As it gets harder and more expensive to find brandable domain names in .com, country-specific domain name extensions (ccTLDs) have grown in popularity. This article explains the meaning of ccTLD, compares ccTLDs with gTLDs, discusses their impact on SEO, and addresses frequently asked questions.
ccTLD Meaning
A ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domain) is a type of domain extension that connotes a specific country or geographic entity. These two letter extensions are managed and administered by the countries they represent.
ccTLDs were first created in 1985 with the .us extension for the United States. Since then, hundreds of ccTLDs have become available to help in localizing content on the Internet.
ccTLD Country List
Note that not all ccTLDs are available to register freely. Some ccTLDs can only be registered by locals in a given country, while others are restricted for government, corporate, or educational use.
(Click here to skip past the list)
| ccTLD | Country/Entity |
|---|---|
| .ac | Ascension Island (United Kingdom) |
| .ad | Andorra |
| .ae | United Arab Emirates |
| .af | Afghanistan |
| .ag | Antigua and Barbuda |
| .ai | Anguilla (United Kingdom) |
| .al | Albania |
| .am | Armenia |
| .ao | Angola |
| .aq | Antarctica |
| .ar | Argentina |
| .as | American Samoa (United States) |
| .at | Austria |
| .au | Australia |
| .aw | Aruba (Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| .ax | Åland (Finland) |
| .az | Azerbaijan |
| .ba | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| .bb | Barbados |
| .bd | Bangladesh |
| .be | Belgium |
| .bf | Burkina Faso |
| .bg | Bulgaria |
| .bh | Bahrain |
| .bi | Burundi |
| .bj | Benin |
| .bm | Bermuda (United Kingdom) |
| .bn | Brunei |
| .bo | Bolivia |
| .bq | Caribbean Netherlands ( Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius) |
| .br | Brazil |
| .bs | Bahamas |
| .bt | Bhutan |
| .bw | Botswana |
| .by | Belarus |
| .bz | Belize |
| .ca | Canada |
| .cc | Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
| .cd | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| .cf | Central African Republic |
| .cg | Republic of the Congo |
| .ch | Switzerland |
| .ci | Ivory Coast |
| .ck | Cook Islands |
| .cl | Chile |
| .cm | Cameroon |
| .cn | People’s Republic of China |
| .co | Colombia |
| .cr | Costa Rica |
| .cu | Cuba |
| .cv | Cape Verde |
| .cw | Curaçao (Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| .cx | Christmas Island |
| .cy | Cyprus |
| .cz | Czech Republic |
| .de | Germany |
| .dj | Djibouti |
| .dk | Denmark |
| .dm | Dominica |
| .do | Dominican Republic |
| .dz | Algeria |
| .ec | Ecuador |
| .ee | Estonia |
| .eg | Egypt |
| .eh | Western Sahara |
| .er | Eritrea |
| .es | Spain |
| .et | Ethiopia |
| .eu | European Union |
| .fi | Finland |
| .fj | Fiji |
| .fk | Falkland Islands (United Kingdom) |
| .fm | Federated States of Micronesia |
| .fo | Faroe Islands (Kingdom of Denmark) |
| .fr | France |
| .ga | Gabon |
| .gd | Grenada |
| .ge | Georgia |
| .gf | French Guiana (France) |
| .gg | Guernsey |
| .gh | Ghana |
| .gi | Gibraltar (United Kingdom) |
| .gl | Greenland (Kingdom of Denmark) |
| .gm | The Gambia |
| .gn | Guinea |
| .gp | Guadeloupe (France) |
| .gq | Equatorial Guinea |
| .gr | Greece |
| .gs | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom) |
| .gt | Guatemala |
| .gu | Guam (United States) |
| .gw | Guinea-Bissau |
| .gy | Guyana |
| .hk | Hong Kong |
| .hm | Heard Island and McDonald Islands |
| .hn | Honduras |
| .hr | Croatia |
| .ht | Haiti |
| .hu | Hungary |
| .id | Indonesia |
| .ie | Ireland |
| .il | Israel |
| .im | Isle of Man |
| .in | India |
| .io | British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom) |
| .iq | Iraq |
| .ir | Iran |
| .is | Iceland |
| .it | Italy |
| .je | Jersey |
| .jm | Jamaica |
| .jo | Jordan |
| .jp | Japan |
| .ke | Kenya |
| .kg | Kyrgyzstan |
| .kh | Cambodia |
| .ki | Kiribati |
| .km | Comoros |
| .kn | Saint Kitts and Nevis |
| .kp | North Korea |
| .kr | South Korea |
| .kw | Kuwait |
| .ky | Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) |
| .kz | Kazakhstan |
| .la | Laos |
| .lb | Lebanon |
| .lc | Saint Lucia |
| .li | Liechtenstein |
| .lk | Sri Lanka |
| .lr | Liberia |
| .ls | Lesotho |
| .lt | Lithuania |
| .lu | Luxembourg |
| .lv | Latvia |
| .ly | Libya |
| .ma | Morocco |
| .mc | Monaco |
| .md | Moldova |
| .me | Montenegro |
| .mg | Madagascar |
| .mh | Marshall Islands |
| .mk | North Macedonia |
| .ml | Mali |
| .mm | Myanmar |
| .mn | Mongolia |
| .mo | Macau |
| .mp | Northern Mariana Islands (United States) |
| .mq | Martinique (France) |
| .mr | Mauritania |
| .ms | Montserrat (United Kingdom) |
| .mt | Malta |
| .mu | Mauritius |
| .mv | Maldives |
| .mw | Malawi |
| .mx | Mexico |
| .my | Malaysia |
| .mz | Mozambique |
| .na | Namibia |
| .nc | New Caledonia (France) |
| .ne | Niger |
| .nf | Norfolk Island |
| .ng | Nigeria |
| .ni | Nicaragua |
| .nl | Netherlands |
| .no | Norway |
| .np | Nepal |
| .nr | Nauru |
| .nu | Niue |
| .nz | New Zealand |
| .om | Oman |
| .pa | Panama |
| .pe | Peru |
| .pf | French Polynesia (France) |
| .pg | Papua New Guinea |
| .ph | Philippines |
| .pk | Pakistan |
| .pl | Poland |
| .pm | Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (France) |
| .pn | Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom) |
| .pr | Puerto Rico (United States) |
| .ps | Palestine[51] |
| .pt | Portugal |
| .pw | Palau |
| .py | Paraguay |
| .qa | Qatar |
| .re | Réunion (France) |
| .ro | Romania |
| .rs | Serbia |
| .ru | Russia |
| .rw | Rwanda |
| .sa | Saudi Arabia |
| .sb | Solomon Islands |
| .sc | Seychelles |
| .sd | Sudan |
| .se | Sweden |
| .sg | Singapore |
| .sh | Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) |
| .si | Slovenia |
| .sk | Slovakia |
| .sl | Sierra Leone |
| .sm | San Marino |
| .sn | Senegal |
| .so | Somalia |
| .sr | Suriname |
| .ss | South Sudan |
| .st | São Tomé and Príncipe |
| .su | Soviet Union |
| .sv | El Salvador |
| .sx | Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands) |
| .sy | Syria |
| .sz | Eswatini |
| .tc | Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom) |
| .td | Chad |
| .tf | French Southern and Antarctic Lands |
| .tg | Togo |
| .th | Thailand |
| .tj | Tajikistan |
| .tk | Tokelau |
| .tl | East Timor |
| .tm | Turkmenistan |
| .tn | Tunisia |
| .to | Tonga |
| .tr | Turkey |
| .tt | Trinidad and Tobago |
| .tv | Tuvalu |
| .tw | Taiwan |
| .tz | Tanzania |
| .ua | Ukraine |
| .ug | Uganda |
| .uk | United Kingdom |
| .us | United States of America |
| .uy | Uruguay |
| .uz | Uzbekistan |
| .va | Vatican City |
| .vc | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| .ve | Venezuela |
| .vg | British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom) |
| .vi | United States Virgin Islands (United States) |
| .vn | Vietnam |
| .vu | Vanuatu |
| .wf | Wallis and Futuna |
| .ws | Samoa |
| .ye | Yemen |
| .yt | Mayotte |
| .za | South Africa |
| .zm | Zambia |
| .zw | Zimbabwe |
Using ccTLDs for Branding
Since many ccTLDs can be freely registered and used, companies and website owners alike often use ccTLDs for their domain name, regardless of the origin country.
In fact, many ccTLDs have grown so much in popularity that they have become the preferred extension for different industries and use cases.
These extensions are also convenient way for website owners to get creative with their domain name branding.
Brands can use certain ccTLDs to incorporate the domain extension into the brand name to create a type of vanity URL called a domain hack.
Popular ccTLDs & Use Cases
Let’s take a look at some popular ccTLDs and their use cases:
- .co: The ccTLD for Colombia is a popular alternative to .com, given it’s connotation to the word ‘company.’
- .io: The ccTLD for the British Indian Ocean Territory came to popularity in the early 2010s thanks to online multiplayer games, followed by tech companies.
- .ai: The Anguilla ccTLD saw tremendous growth in the 2020s thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence (or AI.)
- .ly: The Libyan ccTLD was popularized by Bitly for use in URL shorteners.
ccTLD vs gTLD
Unlike ccTLDs, gTLDs (Generic Top-Level Domains) such as .com, .org, and .net, do not have geographical associations and are used by websites without any regional targeting.
Choosing between a ccTLD and a gTLD often depends on the business’s scope, audience target, and branding strategy.
Does a ccTLD Affect SEO?
While search engines do not explicitly assign ranking value to any ccTLD, the use of one can have an indirect impact on SEO, both good and bad.
For example, a popular brand using a ccTLD may rank well in search engines, however uninitiated searchers might not recognize the extension, causing them to scroll past.
Conversely, residents in a particular locality may trust a certain website more if it uses the country’s own domain extension.
Summary
Understanding ccTLDs and how they fit into your overall web strategy is vital for targeting specific markets and enhancing your online presence. Regardless of which you choose, your success lies ultimately in your branding and marketing efforts.
