The material on current and historical countries and areas of interest (first five columns: code, countries and areas of interest, Num-3, Alpha-2, Alpha-3) is presented here to help users who compile longitudinal data on countries and areas of interest to assign those data to the right current or formerly used country names and codes. The following two columns show the start and/or end of the period of validity. The last column holds some remarks.

Current and Historical Countries and Areas of Interest 2010

Current and Historical Countries and Areas of Interest					Period of Validity		Remarks
Code	Countries and Areas of Interest	Num-3	Alpha-2	Alpha-3	Start	End
41004	Afghanistan	004	AF	AFG	1970
23248	Åland Islands	248	AX	ALA	2004		Formerly part of Finland.
24008	Albania	008	AL	ALB	1970
33012	Algeria	012	DZ	DZA	1970
51016	American Samoa	016	AS	ASM	1970
24020	Andorra	020	AD	AND	1970
34024	Angola	024	AO	AGO	1970
13660	Anguilla	660	AI	AIA	1980		Formerly part of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla.
61010	Antarctica	010	AQ	ATA	1970	1979	Antarctica without British Antarctic Territory and the antarctic territories of French Southern and Antarctica Territories.
61010	Antarctica	010	AQ	ATA	1983		Now includes Dronning Maud Land and since 1979 includes British Antarctic Territory and the antarctic part of French Southern and Antarctica Territories.
61010	Antarctica	010	AQ	ATA	1979	1983	Antarctica without Dronning Maud Land.
13028	Antigua	028	AG	ATG	1970	1981	Now known as Antigua and Barbuda.
13028	Antigua and Barbuda	028	AG	ATG	1981		Formerly known as Antigua.
14032	Argentina	032	AR	ARG	1970
41051	Armenia	051	AM	ARM	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
13533	Aruba	533	AW	ABW	1986		Formerly part of Netherlands Antilles.
51036	Australia	036	AU	AUS	1970
21040	Austria	040	AT	AUT	1970
41031	Azerbaijan	031	AZ	AZE	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
13044	Bahamas	044	BS	BHS	1970
41048	Bahrain	048	BH	BHR	1970
44050	Bangladesh	050	BD	BGD	1971		Formerly part of Pakistan.
13052	Barbados	052	BB	BRB	1970
22112	Belarus	112	BY	BLR	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and formerly known as Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
21056	Belgium	056	BE	BEL	1970
12084	Belize	084	BZ	BLZ	1973		Formerly known as British Honduras.
31204	Benin	204	BJ	BEN	1977		Formerly known as Dahomey.
13060	Bermuda	060	BM	BMU	1970
44064	Bhutan	064	BT	BTN	1970
14068	BoliviaFootnote 4	068	BO	BOL	1970
13535	Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba	535	BQ	BES	2010		Formerly part of Netherlands Antilles
24070	Bosnia and Herzegovina	070	BA	BIH	1992		Formerly part of Yugoslavia.
35072	Botswana	072	BW	BWA	1970
61074	Bouvet Island	074	BV	BVT	1970
14076	Brazil	076	BR	BRA	1970
61080	British Antarctic Territory	080	BQ	ATB	1970	1979	Now part of Antarctica.
12084	British Honduras	084			1970	1973	Now known as Belize.
44086	British Indian Ocean Territory	086	IO	IOT	1970
51090	British Solomon Islands	090	SB	SLB	1970	1975	Now known as Solomon Islands.
13092	British Virgin Islands	092	VG	VGB	1970	1988	Now known as Virgin Islands, British.
43096	Brunei	096	BN	BRN	1970	1984	Now known as Brunei Darussalam.
43096	Brunei Darussalam	096	BN	BRN	1984		Formerly known as Brunei.
22100	Bulgaria	100	BG	BGR	1970
31854	Burkina Faso	854	BF	BFA	1984		Formerly known as Upper Volta.
43104	Burma	104	BU	BUR	1970	1989	Renamed as Myanmar.
43104	Burma (Myanmar)	104	MM	MMR	2009		Formerly known as Burma until 1989, then Myanmar between 1989 and 2009.
32108	Burundi	108	BI	BDI	1970
22112	Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic	112	BY	BYS	1970	1991	Now known as Belarus.
43116	Cambodia	116	KH	KHM	1989		Formerly known as Cambodia in 1970, known as the Khmer Republic between 1970 and 1975, then known as the Democratic Kampuchea between 1975 and 1989.
43116	Cambodia	116	KH	KHM	1970	1970	Between 1970 and 1975, Cambodia was known as Khmer Republic.
34120	Cameroon	120	CM	CMR	1970	1972	Renamed as the United Republic of Cameroon.
34120	Cameroon	120	CM	CMR	1984		Formerly known as Cameroon until 1972, then known as the United Republic of Cameroon between 1972 and 1984.
34120	Cameroon, United Republic of	120	CM	CMR	1972	1984	Now known as Cameroon.
11124	Canada	124	CA	CAN	1970
51128	Canton and Enderbury Islands	128	CT	CTE	1970	1984	Now part of Kiribati.
31132	Cape Verde	132	CV	CPV	1975		Formerly known as Cape Verde Islands.
31132	Cape Verde Islands	132	CV	CPV	1970	1975	Now known as Cape Verde.
13136	Cayman Islands	136	KY	CYM	1970
34140	Central African Republic	140	CF	CAF	1970
44144	Ceylon	144			1970	1972	Now known as Sri Lanka.
34148	Chad	148	TD	TCD	1970
14152	Chile	152	CL	CHL	1970
42156	ChinaFootnote 1	156	CN	CHN	1970
51162	Christmas Island	162	CX	CXR	1970
51166	Cocos (Keeling) Islands	166	CC	CCK	1970
14170	Colombia	170	CO	COL	1970
32174	Comoro Islands	174	KM	COM	1970	1975	Now known as Comoros; previously Mayotte was part of Comoro Islands.
32174	Comoros	174	KM	COM	1975		Comoros without Mayotte; formerly known as Comoro Islands.
34180	Congo, Democratic Republic of	180	CD	COD	1970	1971	Renamed as Zaire.
34178	Congo, Republic of the	178	CG	COG	1970
34180	Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	180	CD	COD	1997		Formerly known as the Democratic Republic of Congo until 1971, then known as Zaire between 1971 and 1997.
51184	Cook Islands	184	CK	COK	1970
12188	Costa Rica	188	CR	CRI	1970
31384	Côte d'Ivoire	384	CI	CIV	1986		Formerly known as Ivory Coast.
24191	Croatia	191	HR	HRV	1991		Formerly part of Yugoslavia.
13192	Cuba	192	CU	CUB	1970
13531	Curaçao	531	CW	CUW	2010		Formerly part of Netherlands Antilles
41196	Cyprus	196	CY	CYP	1970
22203	Czech Republic	203	CZ	CZE	1993		Formerly part of Czechoslovakia.
22200	Czechoslovakia	200	CS	CSK	1970	1993	Divided into Czech Republic and Slovakia.
31204	Dahomey	204	DY	DHY	1970	1977	Now known as Benin.
23208	Denmark	208	DK	DNK	1970
32262	Djibouti	262	DJ	DJI	1977		Formerly known as French Afars and Issas.
13212	Dominica	212	DM	DMA	1970
13214	Dominican Republic	214	DO	DOM	1970
61216	Dronning Maud Land	216	NQ	ATN	1970	1983	Now part of Antarctica.
43626	East Timor	626	TP	TMP	1975	2002	Now known as Timor-Leste.
14218	Ecuador	218	EC	ECU	1970
33818	Egypt	818	EG	EGY	1971		Formerly known as United Arab Republic.
12222	El Salvador	222	SV	SLV	1970
34226	Equatorial Guinea	226	GQ	GNQ	1970
32232	Eritrea	232	ER	ERI	1993		Formerly part of Ethiopia.
22233	Estonia	233	EE	EST	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
32231	Ethiopia	231	ET	ETH	1993		Ethiopia without Eritrea.
32230	Ethiopia	230	ET	ETH	1970	1993	Ethiopia divided into Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1993.
23234	Faeroe Islands	234	FO	FRO	1970	1988	Now known as Faroe Islands.
14238	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	238	FK	FLK	1993		Falkland Islands (Malvinas) without South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
14238	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	238	FK	FLK	1970	1993	Previously South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands were part of Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
23234	Faroe Islands	234	FO	FRO	1988		Formerly known as Faeroe Islands.
51242	Fiji	242	FJ	FJI	1970
23246	Finland	246	FI	FIN	2004		Finland without Åland Islands.
23246	Finland	246	FI	FIN	1970	2004	Previously Åland Islands were part of Finland.
21250	France	250	FR	FRA	1970
32262	French Afars and Issas	262	AI	AFI	1970	1977	Now known as Djibouti.
14254	French Guiana	254	GF	GUF	1970
51258	French Polynesia	258	PF	PYF	1970
61260	French Southern and Antarctic Territories	260	FQ	ATF	1970	1979	French Antarctic Territories now part of Antarctica.
61260	French Southern Territories	260	TF	ATF	1979		French Southern Territories without French Antarctic Territories.
34266	Gabon	266	GA	GAB	1970
31270	Gambia	270	GM	GMB	1970
41274	Gaza Strip	274			1970	1999	Renamed as the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
41268	Georgia	268	GE	GEO	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
21278	German Democratic Republic	278	DD	DDR	1970	1990	Now part of Germany.
21276	Germany	276	DE	DEU	1990		The German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany were merged into Germany in 1990.
21280	Germany, Federal Republic of	280	DE	DEU	1970	1990	Now part of Germany.
31288	Ghana	288	GH	GHA	1970
24292	Gibraltar	292	GI	GIB	1970
51296	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	296	GE	GEL	1970	1975	Gilbert and Ellice Islands divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1975.
51296	Gilbert Islands	296	GE	GEL	1975	1979	Gilbert Islands renamed as Kiribati in 1979.
24300	Greece	300	GR	GRC	1970
11304	Greenland	304	GL	GRL	1970
13308	Grenada	308	GD	GRD	1970
13312	Guadeloupe	312	GP	GLP	2007		Guadeloupe without Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin (French part).
13312	Guadeloupe	312	GP	GLP	1970	2007	Previously Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin (French part) were part of Guadeloupe.
51316	Guam	316	GU	GUM	1970
12320	Guatemala	320	GT	GTM	1970
23831	Guernsey	831	GG	GGY	2006		Formerly part of United Kingdom.
31324	Guinea	324	GN	GIN	1970
31624	Guinea-Bissau	624	GW	GNB	1974		Formerly known as Portuguese Guinea.
14328	Guyana	328	GY	GUY	1970
13332	Haiti	332	HT	HTI	1970
61334	Heard and McDonald Islands	334	HM	HMD	1970	1992	Now known as Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
61334	Heard Island and McDonald Islands	334	HM	HMD	1992		Formerly known as Heard and McDonald Islands.
24336	Holy See (Vatican City State)	336	VA	VAT	1997		Formerly known as Vatican City State (Holy See).
12340	Honduras	340	HN	HND	1970
42344	Hong Kong	344	HK	HKG	1970	1997	Now known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
42344	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	344	HK	HKG	1997		Formerly known as Hong Kong
22348	Hungary	348	HU	HUN	1970
23352	Iceland	352	IS	ISL	1970
44356	India	356	IN	IND	1975		Now includes Sikkim.
44356	India	356	IN	IND	1970	1975	India without Sikkim.
43360	Indonesia	360	ID	IDN	1970
41364	IranFootnote 5	364	IR	IRN	1970
41368	Iraq	368	IQ	IRQ	1993		Now includes a part of Neutral Zone.
41368	Iraq	368	IQ	IRQ	1970	1993	Iraq without a part of Neutral Zone.
23372	Ireland, Republic of	372	IE	IRL	1970
23833	Isle of Man	833	IM	IMN	2006		Formerly part of United Kingdom.
41376	Israel	376	IL	ISR	1970
24380	Italy	380	IT	ITA	1970
31384	Ivory Coast	384	CI	CIV	1970	1986	Now known as Côte d'Ivoire.
13388	Jamaica	388	JM	JAM	1970
42392	Japan	392	JP	JPN	1970
23832	Jersey	832	JE	JEY	2006		Formerly part of United Kingdom.
51396	Johnston Island	396	JT	JTN	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
41400	Jordan	400	JO	JOR	1970
43116	Kampuchea, Democratic	116	KH	KHM	1975	1989	Now known as Cambodia.
41398	Kazakhstan	398	KZ	KAZ	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
32404	Kenya	404	KE	KEN	1970
43116	Khmer Republic	116	KH	KHM	1970	1975	Renamed as the Democratic Kampuchea.
51296	Kiribati	296	KI	KIR	1979	1984	Kiribati without Canton and Enderbury Islands; formerly known as Gilbert Islands.
51296	Kiribati	296	KI	KIR	1984		The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1975; Gilbert Islands was renamed Kiribati in 1979, then Canton and Enderbury Islands was included with Kiribati in 1984.
42408	Korea, NorthFootnote 11	408	KP	PRK	1970
42410	Korea, SouthFootnote 13	410	KR	KOR	1970
24983	KosovoFootnote 6	983	XK	XKO	2008		Formerly part of Serbia.
41414	Kuwait	414	KW	KWT	1970
41417	Kyrgyzstan	417	KG	KGZ	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
43418	LaosFootnote 7	418	LA	LAO	1970
22428	Latvia	428	LV	LVA	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
41422	Lebanon	422	LB	LBN	1970
35426	Lesotho	426	LS	LSO	1970
31430	Liberia	430	LR	LBR	1970
33434	LibyaFootnote 8	434	LY	LBY	1970
21438	Liechtenstein	438	LI	LIE	1970
22440	Lithuania	440	LT	LTU	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
21442	Luxembourg	442	LU	LUX	1970
42446	Macao Special Administrative Region	446	MO	MAC	2002		Formerly known as Macau Special Administrative Region.
42446	Macau	446	MO	MAC	1970	1999	Renamed as Macau Special Administrative Region.
42446	Macau Special Administrative Region	446	MO	MAC	1999	2002	Now known as Macao Special Administrative Region.
24807	Macedonia, Republic ofFootnote 9	807	MK	MKD	2009		Formerly part of Yugoslavia and known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
24807	Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of	807	MK	MKD	1992	2009	Now known as Republic of Macedonia.
32450	Madagascar	450	MG	MDG	1970
32454	Malawi	454	MW	MWI	1970
43458	Malaysia	458	MY	MYS	1970
44462	Maldives	462	MV	MDV	1970
31466	Mali	466	ML	MLI	1970
24470	Malta	470	MT	MLT	1970
51584	Marshall Islands	584	MH	MHL	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
13474	Martinique	474	MQ	MTQ	1970
31478	Mauritania	478	MR	MRT	1970
32480	Mauritius	480	MU	MUS	1970
32175	Mayotte	175	YT	MYT	1975		Formerly part of Comoro Islands.
12484	Mexico	484	MX	MEX	1970
51583	Micronesia, Federated States of	583	FM	FSM	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
51488	Midway Islands	488	MI	MID	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
22498	MoldovaFootnote 10	498	MD	MDA	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
21492	Monaco	492	MC	MCO	1970
42496	Mongolia	496	MN	MNG	1970
24499	Montenegro	499	ME	MNE	2006		Formerly part of Serbia and Montenegro.
13500	Montserrat	500	MS	MSR	1970
33504	Morocco	504	MA	MAR	1970
32508	Mozambique	508	MZ	MOZ	1970
41512	Muscat and Oman	512			1970	1971	Now known as Oman.
43104	Myanmar	104	MM	MMR	1989	2009	Now known as Burma (Myanmar).
35516	Namibia	516	NA	NAM	1970
51520	Nauru	520	NR	NRU	1970
44524	Nepal	524	NP	NPL	1970
21528	Netherlands	528	NL	NLD	1970
13530	Netherlands Antilles	530	AN	ANT	1986	2010	Divided into Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part).
13532	Netherlands Antilles	532	AN	ANT	1970	1986	Divided into Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
41536	Neutral Zone	536	NT	NTZ	1970	1993	Neutral Zone now divided between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
51540	New Caledonia	540	NC	NCL	1970
51544	New Guinea (Trust Territory)	544			1970	1973	Now part of Papua New Guinea.
51548	New Hebrides	548	NH	NHB	1970	1980	Now known as Vanuatu.
51554	New Zealand	554	NZ	NZL	1970
12558	Nicaragua	558	NI	NIC	1970
31562	Niger	562	NE	NER	1970
31566	Nigeria	566	NG	NGA	1970
51570	Niue	570	NU	NIU	1975		Formerly known as Niue Island.
51570	Niue Island	570	NU	NIU	1970	1975	Now known as Niue.
51574	Norfolk Island	574	NF	NFK	1970
51580	Northern Mariana Islands	580	MP	MNP	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
23578	Norway	578	NO	NOR	1970
41512	Oman	512	OM	OMN	1971		Formerly known as Muscat and Oman.
51582	Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)	582	PC	PCI	1970	1986	Divided into Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.
44586	Pakistan	586	PK	PAK	1970	1971	Pakistan divided into Bangladesh and Pakistan.
44586	Pakistan	586	PK	PAK	1971		Pakistan without Bangladesh.
51585	Palau	585	PW	PLW	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
41275	Palestinian Territory, Occupied	275	PS	PSE	1999	2009	Now known as West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine).
12591	Panama	591	PA	PAN	1979		Panama, excluding Canal Zone and Panama Canal Zone were merged into Panama in 1979.
12592	Panama Canal Zone	592	PZ	PCZ	1970	1979	Now part of Panama.
12590	Panama, excluding Canal Zone	590	PA	PAN	1970	1979	Now part of Panama.
51596	Papua	596			1970	1973	Now part of Papua New Guinea.
51598	Papua New Guinea	598	PG	PNG	1973		Papua and New Guinea (Trust Territory) were merged into Papua New Guinea in 1973.
14600	Paraguay	600	PY	PRY	1970
14604	Peru	604	PE	PER	1970
43608	Philippines	608	PH	PHI	1970	1976	Alpha-3 code is now PHL.
43608	Philippines	608	PH	PHL	1976		Alpha-3 code was previously PHI.
51612	Pitcairn	612	PN	PCN	1982		Formerly known as Pitcairn Island.
51612	Pitcairn Island	612	PN	PCN	1970	1982	Now known as Pitcairn.
22616	Poland	616	PL	POL	1970
24620	Portugal	620	PT	PRT	1970
31624	Portuguese Guinea	624			1970	1974	Now known as Guinea-Bissau.
43626	Portuguese Timor	626	TP	TMP	1970	1975	Renamed as East Timor.
13630	Puerto Rico	630	PR	PRI	1970
41634	Qatar	634	QA	QAT	1970
32638	Réunion	638	RE	REU	1970
22642	Romania	642	RO	ROM	1970	2002	Alpha-3 code is now ROU.
22642	Romania	642	RO	ROU	2002		Alpha-3 code was previously ROM.
22643	Russian Federation	643	RU	RUS	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
32646	Rwanda	646	RW	RWA	1970
13652	Saint Barthélemy	652	BL	BLM	2007		Formerly part of Guadeloupe.
31654	Saint HelenaFootnote 12	654	SH	SHN	1970
13659	Saint Kitts and Nevis	659	KN	KNA	1980		Saint Kitts and Nevis without Anguilla.
13658	Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla	658	KN	KNA	1970	1980	Divided into Anguilla, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
13662	Saint Lucia	662	LC	LCA	1970
13663	Saint Martin (French part)	663	MF	MAF	2007		Formerly part of Guadeloupe.
11666	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	666	PM	SPM	1970
13670	Saint Vincent	670	VC	VCT	1970	1979	Now known as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
13670	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	670	VC	VCT	1979		Formerly known as Saint Vincent.
51882	Samoa	882	WS	WSM	1981		Formerly known as Western Samoa.
24674	San Marino	674	SM	SMR	1970
34678	Sao Tome and Principe	678	ST	STP	1970
41682	Saudi Arabia	682	SA	SAU	1993		Now includes a part of Neutral Zone.
41682	Saudi Arabia	682	SA	SAU	1970	1993	Saudi Arabia without a part of Neutral Zone.
31686	Senegal	686	SN	SEN	1970
24688	Serbia	688	RS	SRB	2008		Divided into Serbia and Kosovo.
24688	Serbia	688	RS	SRB	2006	2008	Formerly part of Serbia and Montenegro.
24891	Serbia and MontenegroFootnote 2	891	CS	SCG	2003	2006	Formerly known as Yugoslavia; then divided into Serbia, Montenegro.
32690	Seychelles	690	SC	SYC	1970
31694	Sierra Leone	694	SL	SLE	1970
44698	Sikkim	698	SK	SKM	1970	1975	Now part of India.
43702	Singapore	702	SG	SGP	1970
13534	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	534	SX	SXM	2010		Formerly part of Netherlands Antilles
22703	Slovakia	703	SK	SVK	1993		Formerly part of Czechoslovakia.
24705	Slovenia	705	SI	SVN	1991		Formerly part of Yugoslavia.
51090	Solomon Islands	090	SB	SLB	1975		Formerly known as British Solomon Islands.
32706	Somalia	706	SO	SOM	1970
35710	South Africa, Republic of	710	ZA	ZAF	1970
14239	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	239	GS	SGS	1993		Formerly part of Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
32716	Southern Rhodesia	716	RH	RHO	1970	1980	Now known as Zimbabwe.
24724	Spain	724	ES	ESP	1970
33732	Spanish Sahara	732	EH	ESH	1970	1976	Now known as Western Sahara.
44144	Sri Lanka	144	LK	LKA	1972		Formerly known as Ceylon.
33736	Sudan	736	SD	SDN	1970
14740	Suriname	740	SR	SUR	1970
23744	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	744	SJ	SJM	1993		Formerly known as Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands.
23744	Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands	744	SJ	SJM	1970	1993	Now known as Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
35748	Swaziland	748	SZ	SWZ	1970
23752	Sweden	752	SE	SWE	1970
21756	Switzerland	756	CH	CHE	1970
41760	SyriaFootnote 14	760	SY	SYR	1970
42158	Taiwan	158	TW	TWN	1970
41762	Tajikistan	762	TJ	TJK	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
32834	TanzaniaFootnote 15	834	TZ	TZA	1970
43764	Thailand	764	TH	THA	1970
43626	Timor-LesteFootnote 16	626	TL	TLS	2002		Formerly known as Portuguese Timor until 1975, then known as East Timor between 1975 and 2002.
31768	Togo	768	TG	TGO	1970
51772	Tokelau	772	TK	TKL	1975		Formerly known as Tokelau Islands.
51772	Tokelau Islands	772	TK	TKL	1970	1975	Now known as Tokelau.
51776	Tonga	776	TO	TON	1970
13780	Trinidad and Tobago	780	TT	TTO	1970
41784	Trucial Oman	784			1970	1971	Now known as United Arab Emirates.
33788	Tunisia	788	TN	TUN	1970
41792	Turkey	792	TR	TUR	1970
41795	Turkmenistan	795	TM	TKM	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
13796	Turks and Caicos Islands	796	TC	TCA	1970
51798	Tuvalu	798	TV	TUV	1975		The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1975.
32800	Uganda	800	UG	UGA	1970
22804	Ukraine	804	UA	UKR	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; formerly known as Ukraininan Soviet Socialist Republic.
22804	Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic	804	UA	UKR	1970	1991	Now known as Ukraine.
41810	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Asia part)	810	SU	SUN	1970	1991	USSR was divided into 15 countries from which 8 countries are in Asia.
22810	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Europe part)	810	SU	SUN	1970	1991	USSR was divided into 15 countries from which 7 countries are in Europe.
41784	United Arab Emirates	784	AE	ARE	1971		Formerly known as Trucial Oman.
33818	United Arab Republic	818			1970	1971	Now known as Egypt.
23826	United KingdomFootnote 3,Footnote 17	826	GB	GBR	2006		United Kingdom without Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey.
23826	United Kingdom	826	GB	GBR	1970	2006	In 2006, United Kingdom was divided into Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and United Kingdom.
11840	United States	840	US	USA	1970
51581	United States Minor Outlying Islands	581	UM	UMI	1986		The Johnson Island, Midway Islands, United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands, and the Wake Island were merged into the United States Minor Outlying Islands in 1986.
51849	United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands	849	PU	PUS	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
13850	United States Virgin Islands	850	VI	VIR	1970	1988	Now known as Virgin Islands, United States
31854	Upper Volta	854	HV	HVO	1970	1984	Now known as Burkina Faso.
14858	Uruguay	858	UY	URY	1970
41860	Uzbekistan	860	UZ	UZB	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
51548	Vanuatu	548	VU	VUT	1980		Formerly known as New Hebrides.
24336	Vatican City State (Holy See)	336	VA	VAT	1970	1997	Now known as Holy See (Vatican City State).
14862	VenezuelaFootnote 18	862	VE	VEN	1970
43704	Viet NamFootnote 19	704	VN	VNM	1977		The Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of Viet Nam were merged into Viet Nam in 1977.
43866	Viet Nam, Democratic Republic of	866	VD	VDR	1970	1977	Now part of Viet Nam.
43868	Viet Nam, Republic of	868	VN	VNM	1970	1977	Now part of Viet Nam.
13092	Virgin Islands, British	092	VG	VGB	1988		Formerly known as British Virgin Islands.
13850	Virgin Islands, United States	850	VI	VIR	1988		Formerly known as United States Virgin Islands.
51872	Wake Island	872	WK	WAK	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
51876	Wallis and Futuna	876	WF	WLF	1993		Formerly known as Wallis and Futuna Islands.
51876	Wallis and Futuna Islands	876	WF	WLF	1970	1993	Now known as Wallis and Futuna.
41275	West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine)Footnote 20	275	PS	PSE	2009		Formerly known as Gaza Strip until 1999, then known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory between 1999 and 2009.
33732	Western Sahara	732	EH	ESH	1976		Formerly known as Spanish Sahara.
51882	Western Samoa	882	WS	WSM	1970	1981	Now known as Samoa.
41886	Yemen	886	YE	YEM	1970	1990	Now part of Yemen.
41887	Yemen	887	YE	YEM	1990		The Democratic Yemen and Yemen were merged into Yemen in 1990.
41720	Yemen, Democratic	720	YD	YMD	1970	1990	Now part of Yemen.
24891	Yugoslavia	891	YU	YUG	1992	2003	New numeric code for Yugoslavia and in 2003 Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia and Montenegro.
24890	Yugoslavia	890	YU	YUG	1991	1992	Divided into Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the remainder of Yugoslavia.
24890	Yugoslavia	890	YU	YUG	1970	1991	Divided into Croatia, Slovenia, and the remainder of Yugoslavia.
34180	Zaire	180	ZR	ZAR	1971	1997	Now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
32894	Zambia	894	ZM	ZMB	1970
32716	Zimbabwe	716	ZW	ZWE	1980		Formerly known as Southern Rhodesia.
Code: five-digit numerical code defined in the variant for social statistics Countries and Areas of Interest for Social Statistics – SCCAI 2010. Num-3: three-digit numerical code defined by United Nations Alpha-2: two-character alpha code defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Alpha-3: three-character alpha code defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Footnote 1 China excludes Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 Serbia excludes Kosovo. Return to first footnote 2 referrer Footnote 3 United Kingdom includes Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland (excludes Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and British Overseas Territories). Return to first footnote 3 referrer Footnote 4 The official name of Bolivia is Plurinational State of Bolivia. Return to first footnote 4 referrer Footnote 5 The official name of Iran is Islamic Republic of Iran. Return to first footnote 5 referrer Footnote 6 The official name of Kosovo is Republic of Kosovo. Return to first footnote 6 referrer Footnote 7 The official name of Laos is Lao People's Democratic Republic. Return to first footnote 7 referrer Footnote 8 The official name of Libya is Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Return to first footnote 8 referrer Footnote 9 Macedonia, Republic of: known as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the United Nations and other international bodies. Return to first footnote 9 referrer Footnote 10 The official name of Moldova is Republic of Moldova. Return to first footnote 10 referrer Footnote 11 The official name of North Korea is Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Return to first footnote 11 referrer Footnote 12 The official name of Saint Helena is Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Return to first footnote 12 referrer Footnote 13 The official name of South Korea is Republic of Korea. Return to first footnote 13 referrer Footnote 14 The official name of Syria is Syrian Arab Republic. Return to first footnote 14 referrer Footnote 15 The official name of Tanzania is United Republic of Tanzania. Return to first footnote 15 referrer Footnote 16 The official name of Timor-Leste is Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Return to first footnote 16 referrer Footnote 17 The official name of United Kingdom is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Return to first footnote 17 referrer Footnote 18 The official name of Venezuela is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Return to first footnote 18 referrer Footnote 19 The official name of Viet Nam is Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Return to first footnote 19 referrer Footnote 20 West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine): West Bank and Gaza Strip are the territories referred to in the Declaration of Principles, signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993. Palestine refers to pre-1948 British mandate Palestine. Return to first footnote 20 referrer

The material on current and historical countries and areas of interest (first five columns: countries and areas of interest, code, Num-3, Alpha-2, Alpha-3) is presented here to help users who compile longitudinal data on countries and areas of interest to assign those data to the right current or formerly used country names and codes. The following two columns show the start and/or end of the period of validity. The last column holds some remarks.

Current and Historical Countries and Areas of Interest

Current and Historical Countries and Areas of Interest					Period of Validity		Remarks
Countries and Areas of Interest	Code	Num-3	Alpha-2	Alpha-3	Start	End
Afghanistan	41004	004	AF	AFG	1970
Åland Islands	23248	248	AX	ALA	2004		Formerly part of Finland.
Albania	24008	008	AL	ALB	1970
Algeria	33012	012	DZ	DZA	1970
American Samoa	51016	016	AS	ASM	1970
Andorra	24020	020	AD	AND	1970
Angola	34024	024	AO	AGO	1970
Anguilla	13660	660	AI	AIA	1980		Formerly part of Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla.
Antarctica	61010	010	AQ	ATA	1983		Now includes Dronning Maud Land and since 1979 includes British Antarctic Territory and the antarctic part of French Southern and Antarctica Territories.
Antarctica	61010	010	AQ	ATA	1979	1983	Antarctica without Dronning Maud Land.
Antarctica	61010	010	AQ	ATA	1970	1979	Antarctica without British Antarctic Territory and the antarctic territories of French Southern and Antarctica Territories.
Antigua	13028	028	AG	ATG	1970	1981	Now known as Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda	13028	028	AG	ATG	1981		Formerly known as Antigua.
Argentina	14032	032	AR	ARG	1970
Armenia	41051	051	AM	ARM	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Aruba	13533	533	AW	ABW	1986		Formerly part of Netherlands Antilles.
Australia	51036	036	AU	AUS	1970
Austria	21040	040	AT	AUT	1970
Azerbaijan	41031	031	AZ	AZE	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Bahamas	13044	044	BS	BHS	1970
Bahrain	41048	048	BH	BHR	1970
Bangladesh	44050	050	BD	BGD	1971		Formerly part of Pakistan.
Barbados	13052	052	BB	BRB	1970
Belarus	22112	112	BY	BLR	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and formerly known as Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Belgium	21056	056	BE	BEL	1970
Belize	12084	084	BZ	BLZ	1973		Formerly known as British Honduras.
Benin	31204	204	BJ	BEN	1977		Formerly known as Dahomey.
Bermuda	13060	060	BM	BMU	1970
Bhutan	44064	064	BT	BTN	1970
BoliviaFootnote 4	14068	068	BO	BOL	1970
Bosnia and Herzegovina	24070	070	BA	BIH	1992		Formerly part of Yugoslavia.
Botswana	35072	072	BW	BWA	1970
Bouvet Island	61074	074	BV	BVT	1970
Brazil	14076	076	BR	BRA	1970
British Antarctic Territory	61080	080	BQ	ATB	1970	1979	Now part of Antarctica.
British Honduras	12084	084			1970	1973	Now known as Belize.
British Indian Ocean Territory	44086	086	IO	IOT	1970
British Solomon Islands	51090	090	SB	SLB	1970	1975	Now known as Solomon Islands.
British Virgin Islands	13092	092	VG	VGB	1970	1988	Now known as Virgin Islands, British.
Brunei	43096	096	BN	BRN	1970	1984	Now known as Brunei Darussalam.
Brunei Darussalam	43096	096	BN	BRN	1984		Formerly known as Brunei.
Bulgaria	22100	100	BG	BGR	1970
Burkina Faso	31854	854	BF	BFA	1984		Formerly known as Upper Volta.
Burma	43104	104	BU	BUR	1970	1989	Renamed as Myanmar.
Burma (Myanmar)	43104	104	MM	MMR	2009		Formerly known as Burma until 1989, then Myanmar between 1989 and 2009.
Burundi	32108	108	BI	BDI	1970
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic	22112	112	BY	BYS	1970	1991	Now known as Belarus.
Cambodia	43116	116	KH	KHM	1989		Formerly known as Cambodia in 1970, known as the Khmer Republic between 1970 and 1975, then known as the Democratic Kampuchea between 1975 and 1989.
Cambodia	43116	116	KH	KHM	1970	1970	Between 1970 and 1975, Cambodia was known as Khmer Republic.
Cameroon	34120	120	CM	CMR	1984		Formerly known as Cameroon until 1972, then known as the United Republic of Cameroon between 1972 and 1984.
Cameroon	34120	120	CM	CMR	1970	1972	Renamed as the United Republic of Cameroon.
Cameroon, United Republic of	34120	120	CM	CMR	1972	1984	Now known as Cameroon.
Canada	11124	124	CA	CAN	1970
Canton and Enderbury Islands	51128	128	CT	CTE	1970	1984	Now part of Kiribati.
Cape Verde	31132	132	CV	CPV	1975		Formerly known as Cape Verde Islands.
Cape Verde Islands	31132	132	CV	CPV	1970	1975	Now known as Cape Verde.
Cayman Islands	13136	136	KY	CYM	1970
Central African Republic	34140	140	CF	CAF	1970
Ceylon	44144	144			1970	1972	Now known as Sri Lanka.
Chad	34148	148	TD	TCD	1970
Chile	14152	152	CL	CHL	1970
ChinaFootnote 1	42156	156	CN	CHN	1970
Christmas Island	51162	162	CX	CXR	1970
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	51166	166	CC	CCK	1970
Colombia	14170	170	CO	COL	1970
Comoro Islands	32174	174	KM	COM	1970	1975	Now known as Comoros; previously Mayotte was part of Comoro Islands.
Comoros	32174	174	KM	COM	1975		Comoros without Mayotte; formerly known as Comoro Islands.
Congo, Democratic Republic of	34180	180	CD	COD	1970	1971	Renamed as Zaire.
Congo, Republic of the	34178	178	CG	COG	1970
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	34180	180	CD	COD	1997		Formerly known as the Democratic Republic of Congo until 1971, then known as Zaire between 1971 and 1997.
Cook Islands	51184	184	CK	COK	1970
Costa Rica	12188	188	CR	CRI	1970
Côte d'Ivoire	31384	384	CI	CIV	1986		Formerly known as Ivory Coast.
Croatia	24191	191	HR	HRV	1991		Formerly part of Yugoslavia.
Cuba	13192	192	CU	CUB	1970
Cyprus	41196	196	CY	CYP	1970
Czech Republic	22203	203	CZ	CZE	1993		Formerly part of Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia	22200	200	CS	CSK	1970	1993	Divided into Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Dahomey	31204	204	DY	DHY	1970	1977	Now known as Benin.
Denmark	23208	208	DK	DNK	1970
Djibouti	32262	262	DJ	DJI	1977		Formerly known as French Afars and Issas.
Dominica	13212	212	DM	DMA	1970
Dominican Republic	13214	214	DO	DOM	1970
Dronning Maud Land	61216	216	NQ	ATN	1970	1983	Now part of Antarctica.
East Timor	43626	626	TP	TMP	1975	2002	Now known as Timor-Leste.
Ecuador	14218	218	EC	ECU	1970
Egypt	33818	818	EG	EGY	1971		Formerly known as United Arab Republic.
El Salvador	12222	222	SV	SLV	1970
Equatorial Guinea	34226	226	GQ	GNQ	1970
Eritrea	32232	232	ER	ERI	1993		Formerly part of Ethiopia.
Estonia	22233	233	EE	EST	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Ethiopia	32231	231	ET	ETH	1993		Ethiopia without Eritrea.
Ethiopia	32230	230	ET	ETH	1970	1993	Ethiopia divided into Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1993.
Faeroe Islands	23234	234	FO	FRO	1970	1988	Now known as Faroe Islands.
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	14238	238	FK	FLK	1993		Falkland Islands (Malvinas) without South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	14238	238	FK	FLK	1970	1993	Previously South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands were part of Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
Faroe Islands	23234	234	FO	FRO	1988		Formerly known as Faeroe Islands.
Fiji	51242	242	FJ	FJI	1970
Finland	23246	246	FI	FIN	2004		Finland without Åland Islands.
Finland	23246	246	FI	FIN	1970	2004	Previously Åland Islands were part of Finland.
France	21250	250	FR	FRA	1970
French Afars and Issas	32262	262	AI	AFI	1970	1977	Now known as Djibouti.
French Guiana	14254	254	GF	GUF	1970
French Polynesia	51258	258	PF	PYF	1970
French Southern and Antarctic Territories	61260	260	FQ	ATF	1970	1979	French Antarctic Territories now part of Antarctica.
French Southern Territories	61260	260	TF	ATF	1979		French Southern Territories without French Antarctic Territories.
Gabon	34266	266	GA	GAB	1970
Gambia	31270	270	GM	GMB	1970
Gaza Strip	41274	274			1970	1999	Renamed as the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Georgia	41268	268	GE	GEO	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
German Democratic Republic	21278	278	DD	DDR	1970	1990	Now part of Germany.
Germany	21276	276	DE	DEU	1990		The German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany were merged into Germany in 1990.
Germany, Federal Republic of	21280	280	DE	DEU	1970	1990	Now part of Germany.
Ghana	31288	288	GH	GHA	1970
Gibraltar	24292	292	GI	GIB	1970
Gilbert and Ellice Islands	51296	296	GE	GEL	1970	1975	Gilbert and Ellice Islands divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1975.
Gilbert Islands	51296	296	GE	GEL	1975	1979	Gilbert Islands renamed as Kiribati in 1979.
Greece	24300	300	GR	GRC	1970
Greenland	11304	304	GL	GRL	1970
Grenada	13308	308	GD	GRD	1970
Guadeloupe	13312	312	GP	GLP	2007		Guadeloupe without Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin.
Guadeloupe	13312	312	GP	GLP	1970	2007	Previously Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin were part of Guadeloupe.
Guam	51316	316	GU	GUM	1970
Guatemala	12320	320	GT	GTM	1970
Guernsey	23831	831	GG	GGY	2006		Formerly part of United Kingdom.
Guinea	31324	324	GN	GIN	1970
Guinea-Bissau	31624	624	GW	GNB	1974		Formerly known as Portuguese Guinea.
Guyana	14328	328	GY	GUY	1970
Haiti	13332	332	HT	HTI	1970
Heard and McDonald Islands	61334	334	HM	HMD	1970	1992	Now known as Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	61334	334	HM	HMD	1992		Formerly known as Heard and McDonald Islands.
Holy See (Vatican City State)	24336	336	VA	VAT	1997		Formerly known as Vatican City State (Holy See).
Honduras	12340	340	HN	HND	1970
Hong Kong	42344	344	HK	HKG	1970	1997	Now known as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region	42344	344	HK	HKG	1997		Formerly known as Hong Kong
Hungary	22348	348	HU	HUN	1970
Iceland	23352	352	IS	ISL	1970
India	44356	356	IN	IND	1975		Now includes Sikkim.
India	44356	356	IN	IND	1970	1975	India without Sikkim.
Indonesia	43360	360	ID	IDN	1970
IranFootnote 5	41364	364	IR	IRN	1970
Iraq	41368	368	IQ	IRQ	1993		Now includes a part of Neutral Zone.
Iraq	41368	368	IQ	IRQ	1970	1993	Iraq without a part of Neutral Zone.
Ireland, Republic of	23372	372	IE	IRL	1970
Isle of Man	23833	833	IM	IMN	2006		Formerly part of United Kingdom.
Israel	41376	376	IL	ISR	1970
Italy	24380	380	IT	ITA	1970
Ivory Coast	31384	384	CI	CIV	1970	1986	Now known as Côte d'Ivoire.
Jamaica	13388	388	JM	JAM	1970
Japan	42392	392	JP	JPN	1970
Jersey	23832	832	JE	JEY	2006		Formerly part of United Kingdom.
Johnston Island	51396	396	JT	JTN	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
Jordan	41400	400	JO	JOR	1970
Kampuchea, Democratic	43116	116	KH	KHM	1975	1989	Now known as Cambodia.
Kazakhstan	41398	398	KZ	KAZ	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Kenya	32404	404	KE	KEN	1970
Khmer Republic	43116	116	KH	KHM	1970	1975	Renamed as the Democratic Kampuchea.
Kiribati	51296	296	KI	KIR	1984		The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1975; Gilbert Islands was renamed Kiribati in 1979, then Canton and Enderbury Islands was included with Kiribati in 1984.
Kiribati	51296	296	KI	KIR	1979	1984	Kiribati without Canton and Enderbury Islands; formerly known as Gilbert Islands.
Korea, NorthFootnote 11	42408	408	KP	PRK	1970
Korea, SouthFootnote 13	42410	410	KR	KOR	1970
KosovoFootnote 6	24983	983	XK	XKO	2008		Formerly part of Serbia.
Kuwait	41414	414	KW	KWT	1970
Kyrgyzstan	41417	417	KG	KGZ	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
LaosFootnote 7	43418	418	LA	LAO	1970
Latvia	22428	428	LV	LVA	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Lebanon	41422	422	LB	LBN	1970
Lesotho	35426	426	LS	LSO	1970
Liberia	31430	430	LR	LBR	1970
LibyaFootnote 8	33434	434	LY	LBY	1970
Liechtenstein	21438	438	LI	LIE	1970
Lithuania	22440	440	LT	LTU	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Luxembourg	21442	442	LU	LUX	1970
Macao Special Administrative Region	42446	446	MO	MAC	2002		Formerly known as Macau Special Administrative Region.
Macau	42446	446	MO	MAC	1970	1999	Renamed as Macau Special Administrative Region.
Macau Special Administrative Region	42446	446	MO	MAC	1999	2002	Now known as Macao Special Administrative Region.
Macedonia, Republic ofFootnote 9	24807	807	MK	MKD	2009		Formerly part of Yugoslavia and known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of	24807	807	MK	MKD	1992	2009	Now known as Republic of Macedonia.
Madagascar	32450	450	MG	MDG	1970
Malawi	32454	454	MW	MWI	1970
Malaysia	43458	458	MY	MYS	1970
Maldives	44462	462	MV	MDV	1970
Mali	31466	466	ML	MLI	1970
Malta	24470	470	MT	MLT	1970
Marshall Islands	51584	584	MH	MHL	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
Martinique	13474	474	MQ	MTQ	1970
Mauritania	31478	478	MR	MRT	1970
Mauritius	32480	480	MU	MUS	1970
Mayotte	32175	175	YT	MYT	1975		Formerly part of Comoro Islands.
Mexico	12484	484	MX	MEX	1970
Micronesia, Federated States of	51583	583	FM	FSM	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
Midway Islands	51488	488	MI	MID	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
MoldovaFootnote 10	22498	498	MD	MDA	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Monaco	21492	492	MC	MCO	1970
Mongolia	42496	496	MN	MNG	1970
Montenegro	24499	499	ME	MNE	2006		Formerly part of Serbia and Montenegro.
Montserrat	13500	500	MS	MSR	1970
Morocco	33504	504	MA	MAR	1970
Mozambique	32508	508	MZ	MOZ	1970
Muscat and Oman	41512	512			1970	1971	Now known as Oman.
Myanmar	43104	104	MM	MMR	1989	2009	Now known as Burma (Myanmar).
Namibia	35516	516	NA	NAM	1970
Nauru	51520	520	NR	NRU	1970
Nepal	44524	524	NP	NPL	1970
Netherlands	21528	528	NL	NLD	1970
Netherlands Antilles	13530	530	AN	ANT	1986		Netherlands Antilles without Aruba.
Netherlands Antilles	13532	532	AN	ANT	1970	1986	Divided into Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
Neutral Zone	41536	536	NT	NTZ	1970	1993	Neutral Zone now divided between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
New Caledonia	51540	540	NC	NCL	1970
New Guinea (Trust Territory)	51544	544			1970	1973	Now part of Papua New Guinea.
New Hebrides	51548	548	NH	NHB	1970	1980	Now known as Vanuatu.
New Zealand	51554	554	NZ	NZL	1970
Nicaragua	12558	558	NI	NIC	1970
Niger	31562	562	NE	NER	1970
Nigeria	31566	566	NG	NGA	1970
Niue	51570	570	NU	NIU	1975		Formerly known as Niue Island.
Niue Island	51570	570	NU	NIU	1970	1975	Now known as Niue.
Norfolk Island	51574	574	NF	NFK	1970
Northern Mariana Islands	51580	580	MP	MNP	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
Norway	23578	578	NO	NOR	1970
Oman	41512	512	OM	OMN	1971		Formerly known as Muscat and Oman.
Pacific Islands (Trust Territory)	51582	582	PC	PCI	1970	1986	Divided into Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau.
Pakistan	44586	586	PK	PAK	1971		Pakistan without Bangladesh.
Pakistan	44586	586	PK	PAK	1970	1971	Pakistan divided into Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Palau	51585	585	PW	PLW	1986		Formerly part of Pacific Islands (Trust Territory).
Palestinian Territory, Occupied	41275	275	PS	PSE	1999	2009	Now known as West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine).
Panama	12591	591	PA	PAN	1979		Panama, excluding Canal Zone and Panama Canal Zone were merged into Panama in 1979.
Panama Canal Zone	12592	592	PZ	PCZ	1970	1979	Now part of Panama.
Panama, excluding Canal Zone	12590	590	PA	PAN	1970	1979	Now part of Panama.
Papua	51596	596			1970	1973	Now part of Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea	51598	598	PG	PNG	1973		Papua and New Guinea (Trust Territory) were merged into Papua New Guinea in 1973.
Paraguay	14600	600	PY	PRY	1970
Peru	14604	604	PE	PER	1970
Philippines	43608	608	PH	PHL	1976		Alpha-3 code was previously PHI.
Philippines	43608	608	PH	PHI	1970	1976	Alpha-3 code is now PHL.
Pitcairn	51612	612	PN	PCN	1982		Formerly known as Pitcairn Island.
Pitcairn Island	51612	612	PN	PCN	1970	1982	Now known as Pitcairn.
Poland	22616	616	PL	POL	1970
Portugal	24620	620	PT	PRT	1970
Portuguese Guinea	31624	624			1970	1974	Now known as Guinea-Bissau.
Portuguese Timor	43626	626	TP	TMP	1970	1975	Renamed as East Timor.
Puerto Rico	13630	630	PR	PRI	1970
Qatar	41634	634	QA	QAT	1970
Réunion	32638	638	RE	REU	1970
Romania	22642	642	RO	ROU	2002		Alpha-3 code was previously ROM.
Romania	22642	642	RO	ROM	1970	2002	Alpha-3 code is now ROU.
Russian Federation	22643	643	RU	RUS	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Rwanda	32646	646	RW	RWA	1970
Saint Barthélemy	13652	652	BL	BLM	2007		Formerly part of Guadeloupe.
Saint HelenaFootnote 12	31654	654	SH	SHN	1970
Saint Kitts and Nevis	13659	659	KN	KNA	1980		Saint Kitts and Nevis without Anguilla.
Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla	13658	658	KN	KNA	1970	1980	Divided into Anguilla, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Saint Lucia	13662	662	LC	LCA	1970
Saint Martin	13663	663	MF	MAF	2007		Formerly part of Guadeloupe.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	11666	666	PM	SPM	1970
Saint Vincent	13670	670	VC	VCT	1970	1979	Now known as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	13670	670	VC	VCT	1979		Formerly known as Saint Vincent.
Samoa	51882	882	WS	WSM	1981		Formerly known as Western Samoa.
San Marino	24674	674	SM	SMR	1970
Sao Tome and Principe	34678	678	ST	STP	1970
Saudi Arabia	41682	682	SA	SAU	1993		Now includes a part of Neutral Zone.
Saudi Arabia	41682	682	SA	SAU	1970	1993	Saudi Arabia without a part of Neutral Zone.
Senegal	31686	686	SN	SEN	1970
Serbia	24688	688	RS	SRB	2008		Divided into Serbia and Kosovo.
Serbia	24688	688	RS	SRB	2006	2008	Formerly part of Serbia and Montenegro.
Serbia and MontenegroFootnote 2	24891	891	CS	SCG	2003	2006	Formerly known as Yugoslavia; then divided into Serbia, Montenegro.
Seychelles	32690	690	SC	SYC	1970
Sierra Leone	31694	694	SL	SLE	1970
Sikkim	44698	698	SK	SKM	1970	1975	Now part of India.
Singapore	43702	702	SG	SGP	1970
Slovakia	22703	703	SK	SVK	1993		Formerly part of Czechoslovakia.
Slovenia	24705	705	SI	SVN	1991		Formerly part of Yugoslavia.
Solomon Islands	51090	090	SB	SLB	1975		Formerly known as British Solomon Islands.
Somalia	32706	706	SO	SOM	1970
South Africa, Republic of	35710	710	ZA	ZAF	1970
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	14239	239	GS	SGS	1993		Formerly part of Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
Southern Rhodesia	32716	716	RH	RHO	1970	1980	Now known as Zimbabwe.
Spain	24724	724	ES	ESP	1970
Spanish Sahara	33732	732	EH	ESH	1970	1976	Now known as Western Sahara.
Sri Lanka	44144	144	LK	LKA	1972		Formerly known as Ceylon.
Sudan	33736	736	SD	SDN	1970
Suriname	14740	740	SR	SUR	1970
Svalbard and Jan Mayen	23744	744	SJ	SJM	1993		Formerly known as Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands.
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands	23744	744	SJ	SJM	1970	1993	Now known as Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
Swaziland	35748	748	SZ	SWZ	1970
Sweden	23752	752	SE	SWE	1970
Switzerland	21756	756	CH	CHE	1970
SyriaFootnote 14	41760	760	SY	SYR	1970
Taiwan	42158	158	TW	TWN	1970
Tajikistan	41762	762	TJ	TJK	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
TanzaniaFootnote 15	32834	834	TZ	TZA	1970
Thailand	43764	764	TH	THA	1970
Timor-LesteFootnote 16	43626	626	TL	TLS	2002		Formerly known as Portuguese Timor until 1975, then known as East Timor between 1975 and 2002.
Togo	31768	768	TG	TGO	1970
Tokelau	51772	772	TK	TKL	1975		Formerly known as Tokelau Islands.
Tokelau Islands	51772	772	TK	TKL	1970	1975	Now known as Tokelau.
Tonga	51776	776	TO	TON	1970
Trinidad and Tobago	13780	780	TT	TTO	1970
Trucial Oman	41784	784			1970	1971	Now known as United Arab Emirates.
Tunisia	33788	788	TN	TUN	1970
Turkey	41792	792	TR	TUR	1970
Turkmenistan	41795	795	TM	TKM	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Turks and Caicos Islands	13796	796	TC	TCA	1970
Tuvalu	51798	798	TV	TUV	1975		The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were divided into Gilbert Islands and Tuvalu in 1975.
Uganda	32800	800	UG	UGA	1970
Ukraine	22804	804	UA	UKR	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; formerly known as Ukraininan Soviet Socialist Republic.
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic	22804	804	UA	UKR	1970	1991	Now known as Ukraine.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Europe part)	22810	810	SU	SUN	1970	1991	USSR was divided into 15 countries from which 7 countries are in Europe.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Asia part)	41810	810	SU	SUN	1970	1991	USSR was divided into 15 countries from which 8 countries are in Asia.
United Arab Emirates	41784	784	AE	ARE	1971		Formerly known as Trucial Oman.
United Arab Republic	33818	818			1970	1971	Now known as Egypt.
United KingdomFootnote 3,Footnote 17	23826	826	GB	GBR	2006		United Kingdom without Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey.
United Kingdom	23826	826	GB	GBR	1970	2006	In 2006, United Kingdom was divided into Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey and United Kingdom.
United States	11840	840	US	USA	1970
United States Minor Outlying Islands	51581	581	UM	UMI	1986		The Johnson Island, Midway Islands, United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands, and the Wake Island were merged into the United States Minor Outlying Islands in 1986.
United States Miscellaneous Pacific Islands	51849	849	PU	PUS	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
United States Virgin Islands	13850	850	VI	VIR	1970	1988	Now known as Virgin Islands, United States
Upper Volta	31854	854	HV	HVO	1970	1984	Now known as Burkina Faso.
Uruguay	14858	858	UY	URY	1970
Uzbekistan	41860	860	UZ	UZB	1991		Formerly part of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Vanuatu	51548	548	VU	VUT	1980		Formerly known as New Hebrides.
Vatican City State (Holy See)	24336	336	VA	VAT	1970	1997	Now known as Holy See (Vatican City State).
VenezuelaFootnote 18	14862	862	VE	VEN	1970
Viet NamFootnote 19	43704	704	VN	VNM	1977		The Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of Viet Nam were merged into Viet Nam in 1977.
Viet Nam, Democratic Republic of	43866	866	VD	VDR	1970	1977	Now part of Viet Nam.
Viet Nam, Republic of	43868	868	VN	VNM	1970	1977	Now part of Viet Nam.
Virgin Islands, British	13092	092	VG	VGB	1988		Formerly known as British Virgin Islands.
Virgin Islands, United States	13850	850	VI	VIR	1988		Formerly known as United States Virgin Islands.
Wake Island	51872	872	WK	WAK	1970	1986	Now part of United States Minor Outlying Islands.
Wallis and Futuna	51876	876	WF	WLF	1993		Formerly known as Wallis and Futuna Islands.
Wallis and Futuna Islands	51876	876	WF	WLF	1970	1993	Now known as Wallis and Futuna.
West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine)Footnote 20	41275	275	PS	PSE	2009		Formerly known as Gaza Strip until 1999, then known as the Occupied Palestinian Territory between 1999 and 2009.
Western Sahara	33732	732	EH	ESH	1976		Formerly known as Spanish Sahara.
Western Samoa	51882	882	WS	WSM	1970	1981	Now known as Samoa.
Yemen	41887	887	YE	YEM	1990		The Democratic Yemen and Yemen were merged into Yemen in 1990.
Yemen	41886	886	YE	YEM	1970	1990	Now part of Yemen.
Yemen, Democratic	41720	720	YD	YMD	1970	1990	Now part of Yemen.
Yugoslavia	24891	891	YU	YUG	1992	2003	New numeric code for Yugoslavia and in 2003 Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia and Montenegro.
Yugoslavia	24890	890	YU	YUG	1991	1992	Divided into Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the remainder of Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia	24890	890	YU	YUG	1970	1991	Divided into Croatia, Slovenia, and the remainder of Yugoslavia.
Zaire	34180	180	ZR	ZAR	1971	1997	Now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zambia	32894	894	ZM	ZMB	1970
Zimbabwe	32716	716	ZW	ZWE	1980		Formerly known as Southern Rhodesia.
Code: five-digit numerical code defined in the variant for social statistics Countries and Areas of Interest for Social Statistics – SCCAI 2009. Num-3: three-digit numerical code defined by United Nations Alpha-2: two-character alpha code defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Alpha-3: three-character alpha code defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Footnote 1 China excludes Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region. Return to footnote 1 referrer Footnote 2 Serbia excludes Kosovo. Return to first footnote 2 referrer Footnote 3 United Kingdom includes Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland (excludes Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and British Overseas Territories). Return to first footnote 3 referrer Footnote 4 The official name of Bolivia is Plurinational State of Bolivia. Return to first footnote 4 referrer Footnote 5 The official name of Iran is Islamic Republic of Iran. Return to first footnote 5 referrer Footnote 6 The official name of Kosovo is Republic of Kosovo. Return to first footnote 6 referrer Footnote 7 The official name of Laos is Lao People's Democratic Republic. Return to first footnote 7 referrer Footnote 8 The official name of Libya is Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Return to first footnote 8 referrer Footnote 9 Macedonia, Republic of: known as Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in the United Nations and other international bodies. Return to first footnote 9 referrer Footnote 10 The official name of Moldova is Republic of Moldova. Return to first footnote 10 referrer Footnote 11 The official name of North Korea is Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Return to first footnote 11 referrer Footnote 12 The official name of Saint Helena is Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Return to first footnote 12 referrer Footnote 13 The official name of South Korea is Republic of Korea. Return to first footnote 13 referrer Footnote 14 The official name of Syria is Syrian Arab Republic. Return to first footnote 14 referrer Footnote 15 The official name of Tanzania is United Republic of Tanzania. Return to first footnote 15 referrer Footnote 16 The official name of Timor-Leste is Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Return to first footnote 16 referrer Footnote 17 The official name of United Kingdom is United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Return to first footnote 17 referrer Footnote 18 The official name of Venezuela is Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Return to first footnote 18 referrer Footnote 19 The official name of Viet Nam is Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Return to first footnote 19 referrer Footnote 20 West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine): West Bank and Gaza Strip are the territories referred to in the Declaration of Principles, signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993. Palestine refers to pre-1948 British mandate Palestine. Return to first footnote 20 referrer

Objectives, uses and users
Concepts, variables and classifications
Coverage and frames
Sampling
Questionnaire design
Response and nonresponse
Data collection and capture operations
Editing
Imputation
Estimation
Revisions and seasonal adjustment
Data quality evaluation
Disclosure control

1. Objectives, uses and users

1.1. Objective

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) provides information on the performance of the retail trade sector on a monthly basis, and when combined with other statistics, represents an important indicator of the state of the Canadian economy.

1.2. Uses

The estimates provide a measure of the health and performance of the retail trade sector. Information collected is used to estimate level and monthly trend for retail sales. At the end of each year, the estimates provide a preliminary look at annual retail sales and performance.

1.3. Users

A variety of organizations, sector associations, and levels of government make use of the information. Retailers rely on the survey results to compare their performance against similar types of businesses, as well as for marketing purposes. Retail associations are able to monitor industry performance and promote their retail industries. Investors can monitor industry growth, which can result in better access to investment capital by retailers. Governments are able to understand the role of retailers in the economy, which aids in the development of policies and tax incentives. As an important industry in the Canadian economy, governments are able to better determine the overall health of the economy through the use of the estimates in the calculation of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

2. Concepts, variables and classifications

2.1. Concepts

The retail trade sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in retailing merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise.

The retailing process is the final step in the distribution of merchandise; retailers are therefore organized to sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. This sector comprises two main types of retailers, that is, store and non-store retailers. The MRTS covers only store retailers. Their main characteristics are described below. Store retailers operate fixed point-of-sale locations, located and designed to attract a high volume of walk-in customers. In general, retail stores have extensive displays of merchandise and use mass-media advertising to attract customers. They typically sell merchandise to the general public for personal or household consumption, but some also serve business and institutional clients. These include establishments such as office supplies stores, computer and software stores, gasoline stations, building material dealers, plumbing supplies stores and electrical supplies stores.

In addition to selling merchandise, some types of store retailers are also engaged in the provision of after-sales services, such as repair and installation. For example, new automobile dealers, electronic and appliance stores and musical instrument and supplies stores often provide repair services, while floor covering stores and window treatment stores often provide installation services. As a general rule, establishments engaged in retailing merchandise and providing after sales services are classified in this sector. Catalogue sales showrooms, gasoline service stations, and mobile home dealers are treated as store retailers.

2.2. Variables

Sales are defined as the sales of all goods purchased for resale, net of returns and discounts. This includes commission revenue and fees earned from selling goods and services on account of others, such as selling lottery tickets, bus tickets, and phone cards. It also includes parts and labour revenue from repair and maintenance; revenue from rental and leasing of goods and equipment; revenues from services, including food services; sales of goods manufactured as a secondary activity; and the proprietor’s withdrawals, at retail, of goods for personal use. Other revenue from rental of real estate, placement fees, operating subsidies, grants, royalties and franchise fees are excluded.

Trading Location is the physical location(s) in which business activity is conducted in each province and territory, and for which sales are credited or recognized in the financial records of the company. For retailers, this would normally be a store.

Constant Dollars: The value of retail trade is measured in two ways; including the effects of price change on sales and net of the effects of price change. The first measure is referred to as retail trade in current dollars and the latter as retail trade in constant dollars. The method of calculating the current dollar estimate is to aggregate the weighted value of sales for all retail outlets. The method of calculating the constant dollar estimate is to first adjust the sales values to a base year, using the Consumer Price Index, and then sum up the resulting values.

2.3. Classification

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey is based on the definition of retail trade under the NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). NAICS is the agreed upon common framework for the production of comparable statistics by the statistical agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States. The agreement defines the boundaries of twenty sectors. NAICS is based on a production-oriented, or supply based conceptual framework in that establishments are groups into industries according to similarity in production processes used to produce goods and services.

Estimates appear for 21 industries based on special aggregations of the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industries. The 21 industries are further aggregated to 11 sub-sectors.

Geographically, sales estimates are produced for Canada and each province and territory.

3. Coverage and frames

Statistics Canada’s Business Register ( BR) provides the frame for the Monthly Retail Trade Survey. The BR is a structured list of businesses engaged in the production of goods and services in Canada. It is a centrally maintained database containing detailed descriptions of most business entities operating within Canada. The BR includes all incorporated businesses, with or without employees. For unincorporated businesses, the BR includes all employers with businesses, and businesses with no employees with annual sales that have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) or annual revenue that declares individual taxes.  annual sales greater than $30,000 that have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) account (the BR does not include unincorporated businesses with no employees and with annual sales less than $30,000).

The businesses on the BR are represented by a hierarchical structure with four levels, with the statistical enterprise at the top, followed by the statistical company, the statistical establishment and the statistical location. An enterprise can be linked to one or more statistical companies, a statistical company can be linked to one or more statistical establishments, and a statistical establishment to one or more statistical locations.

The target population for the MRTS consists of all statistical establishments on the BR that are classified to the retail sector using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) (approximately 200,000 establishments). The NAICS code range for the retail sector is 441100 to 453999. A statistical establishment is the production entity or the smallest grouping of production entities which: produces a homogeneous set of goods or services; does not cross provincial boundaries; and provides data on the value of output, together with the cost of principal intermediate inputs used, along with the cost and quantity of labour used to produce the output. The production entity is the physical unit where the business operations are carried out. It must have a civic address and dedicated labour.

The exclusions to the target population are ancillary establishments (producers of services in support of the activity of producing goods and services for the market of more than one establishment within the enterprise, and serves as a cost centre or a discretionary expense centre for which data on all its costs including labour and depreciation can be reported by the business), future establishments, establishments with a missing or a zero gross business income (GBI) value on the BR and establishments in the following non-covered NAICS:

• 4541 (electronic shopping and mail-order houses)
• 4542 (vending machine operators)
• 45431 (fuel dealers)
• 45439 (other direct selling establishments)

4. Sampling

The MRTS sample consists of 10,000 groups of establishments (clusters) classified to the Retail Trade sector selected from the Statistics Canada Business Register. A cluster of establishments is defined as all establishments belonging to a statistical enterprise that are in the same industrial group and geographical region. The MRTS uses a stratified design with simple random sample selection in each stratum. The stratification is done by industry groups (the mainly, but not only four digit level NAICS), and the geographical regions consisting of the provinces and territories, as well as three provincial sub-regions. We further stratify the population by size.

The size measure is created using a combination of independent survey data and three administrative variables: the annual profiled revenue, the GST sales expressed on an annual basis, and the declared tax revenue (T1 or T2). The size strata consist of one take-all (census), at most, two take-some (partially sampled) strata, and one take-none (non-sampled) stratum. Take-none strata serve to reduce respondent burden by excluding the smaller businesses from the surveyed population. These businesses should represent at most ten percent of total sales. Instead of sending questionnaires to these businesses, the estimates are produced through the use of administrative data.

The sample was allocated optimally in order to reach target coefficients of variation at the national, provincial/territorial, industrial, and industrial groups by province/territory levels. The sample was also inflated to compensate for dead, non-responding, and misclassified units.

MRTS is a repeated survey with maximisation of monthly sample overlap. The sample is kept month after month, and every month new units are added (births) to the sample.  MRTS births, i.e., new clusters of establishment(s), are identified every month via the BR’s latest universe. They are stratified according to the same criteria as the initial population. A sample of these births is selected according to the sampling fraction of the stratum to which they belong and is added to the monthly sample. Deaths occur on a monthly basis. A death can be a cluster of establishment(s) that have ceased their activities (out-of-business) or whose major activities are no longer in retail trade (out-of-scope). The status of these businesses is updated on the BR using administrative sources and survey feedback, including feedback from the MRTS. Methods to treat dead units and misclassified units are part of the sample and population update procedures.

5. Questionnaire design

The Monthly Retail Trade Survey incorporates the following sub-surveys:

Monthly Retail Trade Survey - R8

Monthly Retail Trade Survey (with inventories) – R8

Survey of Sales and Inventories of Alcoholic Beverages

The questionnaires collect monthly data on retail sales and the number of trading locations by province or territory and inventories of goods owned and intended for resale from a sample of retailers. The items on the questionnaires have remained unchanged for several years. For the 2004 redesign, the general questionnaires were subject to cosmetic changes only. The questionnaire for Sales and Inventories of Alcoholic Beverages underwent more extensive changes. The modifications were discussed with stakeholders and the respondents were given an opportunity to comment before the new questionnaire was finalized. If further changes are needed to any of the questionnaires, proposed changes would go through a review committee and a field test with respondents and data users to ensure its relevancy.

6. Response and nonresponse

6.1. Response and non-response

Despite the best efforts of survey managers and operations staff to maximize response in the MRTS, some non-response will occur. For statistical establishments to be classified as responding, the degree of partial response (where an accurate response is obtained for only some of the questions asked a respondent) must meet a minimum threshold level below which the response would be rejected and considered a unit nonresponse.  In such an instance, the business is classified as not having responded at all.

Non-response has two effects on data: first it introduces bias in estimates when nonrespondents differ from respondents in the characteristics measured; and second, it contributes to an increase in the sampling variance of estimates because the effective sample size is reduced from that originally sought.

The degree to which efforts are made to get a response from a non-respondent is based on budget and time constraints, its impact on the overall quality and the risk of nonresponse bias.

The main method to reduce the impact of non-response at sampling is to inflate the sample size through the use of over-sampling rates that have been determined from similar surveys.

Besides the methods to reduce the impact of non-response at sampling and collection, the non-responses to the survey that do occur are treated through imputation. In order to measure the amount of non-response that occurs each month, various response rates are calculated. For a given reference month, the estimation process is run at least twice (a preliminary and a revised run). Between each run, respondent data can be identified as unusable and imputed values can be corrected through respondent data. As a consequence, response rates are computed following each run of the estimation process.

For the MRTS, two types of rates are calculated (un-weighted and weighted). In order to assess the efficiency of the collection process, un-weighted response rates are calculated. Weighted rates, using the estimation weight and the value for the variable of interest, assess the quality of estimation. Within each of these types of rates, there are distinct rates for units that are surveyed and for units that are only modeled from administrative data that has been extracted from GST files.

To get a better picture of the success of the collection process, two un-weighted rates called the ‘collection results rate’ and the ‘extraction results rate’ are computed. They are computed by dividing the number of respondents by the number of units that we tried to contact or tried to receive extracted data for them. Non-monthly reporters (respondents with special reporting arrangements where they do not report every month but for whom actual data is available in subsequent revisions) are excluded from both the numerator and denominator for the months where no contact is performed.

In summary, the various response rates are calculated as follows:

Weighted rates:

Survey Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status i / Sum of survey weighted sales

where i = units that have either reported data that will be used in estimation or are converted refusals, or have reported data that has not yet been resolved for estimation.

Admin Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status ii / Sum of administrative weighted sales

where ii = units that have data that was extracted from administrative files and are usable for estimation.

Total Response rate (estimation) =
Sum of weighted sales of units with response status i or response status ii / Sum of all weighted sales

Un-weighted rates:

Survey Response rate (collection) =
Number of questionnaires with response status iii/ Number of questionnaires with response status iv

where iii = units that have either reported data (unresolved, used or not used for estimation) or are converted refusals.

where iv = all of the above plus units that have refused to respond, units that were not contacted and other types of non-respondent units.

Admin Response rate (extraction) =
Number of questionnaires with response status vi/ Number of questionnaires with response status vii

where vi = in-scope units that have data (either usable or non-usable) that was extracted from administrative files

where vii = all of the above plus units that have refused to report to the administrative data source, units that were not contacted and other types of non-respondent units.

(% of questionnaire collected over all in-scope questionnaires)

Collection Results Rate =
Number of questionnaires with response status iii / Number of questionnaires with response status viii

where iii = same as iii defined above

where viii = same as iv except for the exclusion of units that were contacted because their response is unavailable for a particular month since they are non-monthly reporters.

Extraction Results Rate =
Number of questionnaires with response status ix / Number of questionnaires with response status vii

where ix = same as vi with the addition of extracted units that have been imputed or were out of scope

where vii = same as vii defined above

(% of questionnaires collected over all questionnaire in-scope we tried to collect)

All the above weighted and un-weighted rates are provided at the industrial group, geography and size group level or for any combination of these levels.

Use of Administrative Data

Managing response burden is an ongoing challenge for Statistics Canada. In an attempt to alleviate response burden and survey costs, especially for smaller businesses, the MRTS has reduced the number of simple establishments in the sample that are surveyed directly and instead derives sales data for these establishments from Goods and Service Tax (GST) files using a statistical model. The model accounts for differences between sales and revenue (reported for GST purposes) as well as for the time lag between the survey reference period and the reference period of the GST file.

For more information on the methodology used for modeling sales from administrative data sources, refer to ‘Monthly Retail Trade Survey: Use of Administrative Data’ under ‘Documentation’ of the IMDB.

Table 1 contains the weighted response rates for all industry groups as well as for total retail trade for each province and territory. For more detailed weighted response rates, please contact the Marketing and Dissemination Section at (613) 951-3549, toll free: 1-877-421-3067 or by e-mail at retailinfo@statcan.

6.2. Methods used to reduce non-response at collection

Significant effort is spent trying to minimize non-response during collection. Methods used, among others, are interviewer techniques such as probing and persuasion, repeated re-scheduling and call-backs to obtain the information, and procedures dealing with how to handle non-compliant (refusal) respondents.

If data are unavailable at the time of collection, a respondent's best estimates are also accepted, and are subsequently revised once the actual data become available.

To minimize total non-response for all variables, partial responses are accepted. In addition, questionnaires are customized for the collection of certain variables, such as inventory, so that collection is timed for those months when the data are available.

Finally, to build trust and rapport between the interviewers and respondents, cases are generally assigned to the same interviewer each month. This action establishes a personal relationship between interviewer and respondent, and builds respondent trust.

7. Data collection and capture operations

Collection of the data is performed by Statistics Canada’s Regional Offices.

Table 1
Weighted response rates by NAICS, for all provinces/territories: October 2012
Table summary
This table displays the results of table 1 weighted response rates by NAICS, for all provinces/territories: October 2012. The information is grouped by NAICS - Canada (appearing as row headers), Weighted Response Rates, Total, Survey, and Administrative (appearing as column headers).

	Weighted Response Rates
	Total	Survey	Administrative
NAICS - Canada
Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers	92.5	93.2	63.3
Automobile Dealers	94.1	94.3	61.5
New Car Dealers1	95.5	95.5
Used Car Dealers	69.4	70.5	61.5
Other Motor Vehicle Dealers	72.7	75.0	58.3
Automotive Parts, Accessories and Tire Stores	87.5	91.0	67.3
Furniture and Home Furnishings Stores	89.8	93.7	56.9
Furniture Stores	93.6	95.7	57.5
Home Furnishings Stores	83.7	90.0	56.7
Electronics and Appliance Stores	88.4	89.4	57.6
Building Material and Garden Equipment Dealers	92.6	94.5	79.1
Food and Beverage Stores	90.1	91.7	72.5
Grocery Stores	90.4	91.8	76.0
Grocery (except Convenience) Stores	92.6	93.9	79.1
Convenience Stores	62.1	63.5	55.4
Specialty Food Stores	66.9	71.2	51.5
Beer, Wine and Liquor Stores	94.9	95.7	66.0
Health and Personal Care Stores	91.4	91.5	90.5
Gasoline Stations	83.6	84.0	77.1
Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores	91.2	93.0	35.9
Clothing Stores	92.6	94.6	32.0
Shoe Stores	90.1	90.2	80.6
Jewellery, Luggage and Leather Goods Stores	80.1	83.0	32.9
Sporting Goods, Hobby, Book and Music Stores	85.2	91.1	30.0
General Merchandise Stores	98.7	99.3	32.0
Department Stores	100.0	100.0
Other general merchadise stores	97.7	98.6	32.0
Miscellaneous Store Retailers	85.1	89.6	46.2
Total	91.0	92.3	68.9
Regions
Newfoundland and Labrador	95.3	95.5	89.4
Prince Edward Island	90.4	91.3	47.8
Nova Scotia	95.5	95.9	85.7
New Brunswick	88.8	90.7	63.5
Québec	91.6	93.6	69.4
Ontario	92.2	93.3	70.2
Manitoba	88.4	88.6	78.0
Saskatchewan	88.1	89.6	56.0
Alberta	89.1	90.7	60.2
British Columbia	89.7	90.6	73.2
Yukon Territory	85.2	85.2
Northwest Territories	86.1	86.1
Nunavut	72.4	72.4
1 There are no administrative records used in new car dealers

Weighted Response Rates

Respondents are sent a questionnaire or are contacted by telephone to obtain their sales and inventory values, as well as to confirm the opening or closing of business trading locations. Collection of the data begins approximately 7 working days after the end of the reference month and continues for the duration of that month.

New entrants to the survey are introduced to the survey via an introductory letter that informs the respondent that a representative of Statistics Canada will be calling. This call is to introduce the respondent to the survey, confirm the respondent's business activity, establish and begin data collection, as well as to answer any questions that the respondent may have.

8. Editing

Data editing is the application of checks to detect missing, invalid or inconsistent entries or to point to data records that are potentially in error. In the survey process for the MRTS, data editing is done at two different time periods.

First of all, editing is done during data collection. Once data are collected via the telephone, or via the receipt of completed mail-in questionnaires, the data are captured using customized data capture applications. All data are subjected to data editing. Edits during data collection are referred to as field edits and generally consist of validity and some simple consistency edits. They are used to detect mistakes made during the interview by the respondent or the interviewer and to identify missing information during collection in order to reduce the need for follow-up later on. Another purpose of the field edits is to clean up responses. In the MRTS, the current month’s responses are edited against the respondent’s previous month’s responses and/or the previous year’s responses for the current month. Field edits are also used to identify problems with data collection procedures and the design of the questionnaire, as well as the need for more interviewer training.

Follow-up with respondents occurs to validate potential erroneous data following any failed preliminary edit check of the data. Once validated, the collected data is regularly transmitted to the head office in Ottawa.

Secondly, editing known as statistical editing is also done after data collection and this is more empirical in nature. Statistical editing is run prior to imputation in order to identify the data that will be used as a basis to impute non-respondents. Large outliers that could disrupt a monthly trend are excluded from trend calculations by the statistical edits. It should be noted that adjustments are not made at this stage to correct the reported outliers.

The first step in the statistical editing is to identify which responses will be subjected to the statistical edit rules. Reported data for the current reference month will go through various edit checks.

The first set of edit checks is based on the Hidiriglou-Berthelot method whereby a ratio of the respondent’s current month data over historical (last month, same month last year) or auxiliary data is analyzed. When the respondent’s ratio differs significantly from ratios of respondents who are similar in terms of industry and/or geography group, the response is deemed an outlier.

The second set of edits consists of an edit known as the share of market edit. With this method, one is able to edit all respondents, even those where historical and auxiliary data is unavailable. The method relies on current month data only. Therefore, within a group of respondents, that are similar in terms of industrial group and/or geography, if the weighted contribution of a respondent to the group’s total is too large, it will be flagged as an outlier.

For edit checks based on the Hidiriglou-Berthelot method, data that are flagged as an outlier will not be included in the imputation models (those based on ratios). Also, data that are flagged as outliers in the share of market edit will not be included in the imputation models where means and medians are calculated to impute for responses that have no historical responses.

In conjunction with the statistical editing after data collection of reported data, there is also error detection done on the extracted GST data. Modeled data based on the GST are also subject to an extensive series of processing steps which thoroughly verify each record that is the basis for the model as well as the record being modeled. Edits are performed at a more aggregate level (industry by geography level) to detect records which deviate from the expected range, either by exhibiting large month-to-month change, or differing significantly from the remaining units. All data which fail these edits are subject to manual inspection and possible corrective action.

9. Imputation

Imputation in the MRTS is the process used to assign replacement values for missing data. This is done by assigning values when they are missing on the record being edited to ensure that estimates are of high quality and that a plausible, internal consistency is created. Due to concerns of response burden, cost and timeliness, it is generally impossible to do all follow-ups with the respondents in order to resolve missing responses. Since it is desirable to produce a complete and consistent microdata file, imputation is used to handle the remaining missing cases.

In the MRTS, imputation is based on historical data or administrative data (GST sales). The appropriate method is selected according to a strategy that is based on whether historical data is available, auxiliary data is available and/or which reference month is being processed.

There are three types of historical imputation methods. The first type is a general trend that uses one historical data source (previous month, data from next month or data from same month previous year). The second type is a regression model where data from previous month and same month previous year are used simultaneously. The third type uses the historical data as a direct replacement value for a non-respondent. Depending upon the particular reference month, there is an order of preference that exists so that top quality imputation can result. The historical imputation method that was labelled as the third type above is always the last option in the order for each reference month.

The imputation methods using administrative data are automatically selected when historical information is unavailable for a non-respondent. The administrative data source (annual GST sales) is the basis of these methods. The annual GST sales are used for two types of methods. One is a general trend that will be used for simple structure, e.g. enterprises with only one establishment, and a second type is called median-average that is used for units with a more complex structure.

10. Estimation

Estimation is a process that approximates unknown population parameters using only part of the population that is included in a sample. Inferences about these unknown parameters are then made, using the sample data and associated survey design. This stage uses Statistics Canada's Generalized Estimation System (GES).

For retail sales, the population is divided into a survey portion (take-all and take-some strata) and a non-survey portion (take-none stratum). From the sample that is drawn from the survey portion, an estimate for the population is determined through the use of a Horvitz-Thompson estimator where responses for sales are weighted by using the inverses of the inclusion probabilities of the sampled units. Such weights (called sampling weights) can be interpreted as the number of times that each sampled unit should be replicated to represent the entire population. The calculated weighted sales values are summed by domain, to produce the total sales estimates by each industrial group / geographic area combination. A domain is defined as the most recent classification values available from the BR for the unit and the survey reference period. These domains may differ from the original sampling strata because units may have changed size, industry or location. Changes in classification are reflected immediately in the estimates and do not accumulate over time. For the non-survey portion, the sales are estimated with statistical models using monthly GST sales.

For more information on the methodology for modeling sales from administrative data sources which also contributes to the estimates of the survey portion, refer to ‘Monthly Retail Survey: Use of Administrative Data’ under ‘Documentation’ of the IMDB.

The measure of precision used for the MRTS to evaluate the quality of a population parameter estimate and to obtain valid inferences is the variance. The variance from the survey portion is derived directly from a stratified simple random sample without replacement.

Sample estimates may differ from the expected value of the estimates. However, since the estimate is based on a probability sample, the variability of the sample estimate with respect to its expected value can be measured. The variance of an estimate is a measure of the precision of the sample estimate and is defined as the average, over all possible samples, of the squared difference of the estimate from its expected value.

11. Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Revisions in the raw data are required to correct known non-sampling errors. These normally include replacing imputed data with reported data, corrections to previously reported data, and estimates for new births that were not known at the time of the original estimates. Raw data are revised, on a monthly basis, for the month immediately prior to the current reference month being published. That is, when data for December are being published for the first time, there will also be revisions, if necessary, to the raw data for November. In addition, revisions are made once a year, with the initial release of the February data, for all months in the previous year. The purpose is to correct any significant problems that have been found that apply for an extended period. The actual period of revision depends on the nature of the problem identified, but rarely exceeds three years. Time series contain the elements essential to the description, explanation and forecasting of the behaviour of an economic phenomenon: "They are statistical records of the evolution of economic processes through time."¹ Economic time series such as the Monthly Retail Trade Survey can be broken down into five main components: the trend-cycle, seasonality, the trading-day effect, the Easter holiday effect and the irregular component.

The trend represents the long-term change in the series, whereas the cycle represents a smooth, quasi-periodical movement about the trend, showing a succession of growth and decline phases (e.g., the business cycle). These two components—the trend and the cycle—are estimated together, and the trend-cycle reflects the fundamental evolution of the series. The other components reflect short-term transient movements.

The seasonal component represents sub-annual, monthly or quarterly fluctuations that recur more or less regularly from one year to the next. Seasonal variations are caused by the direct and indirect effects of the climatic seasons and institutional factors (attributable to social conventions or administrative rules; e.g., Christmas).

The trading-day component originates from the fact that the relative importance of the days varies systematically within the week and that the number of each day of the week in a given month varies from year to year. This effect is present when activity varies with the day of the week. For instance, Sunday is typically less active than the other days, and the number of Sundays, Mondays, etc., in a given month changes from year to year.

The Easter holiday effect is the variation due to the shift of part of April’s activity to March when Easter falls in March rather than April.

Lastly, the irregular component includes all other more or less erratic fluctuations not taken into account in the preceding components. It is a residual that includes errors of measurement on the 1. A Note on the Seasonal adjustment of Economic Time Series», Canadian Statistical Review, August 1974.  A variable itself as well as unusual events (e.g., strikes, drought, floods, major power blackout or other unexpected events causing variations in respondents’ activities).

Thus, the latter four components—seasonal, irregular, trading-day and Easter holiday effect—all conceal the fundamental trend-cycle component of the series. Seasonal adjustment (correction of seasonal variation) consists in removing the seasonal, trading-day and Easter holiday effect components from the series, and it thus helps reveal the trend-cycle. While seasonal adjustment permits a better understanding of the underlying trend-cycle of a series, the seasonally adjusted series still contains an irregular component. Slight month-to-month variations in the seasonally adjusted series may be simple irregular movements. To get a better idea of the underlying trend, users should examine several months of the seasonally adjusted series.

Since April 2008, Monthly Retail Trade Survey data are seasonally adjusted using the X-12- ARIMA2 software. The technique that is used essentially consists of first correcting the initial series for all sorts of undesirable effects, such as the trading-day and the Easter holiday effects, by a module called regARIMA. These effects are estimated using regression models with ARIMA errors (auto-regressive integrated moving average models). The series can also be extrapolated for at least one year by using the model. Subsequently, the raw series—pre-adjusted and extrapolated if applicable— is seasonally adjusted by the X-11 method.

The X-11 method is used for analysing monthly and quarterly series. It is based on an iterative principle applied in estimating the different components, with estimation being done at each stage using adequate moving averages3. The moving averages used to estimate the main components—the trend and seasonality—are primarily smoothing tools designed to eliminate an undesirable component from the series. Since moving averages react poorly to the presence of atypical values, the X-11 method includes a tool for detecting and correcting atypical points. This tool is used to clean up the series during the seasonal adjustment. Outlying data points can also be detected and corrected in advance, within the regARIMA module.

Lastly, the annual totals of the seasonally adjusted series are forced to the annual totals of the original series.

Unfortunately, seasonal adjustment removes the sub-annual additivity of a system of series; small discrepancies can be observed between the sum of seasonally adjusted series and the direct seasonal adjustment of their total. To insure or restore additivity in a system of series, a reconciliation process is applied or indirect seasonal adjustment is used, i.e. the seasonal adjustment of a total is derived by the summation of the individually seasonally adjusted series.

12. Data quality evaluation

The methodology of this survey has been designed to control errors and to reduce their potential effects on estimates. However, the survey results remain subject to errors, of which sampling error is only one component of the total survey error. Sampling error results when observations are made only on a sample and not on the entire population. All other errors arising from the various phases of a survey are referred to as nonsampling errors. For example, these types of errors can occur when a respondent provides incorrect information or does not answer certain questions; when a unit in the target population is omitted or covered more than once; when GST data for records being modeled for a particular month are not representative of the actual record for various reasons; when a unit that is out of scope for the survey is included by mistake or when errors occur in data processing, such as coding or capture errors.

Prior to publication, combined survey results are analyzed for comparability; in general, this includes a detailed review of individual responses (especially for large businesses), general economic conditions and historical trends.

A common measure of data quality for surveys is the coefficient of variation (CV). The coefficient of variation, defined as the standard error divided by the sample estimate, is a measure of precision in relative terms. Since the coefficient of variation is calculated from responses of individual units, it also measures some non-sampling errors.

The formula used to calculate coefficients of variation (CV) as percentages is:

CV (X) = S(X) * 100% / X
where X denotes the estimate and S(X) denotes the standard error of X.

Confidence intervals can be constructed around the estimates using the estimate and the CV. Thus, for our sample, it is possible to state with a given level of confidence that the expected value will fall within the confidence interval constructed around the estimate. For example, if an estimate of $12,000,000 has a CV of 2%, the standard error will be $240,000 (the estimate multiplied by the CV). It can be stated with 68% confidence that the expected values will fall within the interval whose length equals the standard deviation about the estimate, i.e. between $11,760,000 and $12,240,000.

Alternatively, it can be stated with 95% confidence that the expected value will fall within the interval whose length equals two standard deviations about the estimate, i.e. between $11,520,000 and $12,480,000.

Finally, due to the small contribution of the non-survey portion to the total estimates, bias in the non-survey portion has a negligible impact on the CVs. Therefore, the CV from the survey portion is used for the total estimate that is the summation of estimates from the surveyed and non-surveyed portions.

13. Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Confidentiality analysis includes the detection of possible "direct disclosure", which occurs when the value in a tabulation cell is composed of a few respondents or when the cell is dominated by a few companies.

Statistics Canada makes custom survey and analysis services available to Canadian organizations on a cost-recovery basis. Cost-recovery means that clients pay for the direct and indirect cost of doing the work. Custom services are not funded by the budget that Parliament allocates to Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada accepts custom work under the following conditions:

• It is compatible with Statistics Canada's mandate
• It is statistical in nature
• It will not compromise Statistics Canada's reputation
• It will not harm Statistics Canada's relationships with respondents
• Statistics Canada has the capacity available to do the work requested and complete it on a timely basis
• The results, or outputs, of the work are made available to all Canadians

Direct costs include salary costs for highly skilled staff to plan surveys, collect data and provide post-collection services which can include data integration, data analysis and the development of socio-economic, health and macroeconomic models. Direct costs also include non-salary costs such as telecommunications, informatics systems, travel, postage, and so on.

Indirect costs include corporate administrative services and the marginal costs associated with the benefits from using Statistics Canada's world-class statistical infrastructure.

Whether Statistics Canada meets its clients' information needs by integrating their questions into existing surveys or by designing custom surveys for them, it does so at market-competitive per unit rates. But, the extra effort to plan and deliver superior methodology, as well as to collect and process data to rigorous standards, means Statistics Canada's surveys often carry a higher price tag than surveys conducted by other organizations.

Statistics Canada is synonymous with high quality survey methods and results:

• Larger, scientific samples
• Superior collection follow-up and processing practices
• Explicit methods to measure and inform on accuracy (This includes reliability indicators determined by experts in statistical methodology.)
• Sound and documented methods

In addition, Statistics Canada delivers higher response rates, provides more usable output, communicates reliability measures and provides standardized documentation.

Statistics Canada research analysts provide objective data analysis, policy relevant socio-economic, macroeconomic, demographic and health modeling, and can undertake data integration services to shed light on emerging socio-economic and health issues.

Statistics Canada also has a facilitated access to micro data bases that are held at the Research Data Centres and the Canadian Centre for Data Development where researchers with approved projects are given access to confidential data bases to address analytical issues.

Statistics Canada's cost-recovery services provide clients with value for their money—high quality information for making strategic decisions.