ISBNWhat The Numbers Mean Exactly
What The Numbers Mean Exactly•The prefix element. •The registration group identifier. •The registrant and the publisher element. •The publication element or item number. •The check digit character. •Examples.
The prefix element
The registration group identifier•The first part of the ISBN identifies a
country, area or language area participating in the ISBN system
•Example: ISBN 90- ... •All group identifiers are allocated by the
International ISBN Agency in Berlin.
0 English (UK, US, Australia, NZ, Canada, )
1 English ( South Africa, Zimbabwe)
2 French (France, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland)
3 German (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
4 Japan
5 USSR
7 China
80 Czechoslovakia
81 India (see also 93)
82 Norway
83 Poland
84 Spain
85 Brazil
86 Yugoslavia -> Serbia and Mentenegro
87 Denmark
88 Italian (Italy, Switzerland)
89 South Korea
90 Dutch/Flemish
91 Sweden
92 International (Unesco and EEC)
93 India (see also 81)
950 Argentina (see also 987)
951 Finland (see also 952)
952 Finland (see also 951)
953 Croatia (see also 86)
954 Bulgaria
955 Sri Lanka
956 Chile
957 Taiwan (see also 986)
958 Colombia
959 Cuba
960 Greece
961 Slovenia (see also 86)
962 Hong Kong (see also 988)
963 Hungary
964 Iran
965 Israel
966 Ukraine (see also 5)
967 Malaysia (see also 983)
968 Mexico (see also 970)
969 Pakistan
970 Mexico (see also 968)
971 Philippines
972 Portugal (see also 989)
973 Romania
974 Thailand
975 Turkey
976 Carribean: AG,BS,BB,BZ,DM,GD,GY,JM,MS,KN,LC,VC,TT
977 Egypt
978 Nigeria
979 Indonesia
980 Venezuela
981 Singapore (see also 9971)
982 South Pacific: CK,FJ,KI,NR,NU,SB,TK,TO,TV,VU,WS
983 Malaysia (see also 967)
984 Bangladesh
985 Belarus (see also 5)
986 Taiwan (see also 957)
987 Argentina (see also 950)
988 Hong Kong (see also 962)
989 Portugal (see also 972)
9945 Dominican Republic (see also 99934)
9946 North Korea
9947 Algeria (see also 9961)
9948 United Arab Emirates
9949 Estonia (see also 5 and 9985)
9950 Palestine
9951 Kosova
9952 Azerbaijan
9953 Lebanon
9954 Morocco (see also 9981)
9955 Lithuania (see also 5 and 9986)
9956 Cameroon
9957 Jordan
9958 Bosnia and Herzegovina (see also 86)
9959 Libya
9960 Saudi Arabia
9961 Algeria (see also 9947)
9962 Panama
9963 Cyprus
9964 Ghana (see also 9988)
9965 Kazakhstan (see also 5)
9966 Kenya
9967 Kyrgyzstan (see also 5)
9968 Costa Rica (see also 9977)
9969 -
9970 Uganda
9971 Singapore (see also 981)
9972 Peru
9973 Tunisia
9974 Uruguay
9975 Moldova (see also 5)
9976 Tanzania (see also 9987)
9977 Costa Rica (see also 9968)
9978 Ecuador
9979 Iceland
9980 Papua New Guinea
9981 Morocco (see also 9954)
9982 Zambia
9983 Gambia
9984 Latvia (see also 5)
9985 Estonia (see also 5 and 9949)
9986 Lithuania (see also 5 and 9955)
9987 Tanzania (see also 9976)
9988 Ghana (see also 9964)
9989 Macedonia (see also 86)
99900 -
99901 Bahrain
99902 Gabon (reserved)
99903 Mauritius
99904 Netherlands Antilles
99905 Bolivia
99906 Kuwait
99907 -
99908 Malawi
99909 Malta (see also 99932)
99910 Sierra Leone
99911 Lesotho
99912 Botswana
99913 Andorra (see also 99920)
99914 Suriname
99915 Maldives
99916 Namibia (see also 99945)
99917 Brunei Darussalam
99918 Faroe Islands
99919 Benin
99920 Andorra (see also 99913)
99921 Qatar
99922 Guatemala (see also 99939)
99923 El Salvador
99924 Nicaragua
99925 Paraguay
99926 Honduras
99927 Albania (see also 99943)
99928 Georgia (see also 5 and 99940)
99929 Mongolia
99930 Armenia (see also 5 and 99941)
99931 Seychelles
99932 Malta (see also 99909)
99933 Nepal (see also 99946)
99934 Dominican Republic (see also 9945)
99935 Haiti
99936 Bhutan
99937 Macau
99938 Srpska (see also 86)
99939 Guatemala (see also 99922)
99940 Georgia (see also 5 and 99928)
99941 Armenia (see also 5 and 99930)
99942 Sudan
99943 Albania (see also 99927)
99944 Ethiopia
99945 Namibia (see also 99916)
99946 Nepal (see also 99933)
99947 Tajikistan
99948 Eritrea
957 Taiwan (see also 986)
958 Colombia
959 Cuba
960 Greece
961 Slovenia (see also 86)
962 Hong Kong (see also 988)
963 Hungary
964 Iran
965 Israel
966 Ukraine (see also 5)
967 Malaysia (see also 983)
968 Mexico (see also 970)
969 Pakistan
970 Mexico (see also 968)
971 Philippines
972 Portugal (see also 989)
973 Romania
974 Thailand
975 Turkey
976 Carribean: AG,BS,BB,BZ,DM,GD,GY,JM,MS,KN,LC,VC,TT
977 Egypt
978 Nigeria
979 Indonesia
980 Venezuela
981 Singapore (see also 9971)
982 South Pacific: CK,FJ,KI,NR,NU,SB,TK,TO,TV,VU,WS
983 Malaysia (see also 967)
984 Bangladesh
985 Belarus (see also 5)
986 Taiwan (see also 957)
986 Taiwan (see also 957)
987 Argentina (see also 950)
988 Hong Kong (see also 962)
989 Portugal (see also 972)
9945 Dominican Republic (see also 99934)
9946 North Korea
9947 Algeria (see also 9961)
9948 United Arab Emirates
9949 Estonia (see also 5 and 9985)
9950 Palestine
9951 Kosova
9952 Azerbaijan
9953 Lebanon
9954 Morocco (see also 9981)
9955 Lithuania (see also 5 and 9986)
9956 Cameroon
9957 Jordan
9958 Bosnia and Herzegovina (see also 86)
9959 Libya
9960 Saudi Arabia
9961 Algeria (see also 9947)
9962 Panama
9963 Cyprus
9964 Ghana (see also 9988)
9965 Kazakhstan (see also 5)
9966 Kenya
9967 Kyrgyzstan (see also 5)
9968 Costa Rica (see also 9977)
9970 Uganda
9971 Singapore (see also 981)
9972 Peru
9973 Tunisia
9974 Uruguay
9975 Moldova (see also 5)
9976 Tanzania (see also 9987)
9977 Costa Rica (see also 9968)
9978 Ecuador
9979 Iceland
9980 Papua New Guinea
9981 Morocco (see also 9954)
9982 Zambia
9983 Gambia
9984 Latvia (see also 5)
9985 Estonia (see also 5 and 9949)
9986 Lithuania (see also 5 and 9955)
9987 Tanzania (see also 9976)
9988 Ghana (see also 9964)
9989 Macedonia (see also 86)
99900 -
99901 Bahrain
99902 Gabon (reserved)
99903 Mauritius
99904 Netherlands Antilles
99905 Bolivia
99906 Kuwait
99907 -
99908 Malawi
99909 Malta (see also 99932)
99910 Sierra Leone
99911 Lesotho
99912 Botswana
99913 Andorra (see also 99920)
99914 Suriname
99915 Maldives
99916 Namibia (see also 99945)
99917 Brunei Darussalam
99918 Faroe Islands
99919 Benin
99920 Andorra (see also 99913)
99921 Qatar
99922 Guatemala (see also 99939)
99923 El Salvador
99924 Nicaragua
99925 Paraguay
99926 Honduras
99927 Albania (see also 99943)
99928 Georgia (see also 5 and 99940)
99929 Mongolia
99930 Armenia (see also 5 and 99941)
99931 Seychelles
99932 Malta (see also 99909)
99933 Nepal (see also 99946)
99934 Dominican Republic (see also 9945)
99935 Haiti
99936 Bhutan
99937 Macau
99938 Srpska (see also 86)
99939 Guatemala (see also 99922)
99940 Georgia (see also 5 and 99928)
99941 Armenia (see also 5 and 99930)
99942 Sudan
99943 Albania (see also 99927)
99944 Ethiopia
99945 Namibia (see also 99916)
99946 Nepal (see also 99933)
99947 Tajikistan
99948 Eritrea
Pattern
Item number
0- group identifier 1- group identifierTotal
From To Number From ToNumber
6 digits 0-00-xxxxxx-x 0-19-xxxxxx-x 20 1-00-xxxxxx-x 1-09-xxxxxx-x 10 30
5 digits 0-200-xxxxx-x 0-699-xxxxx-x 500 1-100-xxxxx-x 1-399-xxxxx-x 300 800
4 digits 0-7000-xxxx-x 0-8499-xxxx-x 1500 1-4000-xxxx-x 1-5499-xxxx-x 1500 3000
3 digits0-85000-xxx-x
0-89999-xxx-x 5000 1-55000-xxx-x 1-86979-xxx-x 31980 36980
2 digits0-900000-xx-x
0-949999-xx-x 50000 1-869800-xx-x 1-998999-xx-x 129200 179200
1 digit0-9500000-x-x
0-9999999-x-x 500000 1-9990000-x-x 1-9999999-x-x 10000 510000
English-language publisher codes follow a systematic pattern, which allows their length to be easily determined, as follows:
The registrant and the publisher element• The second part of the ISBN identifies a
particular publisher within a group. The publisher identifier usually indicates the exact identification of the publishing house and its address.
• If publishers exhaust their initial contingent of title numbers, they may be allocated an additional publisher identifier. The publisher identifier may comprise up to seven digits.
• Example: ISBN 90-7000270002- ...
The publication element or Title identifier•The third part of the ISBN identifies a
specific edition of a publication of a specific publisher. A title identifier may consist of up to six digits. As an ISBN must always have ten digits, blank digits are represented by leading zeros.
•Example: ISBN 90-70002-0404 .
Check digit character
•Calculated using
For example: ISBN 0-8436-1072-7
Examples
•Calculus ISBN 0-534-27409-9•Book published from Egypt ISBN 977-353-031-0