Country

The Country field identifies the country associated with data entries using a three-letter uppercase code from the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 standard. This international standard, maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ensures consistency, accuracy, and interoperability across global datasets. ISO 3166-1 covers 249 entities, including sovereign states, dependent territories, and special areas.

Using standardized codes prevents ambiguities (e.g., distinguishing between multiple countries with similar names) and facilitates integration with other systems. The Region field, detailed in Region, uses ISO 3166-2 for subdivisions and can be "all" if the data is nationwide or not region-specific.

Data Requirements

• Type: String (exactly three uppercase letters).
• Standard: ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 (three-letter codes).
• Validation: Codes must match the official ISO list. Invalid or non-standard codes (e.g., two-letter alpha-2) will cause upload errors.

For Region:

• Use ISO 3166-2 codes (e.g., "US-CA" for California in the USA).
• If not applicable, use "all" or leave blank (Alviss AI treats "all" as nationwide).

Examples

• "USA": United States of America
• "GBR": United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• "SWE": Sweden
• "AFG": Afghanistan
• "DZA": Algeria

For a full list, refer to the Wikipedia List of ISO 3166 Country Codes or the official ISO website.

Best Practices

• Case Sensitivity: Always use uppercase (e.g., "USA", not "usa").
• Validation: Cross-check codes against reliable sources before upload to avoid errors. Use tools like Python's pycountry library for automation.
• Consistency: Apply the same code uniformly across all files in a project. For multi-country data, segment by Country to enable filtering in dashboards like Effect.
• Nationwide Data: Pair with Region "all" for aggregated national metrics.
• Updates: ISO codes rarely change, but monitor for revisions (e.g., new territories) if your data spans long periods.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

• Invalid Codes: Using alpha-2 (e.g., "US" instead of "USA") or non-standard abbreviations will fail validation—correct to alpha-3.
• Length Errors: Must be exactly three letters; shorter/longer entries are rejected.
• Deprecated Codes: Avoid obsolete codes from ISO 3166-3 (e.g., for former countries); use current ones.

For related fields, see Region or Grouping. If you need the latest ISO list, consult official sources, as standards evolve minimally over time.