XK (user assigned code) explained

XK is an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 equivalent user-assigned code element used to represent Kosovo.Similarly, XKX is an ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 equivalent user-assigned code element for Kosovo in the European Union,^[1] and XKK is used in the Unicode standard.^[2]

Use

The following organizations have been known to have used the code to represent Kosovo:

• European Commission^[3] and in line with that many institutions in EU countries such as Deutsche Bundesbank,^[4] Ireland,^[5] Malta,^[6] and France^[7]
• United Kingdom^[8]
• Canada^[9]
• Switzerland^[10]
• Cyprus^[11]
  • International Monetary Fund Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication^[12]
• Common Locale Data Repository^[13]
• Unicode Regional indicator symbol
• United States Department of State^{[14] [15]}

Potential assignment of an official ISO 3166-1 code for Kosovo

According to rules of procedure followed by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, a new ISO 3166-1 code for Kosovo will be issued once it appears in the UN Terminology Bulletin "Country Names" or in the UN Statistics Division's "list of Country and Region Codes for Statistical Use".^[16] To appear in the terminology bulletin, Kosovo must either (a) be admitted into the United Nations, (b) join a UN Specialised Agency or (c) become a state party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.^[17] Criterion (b) was met when Kosovo joined the International Monetary Fund^[18] and World Bank^[19] in June 2009, however a terminology bulletin has yet to be circulated.

ISO affirms that no code beginning with "X" will ever be standardised as a country code. ("XK" for Kosovo is a unilateral "user assigned code" and not an ISO 3166 standard country code.) Consequently if/when Kosovo is recognised, this XK code will need to be replaced with one beginning with another letter.

See also

• .xk
• Neighbouring countries: AL, ME, MK, RS

Notes and References

1. Web site: Geospatial reference data: Corporate list of countries and territories. 2024-04-25.
2. Web site: Davis . Mark . Unicode Locale Data Markup Language (LDML) . unicode.org . 13 December 2023 . en . 2023-10-25 . XK XKK 983 Kosovo industry practice private use.
3. Web site: Glossary:Country codes - Statistics Explained. europa.eu.
4. Web site: Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Data and Service Centre . Country codes and currency codes in research datasets Technical Report 2020-01 . 17 December 2022.
5. Web site: Imports / Exports, Additional Information, ISO Alpha 2 Country Codes . Irish Tax and Customs . 17 December 2022.
6. Web site: Country Codes . Malta Customs . 17 December 2022.
7. Web site: Liste des accords et préférences unilatérales de l'Union européenne . Douane France . 17 December 2022.
8. Web site: UK Trade Tariff: country and currency codes . Gov.UK . 17 December 2022.
9. Web site: Technical guide for the Canadian Export Reporting System (CERS) portal — Appendix J: Code tables . Canada Border Services Agency . 17 December 2022.
10. Web site: Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit . 17 December 2022.
11. Web site: Country Codes . Ministry of Finance . 17 December 2022.
12. [Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication|SWIFT]
13. Web site: XK country code for Kosovo . GeoNames Blog . 8 March 2010.
14. Web site: Kosovo - The World Factbook . . 2021-04-26 .
15. https://xk.usembassy.gov/ U.S. Embassy in Kosovo
16. http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166-faqs/iso_3166_faqs_general.htm General Questions
17. http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/background_on_iso_3166/iso_3166-1_and_cctlds.htm ISO 3166-1 and country coded Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs)
18. Web site: Press Release: Kosovo Becomes the International Monetary Fund's 186 th Member .
19. Web site: Member Countries .