List of ISBN registration groups

The registration group or identifier group is the second element in a 13-digit ISBN (first element in a 10-digit ISBN) and indicates the country, geographic region, or language area where a book was published. The element ranges from one to five numerical digits.

In 2007, the length of an ISBN changed from 10 to 13 digits, and a new 3-digit prefix (978 or 979) was added in front of 10-digit ISBNs. The following registration groups are compatible with or without a 978- prefix:


 * 0–5
 * 600–639
 * 64–69
 * 7
 * 80–94
 * 950–989
 * 9900–9989
 * 99900–99999

The following must have a 979- prefix:


 * (979-0 is reserved for International Standard Music Numbers for sheet music)
 * 979-10 through 979-13
 * 979-8

Shorter registration group numbers are generally used for countries or regions with greater publishing volume. Because a longer number leaves room for fewer publishers and ISBNs, several countries have more than one number assigned. On the other hand, some countries (Australia, Switzerland, Fiji) have no unique number because they fall in a broader geographic region or language area.

Countries in broader registration groups

 * 5: former USSR (14)
 * 🇦🇲 Armenia, 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan, 🇧🇾 Belarus, 🇪🇪 Estonia, Georgia, 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan, 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇲🇩 Moldova, 🇷🇺 Russia, 🇹🇯 Tajikistan, 🇺🇦 Ukraine, 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan


 * 80: former Czechoslovakia (2)
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇸🇰 Slovakia


 * 86: former Yugoslavia (7)
 * 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina, 🇭🇷 Croatia, 🇲🇪 Montenegro, North Macedonia,  Republika Srpska, 🇷🇸 Serbia, 🇸🇮 Slovenia


 * 976: Caribbean Community (5)
 * The Bahamas, 🇧🇧 Barbados, 🇧🇿 Belize, 🇯🇲 Jamaica, 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago


 * 982: South Pacific (14)
 * 🇨🇰 Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, 🇫🇯 Fiji, 🇰🇮 Kiribati, 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands, 🇳🇷 Nauru, 🇳🇺 Niue, 🇵🇼 Palau, 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea, 🇼🇸 Samoa, 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands, 🇹🇴 Tonga, 🇹🇻 Tuvalu, and 🇻🇺 Vanuatu

Countries with no exclusive registration group

 * 18 countries
 * 🇦🇺 Australia, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇧🇪 Belgium, 🇧🇲 Bermuda, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, Eswatini, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇬🇮 Gibraltar, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇷🇺 Russia, 🇷🇸 Serbia, 🇸🇰 Slovakia, 🇿🇦 South Africa, 🇨🇭 Switzerland, 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇿🇼  Zimbabwe

Countries with multiple registration groups
In parentheses, how many numbers are available.

Countries with over one million numbers are highlighted.


 * Two (53 countries)
 * Andorra (2×104), Bahrain (2×104), Benin (2×104), Bhutan (2×104), Bosnia and Herzegovina (20×104), Botswana (2×104),, Brunei (2×104), , , Cyprus (20×104), Dominican Republic (11×104), Ecuador (20×104), Ethiopia (2×104), Faroe Islands (2×104), , Ghana (20×104), , Honduras (2×104), , , Iceland (20×104), , Jordan (20×104), , Kenya (20×104), Latvia (20×104), , Luxembourg (2×104), Malawi (2×104), Montenegro (20×104), Myanmar (2×104), Namibia (2×104), , Nicaragua (2×104), , Oman (2×104), , , , , Qatar (11×104), , Seychelles (2×104), , , Sudan (2×104), Tunisia (20×104), Uganda (20×104), , Uruguay (20×104), Uzbekistan (20×104),


 * Three (24 countries)
 * , Armenia (12×104), Cambodia (12×104), Costa Rica (30×104), El Salvador (3×104), Estonia (30×104), Georgia (12×104), Guatemala (12×104), Haiti (3×104),, , Kuwait (12×104), , Macau (3×104), , , Morocco (30×104), Nepal (12×104), Republika Srpska (3×104), , , Tajikistan (3×104), Tanzania (30×104),


 * Four (6 countries)
 * Albania (13×104), Algeria (40×104), Bolivia (13×104), Malta (13×104), Paraguay (4×104),


 * Five (2 countries)
 * , Mongolia (14×104)

ISBN vs UN

 * UN countries not part of ISBN (38)
 * 🇦🇴 Angola, 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda, 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso, 🇧🇮 Burundi, 🇨🇻 Cape Verde, 🇨🇫 Central African Republic, 🇹🇩 Chad, 🇰🇲 Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly "99951-"),  Republic of the Congo, 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire, 🇩🇯 Djibouti, 🇩🇲 Dominica, 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea, 🇬🇦 Gabon (formerly "99902-"), 🇬🇩 Grenada, 🇬🇳 Guinea, 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau, 🇬🇾 Guyana, 🇱🇷 Liberia, 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein, 🇲🇬 Madagascar, 🇲🇷 Mauritania, 🇲🇨 Monaco, 🇲🇿 Mozambique, 🇳🇪 Niger, 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis, 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia, 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 🇸🇲 San Marino,  São Tomé and Príncipe, 🇸🇳 Senegal, 🇸🇴 Somalia, 🇸🇸 South Sudan,  East Timor, 🇹🇬 Togo, 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan, 🇾🇪 Yemen


 * ISBN agencies not part of the UN (10)
 * 🇧🇲 Bermuda, 🇨🇼 Curaçao, 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands, 🇬🇮 Gibraltar, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, Kosovo,  Macau,  Palestine,  Republic of Srpska, 🇹🇼 Taiwan