Country Code Prefix
What is this, and what does it mean?
Many people mistakenly believe that the first few digits of the barcode numbers show the country of origin of the product. However, the barcode number says NOTHING accurate about the product’s country of origin. The only thing that these first few digits show is which country the barcode number itself was issued in. This means products that come from any specific country can have any barcode number on them. Please see GS1’s website about this.
Barcode numbers beginning with specifically assigned country codes are the barcode numbers that come directly from GS1 in a specific country OR are issued by an official standards agency in that country. If you see barcode resellers selling EAN numbers starting with your country code, watch out! They are almost certainly selling fake, made up numbers. The only exception to this is the USA, as all barcode numbers which can be legally resold are US numbers.
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In countries where GS1 exists, the ONLY legal way to get to start with these assigned country codes is to join GS1 – this means completing their membership forms and paying a joining fee and annual membership fees to GS1 – which is VERY expensive (GS1 only license the numbers to you – so you have to pay their annual fees every year for the rest of your product life). Please read this article by Peter Strong (head of the Council of Small Business of Australia) on ‘shadow regulators.’ These are not for profit organisations that have monopolistic control over the business community.
In countries where there is a non-GS1 Standards Body, the country-specific numbers can be obtained from that body, or the International Barcodes Network agency in that country.
If you want to demonstrate that your product is made in your own country, e.g., New Zealand, then the best way to do this is to print “Made in New Zealand” or similar on the product. This is an advertising claim and must be provable if challenged. (Some manufacturers also print “Made in New Zealand” directly above the barcode to help customers).
The myth of the barcode number showing the country of origin of the product has been thoroughly debunked. Please see this Snopes article on the origins of this misconception as well as a debunking of it.
All barcodes and barcode systems are designed for international use, so there are virtually no restrictions based on the country of origin worldwide. See our barcode acceptance page for an up to date list of the few shops worldwide that have barcoding restrictions.
We are a member of an international network of barcode sellers that have customers in more than 120 countries using our barcodes without any problems.
Below is a list of country codes from GS1 organisations and other Standards Agencies around the world:
0 | USA / Canada |
1 | USA |
30–37 | France & Monaco |
380 | Bulgaria |
383 | Slovenia |
385 | Croatia |
387 | Bosnia & Herzegovina |
389 | Montenegro |
390 | Kosovo |
40–44 | Germany |
45 | Japan |
46 | Russia |
470 | Kyrgyzstan |
471 | Taiwan |
474 | Estonia |
475 | Latvia |
476 | Azerbaijan |
477 | Lithuania |
478 | Uzbekistan |
479 | Sri Lanka |
480 | Philippines |
481 | Belarus |
482 | Ukraine |
483 | Turkmenistan |
484 | Moldava |
485 | Armenia |
486 | Georgia |
487 | Kazakhstan |
488 | Tajikaistan |
489 | Hong Kong |
49 | Japan |
50 | United Kingdom |
520, 521 | Greece |
528 | Lebanon |
529 | Cyprus |
530 | Albania |
531 | Macedonia |
535 | Malta |
539 | Ireland |
54 | Belgium & Luxembourg |
560 | Portugal |
569 | Iceland |
570 | Denmark |
590 | Poland |
594 | Romania |
599 | Hungary |
600–601 | South Africa |
602 | Benin |
603 | Ghana |
604 | Senegal |
608 | Bahrain |
609 | Mauritius |
611 | Marocco |
613 | Algeria |
615 | Nigeria |
616 | Kenya |
618 | Côte d’Ivoire |
619 | Tunisia |
620 | Tanzania |
621 | Syria |
622 | Egypt |
623 | Brunei |
624 | Libya |
625 | Jordan |
626 | Iran |
627 | Kuwait |
628 | Saudi-Arabia |
629 | United Arab Emirates |
64 | Finland |
660 | Benin – issued by ANM Benin |
69 | China |
70 | Norway |
729 | Israel |
73 | Sweden |
740 | Guatemala |
741 | El Salvador |
742 | Honduras |
743 | Nicaragua |
744 | Costa Rica |
745 | Panama |
746 | Dominican Republic |
750 | Mexico |
754–755 | Canada |
759 | Venezuela |
760–769 | Schwitzerland & Liechtenstein |
770-771 | Colombia |
773 | Uruguay |
775 | Peru |
777 | Bolivia |
779 | Argentina |
780 | Chile |
784 | Paraguay |
786 | Ecuador |
789-790 | Brazil |
800–839 | Italy |
840–849 | Spain |
850 | Cuba |
858 | Slovakia |
859 | Czech Republic |
860 | Serbia |
865 | Mongolia |
867 | North Korea |
868–869 | Turkey |
87 | Netherlands |
880 | South Korea |
885 | Thailand |
888 | Singapore |
890 | India |
893 | Vietnam |
896 | Pakistan |
899 | Indonesia |
90–91 | Austria |
93 | Australia |
94 | New Zealand |
955 | Malaysia |
958 | Macau |
96 | GS1 Global Office: GTIN-8 allocations |
977 | Serial Publications (ISSN) |
978–979 | Bookland (ISBN) |
980 | Return Coupons (refund receipts) |
981–983 | Common Currency Coupons |
990–999 | Coupon Codes |