Byte Level Research has published a map that illustrates not only all 245 country codes but the size of each country and territory. The map is quite up to date and comprehensive including country codes for such places as Svalbard (.sj), Southern Georgia (.gs), and Bouvet Island (.bv), which is uninhabited.

“It used to be that companies could register a dozen country codes to effectively reach most of the world’s Internet users,” said John Yunker, president of Byte Level Research and developer of the map. “Today, companies must register as many as a hundred country codes to be competitive globally—and protect their intellectual property. This map helps professionals keep track of all these country codes—and see where the Internet is headed. For example, China is on pace to have the most popular country code on the planet by 2012,” said Yunker.

Key features of the map include:

• Country codes sized relative to the population of each country/territory
• Country codes color-coded by region for easy reference
• A detailed listing of the most popular country codes (by registration) and most populous countries

While developing the map, Yunker made the following observation: “What makes this map really interesting is that by sizing the country code according to the population of that country or territory you get a good idea of where the Internet is headed. That is, it becomes vividly apparent why China has one of the fastest-growing country codes in terms of registrations. I would not be surprised to see .cn surpass .de in registrations by 2011 or earlier. I also expect to see .in become very popular as India makes registration more affordable and as Internet penetration continues to increase. It’s also interesting to see just how populous places such as Nigeria, Egypt, and Bangladesh are relative to other countries.”

The map is available for purchase online at www.bytelevel.com/map/. A smaller version of the map that includes 180 country code domains is also available.