [211] [(1885, 1960)] [3] 1 Zaire Democratic Republic of the Congo
500 Uganda [(1962, 9999)] [200] [(1894, 1962)] [5] 1 Uganda
501 Kenya [(1963, 9999)] [200, 200] [(1895, 1920), (1920, 1963)] [5, 3] 1 Kenya
510 Tanzania [(1961, 9999)] [255, 200, 200] [(1891, 1916), (1916, 1922), (1922, 1961)] [3, 4, 6] 1 German East Africa Tanzania
511 Zanzibar [(1963, 1964)] [698, 255, 200] [(1816, 1885), (1885, 1890), (1890, 1963)] [2, 5, 5] 0 Zanzibar
515 Rwanda-Urundi [(0, 0)] [510, 211] [(1891, 1922), (1922, 1962)] [1, 6] 0 Rwanda-Urundi
516 Burundi [(1962, 9999)] [515] [(1891, 1962)] [1] 1 Burundi
517 Rwanda [(1962, 9999)] [515] [(1891, 1962)] [1] 1 Rwanda
520 Somalia [(1960, 9999)] 1 Somalia
521 British Somaliland (Somaliland Republic) [(0, 0)] [200, 325, 200] [(1884, 1940), (1940, 1941), (1941, 1960)] [5, 4, 3] 0 British Somaliland (Somaliland Republic)
522 Djibouti [(1977, 9999)] [220] [(1884, 1977)] [3] 1 French Somaliland Djibouti
530 Ethiopia [(1816, 1936), (1941, 9999)] [325] [(1936, 1941)] [4] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1816 Ethiopia
531 Eritrea [(1993, 9999)] [325, 5201, 200, 1, 530] [(1882, 1936), (1936, 1941), (1941, 1945), (1945, 1952), (1952, 1993)] [3, 1, 4, 5, 1] 0 Eritrea
540 Angola [(1975, 9999)] [235] [(1816, 1975)] [3] 1 Angola
541 Mozambique [(1975, 9999)] [235] [(1816, 1975)] [3] 1 Mozambique
550 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland [(0, 0)] [200] [(1953, 1964)] [3] 0 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
551 Zambia [(1964, 9999)] [200, 550] [(1889, 1964), (1953, 1964)] [5, 1] 1 Northern Rhodesia At times part of Northern Rhodesia (5518) which in turn was under British rule, hence dependency simplified Zambia
552 Zimbabwe [(1965, 9999)] [200, 550] [(1889, 1964), (1953, 1964)] [5, 1] 1 Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia At times part of Southern Rhodesia which in turn was under British rule, hence dependency simplified Zimbabwe
553 Malawi [(1964, 9999)] [200, 550] [(1891, 1964), (1953, 1964)] [5, 1] 1 Nyasaland Malawi
560 South Africa [(1910, 9999)] 1 Start year deviates from CoW as the entity gained self-government/sovereignty over domestic policies; year of independence: 1931 (Statute of Westminster) South Africa
561 Cape Colony [(0, 0)] [200, 560] [(1816, 1910), (1910, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 Cape Colony
562 Natal [(0, 0)] [200, 560] [(1843, 1910), (1910, 1994)] [3, 1] 0 Natal
563 Transvaal [(1852, 1902)] [200, 560] [(1902, 1910), (1910, 1994)] [3, 1] 0 Transvaal
564 Orange Free State (Orange River Colony) [(1854, 1902)] [200, 560] [(1902, 1910), (1910, 1994)] [3, 1] 0 Orange Free State (Orange River Colony)
565 Namibia [(1990, 9999)] [255, 560, 560, 560] [(1885, 1915), (1915, 1922), (1922, 1966), (1966, 1990)] [3, 4, 5, 3] 1 South West Africa, German South West Africa Namibia
570 Lesotho [(1966, 9999)] [200] [(1868, 1966)] [3] 1 Basutoland At times part of Cape Colony (561) which in turn was under British rule, hence dependency simplified Lesotho
571 Botswana [(1966, 9999)] [200] [(1885, 1966)] [5] 1 Bechuanaland Protectorate Botswana
572 Swaziland [(1968, 9999)] [563, 200] [(1894, 1902), (1902, 1968)] [3, 3] 1 Eswatini Swaziland
580 Madagascar [(1960, 9999)] [220, 220] [(1882, 1896), (1896, 1960)] [5, 3] 1 Malagasy Republic Madagascar
581 Comoros [(1975, 9999)] [220, 580, 220] [(1886, 1914), (1914, 1947), (1947, 1975)] [5, 1, 3] 1 Comoros
590 Mauritius [(1968, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1968)] [3] 1 Mauritius
591 Seychelles [(1976, 9999)] [590, 200] [(1816, 1903), (1903, 1976)] [1, 3] 0 Seychelles
600 Morocco [(1847, 1912), (1956, 9999)] [220] [(1912, 1956)] [5] 1 Morocco
601 Tangier [(0, 0)] [0, 230, 1] [(1923, 1940), (1940, 1945), (1945, 1956)] [6, 4, 6] 0 Tangier
602 Spanish Morocco [(0, 0)] [230] [(1912, 1956)] [5] 0 Spanish Morocco
609 Spanish Sahara [(0, 0)] [230] [(1884, 1975) [3] 0 Spanish Sahara
615 Algeria [(1962, 9999)] [220] [(1831, 1962)] [3] 1 Algeria
616 Tunisia [(1825, 1881), (1956, 9999)] [220] [(1881, 1956)] [5] 1 Tunisia
620 Libya [(1951, 9999)] [640, 325, 200, 200] [(1835, 1912), (1912, 1942), (1942, 1946), (1946, 1951)] [1, 3, 4, 6] 1 Libya
625 Sudan [(1956, 9999)] [6254, 200] [(1882, 1898), (1898, 1956)] [1, 3] 1 Sudan
626 South Sudan [(2011, 9999)] 1 South Sudan
630 Iran [(1855, 9999)] [200, 365, 200] [(1911, 1919), (1911, 1917), (1941, 1945)] [4, 4, 4] 1 Iran
640 Turkey [(1816, 9999)] 1 Turkey
645 Iraq [(1932, 9999)] [640, 200, 200] [(1816, 1917), (1917, 1920), (1920, 1932)] [1, 4, 6] 1 Iraq
651 Egypt [(1855, 1882), (1922, 9999)] [200, 200] [(1882, 1914), (1914, 1922)] [3, 5] 1 United Arab Republic Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1922 due to nominal independence Egypt
652 Syria [(1946, 1958), (1961, 9999)] [640, 220, 220, 651] [(1840, 1918), (1918, 1923), (1923, 1946), (1958, 1961)] [1, 4, 6, 1] 1 Syria
660 Lebanon [(1946, 9999)] [640, 220, 220, 652] [(1816, 1918), (1918, 1923), (1923, 1946), (1976, 1990)] [1, 4, 6, 4] 1 Lebanon
663 Jordan [(1946, 9999)] [640, 200, 200] [(1816, 1918), (1918, 1923), (1923, 1946)] [1, 4, 6] 1 Jordan
665 Palestine [(1994, 9999)] [640,  200, 200, 651, 663, 666] [(1816, 1918), (1918, 1923), (1923, 1948), (1948, 1967), (1948, 1967),  (1967, 1994)] [1, 4, 6, 4, 4, 4] 1 Palestine
666 Israel [(1948, 9999)] [640, 200, 200] [(1816, 1918), (1918, 1923), (1923, 1948)] [1, 4, 6] 1 Israel
670 Saudi Arabia [(1816, 9999)] [651, 674] [(1818, 1823), (1891, 1902)] [4, 4] 1 Saudi Arabia
673 Al Hasa [(0, 0)] [640, 670] [(1871, 1913), (1913, 9999)] [4, 1] 1 Al Hasa
678 Yemen Arab Republic [(1918, 1990)] [640] [(1871, 1918)] [1] 0 Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1918 due to declaration of Mutawakkilite Kingdom Yemen Arab Republic
679 Yemen [(1990, 9999)] 1 Yemen
680 Yemen People's Republic [(1967, 1990)] [681] [(1874, 1967)] [1] 0 Yemen People's Republic
681 Aden [(0, 0)] [750, 200, 6801] [(1838, 1937), (1937, 1963), (1963, 1967)] [1, 3, 1] 0 Aden
690 Kuwait [(1961, 9999)] [200, 645] [(1899, 1961), (1999, 1991)] [5, 4] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added British protectorate from 1899 to 1961 Kuwait
692 Bahrain [(1971, 9999)] [200] [(1820, 1971)] [5] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added (informal) British protectorate from 1820 to 1971 Bahrain
694 Qatar [(1971, 9999)] [640, 200] [(1863, 1916), (1916, 1971)] [1, 5] 1 Qatar
696 United Arab Emirates [(1971, 9999)] [200] [(1820, 1971)] [5] 1 Trucial Oman Dependency deviates from CoW; added (informal) British protectorate from 1820 to 1971 United Arab Emirates
698 Oman [(1971, 9999)] [200] [(1820, 1971)] [5] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added de facto British protectorate from 1820 to 1971 Oman
700 Afghanistan [(1919, 9999)] [200, 365] [(1879, 1919), (1979, 1989)] [4, 4] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added occupation and British sphere of influence from 1879 to 1919 Afghanistan
701 Turkmenistan [(1991, 9999)] [365] [(1881, 1991)] [1] 1 Turkmenistan
702 Tajikistan [(1991, 9999)] [365] [(1895, 1991)] [1] 1 Tajikistan
703 Kyrgyzstan [(1991, 9999)] [365] [(1873, 1991)] [1] 1 Kyrgyzstan
704 Uzbekistan [(1991, 9999)] [365] [(1873, 1991)] [1] 1 Uzbekistan
705 Kazakhstan [(1991, 9999)] [365] [(1848, 1991)] [1] 1 Kazakhstan
710 China [(1860, 9999)] [740] [(1937, 1945)] [4] 1 China
711 Manchukuo [(0, 0)] [740, 710] [(1932, 1945), (1945, 9999)] [4, 1] 0 Manchukuo
712 Mongolia [(1911, 9999)] [710, 365] [(1816, 1911), (1921, 1924)] [1, 4] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1911 due to declaration of independence at end of Qing dynasty Mongolia
713 Taiwan [(1949, 9999)] [710, 740, 710] [(1816, 1895), (1895, 1945), (1945, 1949)] [1, 3, 1] 1 Republic of China Taiwan
720 Hong Kong [(0, 0)] [710, 200, 200, 740, 200, 710] [(1816, 1839), (1839, 1841), (1841, 1942), (1942, 1945), (1945, 1996), (1997, 9999)] [1, 4, 3, 4, 3, 1] 1 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Hong Kong
721 Macao [(0, 0)] [235, 710] [(1816, 1999), (1999, 9999)] [3, 1] 1 Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Macao
730 Korea [(1887, 1905)] [740, 740, 740] [(1905, 1907), (1907, 1910), (1910, 1945)] [4, 5, 3] 1 Korea
731 North Korea [(1948, 9999)] [730, 365] [(1816, 1945), (1945, 1948)] [1, 4] 1 Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea
732 South Korea [(1949, 9999)] [730, 365] [(1816, 1945), (1945, 1948)] [1, 4] 1 Republic of Korea South Korea
740 Japan [(1860, 1945), (1952, 9999)] [2] [(1945, 1952)] [4] 1 Japan
750 India [(1947, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1947)] [3] 1 India
751 French India [(0, 0)] [220, 750] [(1816, 1954), (1954, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 French India
752 Portuguese India [(0, 0)] [235, 750, 750] [(1816, 1961), (1961, 1962), (1962, 9999)] [3, 4, 1] 0 Goa, Diu, Daman Portuguese India
760 Bhutan [(1971, 9999)] [200, 750] [(1865, 1949), (1949, 1971)] [5, 5] 1 Bhutan
761 Sikkim [(0, 0)] [200, 750, 750] [(1861, 1949), (1949, 1975), (1975, 9999)] [5, 5, 1] 0 Sikkim
770 Pakistan [(1947, 9999)] [750] [(1849, 1947)] [1] 1 Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan
771 Bangladesh [(1971, 9999)] [750, 770] [(1849, 1947), (1947, 1971)] [1, 1] 1 Bangladesh
775 Myanmar [(1948, 9999)] [200, 740] [(1824, 1948), (1942, 1945)] [3, 4] 1 Burma At times colony, at times part of India (750) which in turn was under British rule, hence dependency simplified Myanmar
780 Sri Lanka [(1948, 9999)] [200] [(1833, 1948)] [3] 1 Ceylon Sri Lanka
781 Maldives [(1965, 9999)] [200] [(1887, 1965)] [5] 0 Maldives
790 Nepal [(1816, 9999)] [200] [(1816, 1947)] [5] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added British de facto protectorate from 1816 to 1947 Nepal
800 Thailand [(1816, 9999)] [740] [(1941, 1945)] [4] 1 Siam Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1816 due to Kingdom already being in place Thailand
810 French Indochina [(0, 0)] [220, 740, 220] [(1887, 1941), (1941, 1945), (1945, 1954)] [3, 4, 3] 0 French Indochina
811 Cambodia [(1953, 9999)] [220, 816] [(1867, 1953), (1979, 1989)] [3, 4] 1 Kampuchea At times protectorate, at times part of French Indochina (810) which in turn was under French rule, hence dependency simplified Cambodia
812 Laos [(1953, 9999)] [220, 816] [(1893, 1953), (1975, 1989)] [3, 4] 1 At times protectorate, at times part of French Indochina (810) which in turn was under French rule, hence dependency simplified Laos
816 Vietnam [(1954, 9999)] [220, 710] [(1887, 1953), (1945, 1946)] [3, 4] 1 At times protectorate, at times part of French Indochina (810) which in turn was under French rule, hence dependency simplified Vietnam
817 Republic of Vietnam [(1954, 1975)] [220] [(1887, 1953)] [3] 1 South Vietnam At times protectorate, at times part of French Indochina (810) which in turn was under French rule, hence dependency simplified Republic of Vietnam
820 Malaysia [(1957, 9999)] [200] [(1826, 1957)] [3] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added Straits Settlements and British Malaya from 1826 to 1957, hence dependency simplified Malaysia
823 Sabah (North Borneo) [(0, 0)] [835, 200, 740, 200] [(1816, 1888), (1888, 1942), (1942, 1945), (1945, 1963)] [1, 5, 4, 3] 0 Sabah (North Borneo)
824 Sarawak [(0, 0)] [835, 200, 740, 200] [(1816, 1841), (1841, 1941), (1941, 1945), (1945, 1963)] [1, 5, 4, 3] 0 Sarawak
827 Straits Settlements [(0, 0)] [200] [(1826, 1945)] [3] 0 Straits Settlements
830 Singapore [(1965, 9999)] [200, 740, 820] [(1826, 1959), (1942, 1945), (1959, 1965)] [3, 4, 1] 1 Dependency deviates from CoW; added Straits Settlements and aftermath under British rule from 1826 to 1957, hence dependency simplified Singapore
835 Brunei [(1984, 9999)] [200, 740, 200] [(1888, 1941), (1941, 1945), (1945, 1983)] [5, 4, 5] 0 Brunei
840 Philippines [(1946, 9999)] [230, 2, 740, 2] [(1816, 1898), (1898, 1942), (1942, 1945), (1945, 1946)] [3, 3, 4, 3] 1 Philippines
850 Indonesia [(1949, 9999)] [210, 740] [(1816, 1949), (1942, 1945)] [3, 4] 1 Dutch East Indies Indonesia
851 West Irian [(0, 0)] [210, 740, 1, 850] [(1828, 1962), (1942, 1945), (1962, 1963), (1963, 9999)] [3, 4, 6, 1] 0 Dutch New Guinea At times part of Indonesia (850) which in turn was under Dutch rule, hence dependency simplified West Irian
860 East Timor [(2002, 9999)] [235, 740, 850, 1] [(1816, 1975), (1942, 1945), (1975, 1999), (1999, 2002)] [3, 4, 4, 1] 1 Portuguese Timor, Timor-Leste East Timor
900 Australia [(1901, 9999)] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1901 due to Federation of Australia Australia
901 New South Wales [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1816, 1901), (1901, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 New South Wales
902 Western Australia [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1829, 1901), (1901, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 Western Australia
903 South Australia [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1836, 1901), (1901, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 South Australia
904 Victoria [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1851, 1901), (1901, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 Victoria
905 Queensland [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1859, 1901), (1901, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 Queensland
906 Tasmania [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1825, 1901), (1901, 9999)] [3, 1] 0 Tasmania
910 Papua New Guinea [(1975, 9999)] [900] [(1945, 1975)] [6] 1 Papua New Guinea
911 Papua [(0, 0)] [200, 900] [(1888, 1906), (1906, 1975)] [5, 6] 0 Papua
912 New Guinea [(0, 0)] [255, 900, 900] [(1884, 1914), (1914, 1921), (1921, 1975)] [3, 4, 6] 0 German New Guinea, Kaiser-Wilhelmsland New Guinea
920 New Zealand [(1907, 9999)] [200] [(1840, 1907)] [3] 1 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1907 due to dominion status New Zealand
935 Vanuatu [(1981, 9999)] [200] [(1906, 1980)] [3] 0 Vanuatu
940 Solomon Islands [(1978, 9999)] [200] [(1893, 1978)] [5] 1 Solomon Islands
945 Gilbert and Ellice Is. [(0, 0)] [200, 200] [(1892, 1916), (1916, 1975)] [5, 3] 0 Gilbert and Ellice Is.
946 Kiribati [(1975, 9999)] [945] [(1892, 1975)] [1] 0 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1976 when legal separation of Gilbert and Ellice Is. Started Kiribati
947 Tuvalu [(1975, 9999)] [945] [(1892, 1975)] [1] 0 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1976 when legal separation of Gilbert and Ellice Is. Started Tuvalu
950 Fiji [(1970, 9999)] [200] [(1874, 1970)] [3] 1 Fiji
955 Tonga [(1816, 9999)] [200] [(1900, 1970)] [5] 0 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1816 due to Kingdom of Tonga already in place Tonga
970 Nauru [(1968, 9999)] [912, 900, 900, 740] [(1884, 1914), (1914, 1919), (1919, 1968), (1942, 1945)] [3, 4, 6, 4] 0 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1968 due to end of trusteeship Nauru
980 U.S. Pacific Trust Territories [(0, 0)] [255, 740, 740, 2, 2] [(1885, 1914), (1914, 1920), (1920, 1944), (1944, 1947), (1947, 1994)] [3, 4, 6, 4, 6] 0 U.S. Pacific Trust Territories
983 Marshall Islands [(1986, 9999)] [980] [(1885, 1986)] [1] 0 Marshall Islands
986 Palau [(1994, 9999)] [980] [(1885, 1994)] [1] 0 Palau
987 Federated States of Micronesia [(1986, 9999)] [980] [(1885, 1986)] [1] 0 Federated States of Micronesia
990 Samoa [(1962, 9999)] [255, 920, 920] [(1900, 1914), (1914, 1920), (1920, 1962)] [3, 4, 6] 0 Independence deviates from CoW; start date set to 1962 due to end of trusteeship Samoa
1055 Windward Is. [(0, 0)] [200] [(1833, 1958)] [3] 0 Windward Is.
1063 Leeward Is. [(0, 0)] [200] [(1833, 1956)] [3] 0 Leeward Is.
1075 St. Kitts [(0, 0)] [60] [(1882, 9999)] [1] 0 St. Kitts
1076 Nevis [(0, 0)] [60] [(1882, 9999)] [1] 0 Nevis
2249 Heligoland [(0, 0)] [200, 255] [(1816, 1890), (1890, 1945)] [3, 1] 0 Heligoland
3353 Dodecanese Is. (Aegean Is.) [(0, 0)] [640, 325, 325, 200, 350] [(1816, 1912), (1912, 1923), (1923, 1943), (1943, 1947), (1947, 9999)] [1, 4, 3, 4, 1] 0 Dodecanese Is. (Aegean Is.)
4371 Odienne [(0, 0)] [4393] [(1880, 1898)] [1] 0 Odienne
4381 Futa Djallon [(0, 0)] [430] [(1896, 1958)] [1] 0 Futa Djallon
4391 Gurma [(0, 0)] [430] [(1895, 1958)] [1] 0 Gurma
4393 Mandinka Empire [(1878, 1898)] [430] [(1898, 1958)] [1] 0 Mandinka Empire
4783 Southern Nigeria [(0, 0)] [200, 475] [(1899, 1914), (1914, 9999)] [5, 1] 0 Southern Nigeria
4784 Northern Nigeria [(0, 0)] [200, 475] [(1899, 1914), (1914, 9999)] [5, 1] 0 Northern Nigeria
5200 Italian Somaliland [(0, 0)] [325, 5201, 200, 325] [(1889, 1936), (1936, 1941), (1941, 1950), (1950, 1960)] [3, 1, 4, 6] 0 Italian Somaliland
5201 Italian East Africa [(0, 0)] [5200] [(1936, 1941)] [1] 0 Italian East Africa
5518 Northeastern Rhodesia [(0, 0)] [200, 551, 550] [(1899, 1911), (1911, 1953), (1953, 1964)] [3, 1, 1] 0 Northeastern Rhodesia
6202 Cyrenaica [(0, 0)] [620] [(1912, 1942)] [1] 0 Cyrenaica
6254 Mahdist Empire [(1882, 1898)] [651, 625] [(1821, 1882), (1898, 1956)] [1, 1] 0 Mahdist Empire
6801 Federation of South Arabia [(0, 0)] [200] [(1959, 1967)] [3] 0 Federation of South Arabia
7351 Southern Sakhalin I. [(0, 0)] [365, 740, 365] [(1875, 1905), (1905, 1946), (1946, 1993)] [1, 3, 1] 0 Southern Sakhalin I.

Reading the table

Within each row, index notation is used to describe the relation, the time frame and type. Using Cuba as an example, it can be read as follows

cow_code country_name independence related_list relation_year relation_type
40 Cuba [(1902, 1906), (1909, 9999)] [230, 2, 2] [(1816, 1898), (1898, 1902), (1906, 1909)] [3, 4, 4]
  • Contemporary Cuba has the numeric COW code 40
  • It was independent from 1902 to 1906 and 1909 until today (9999)
  • Throughout time, it had three relations:
    • From 1816 to 1898, it was a "colony of" (relation_type: 3) Spain (related_list: 230)
    • From 1898 to 1902, it was "occupied by" (relation_type: 4) United States of America (related_list: 2)
    • From 1906 to 1909, it was "occupied by" (relation_type: 4) United States of America (related_list: 2)

WeSIS recognizes data for the entire period. Make sure that data for years outside independence is actually attributable to the focal entity, though.

There are two specific notations:

  • [(0, 0)] means the entity existed (and thus, data may attributable) but never was independent
  • [(9999)] means "until today".

Amendments and limitations

In general, the temporal domain of COW starts in 1816. Yet, WeSIS does not recognize entities beyond the time frame defined by the earliest or latest year in the colums "independent_list" and "relation_year". In some cases, changes have been made with respect to the start or end year of independence or a relation. These are documented in the column remarks. Most notable are deviances when a country not yet gained full independence regarding foreign policy - a defining criterion for COW - but had autonomy or self-government over domestic policies. As social policies fall into this realm, time frames may have been adjusted.

Relation to other schemes

There are many other country coding schemes out there like ISO 3166-1 or the scheme applied by the "Varieties of Democracy" Project (V-Dem) - each with a different scope regarding time and entities, though. V-Dem's country codes in particular aim at a consistent time series whereas COW usually treats entities as "fixed" or "separated". For example, COW assigns three codes to Korea, North Korea and South Korea while V-Dem subsumes Korea and South Korea under one code. This makes it cumbersome though, when trying to disaggregate data if desirable. For this reason, data for WeSIS is collected for each entity separately applying COW codes.

However, as COW has become a standard on its own, V-Dem includes COW codes as well making it easy to merge data. Likewise, packages like countrycode for R or kountry for Stata provide valuable tools to convert from and to COW codes if needed.

Misc

Contributors: Bastian Becker, Fabian Besche, Nils Düpont, and Heiner Fechner

Revisions:

  • CRC internal release on July 16, 2018‎
  • Static list extended by related entities and replaced as searchable data.table on February 20, 2019
  • Dummy "pop.over.500k" added on February 23, 2019
  • List replaced with new version containing more detailed description of types of relationship on February 21, 2020
  • Old list archived on February 21, 2020

Sources