What is hreflang?
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that indicates a language, and optionally a geographical region.
For SEO, hreflang indicates the language and geographical region for which a page’s content is suited — for example, French speakers in France. Hreflang with link tags also shows alternate versions of a page for different languages and geographies.
Use hreflang on sites with content targeting multiple languages and regions to ensure that Google serves the correct search results.
Hreflang consists of two parts: the language code and the country code. The language code uses the ISO 639-1 format, and the country code uses the ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 Code format.
We have created two handy tables for you to use to find the right hreflang language and country codes.
ISO 639-1 language codes
| ISO language name | Native name (endonym) | 639-1 Code |
| Abkhazian | аҧсуа бызшәа, аҧсшәа | ab |
| Afar | Afaraf | aa |
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans | af |
| Akan | Akan | ak |
| Albanian | Shqip | sq |
| Amharic | አማርኛ | am |
| Arabic | العربية | ar |
| Aragonese | aragonés | an |
| Armenian | Հայերեն | hy |
| Assamese | অসমীয়া | as |
| Avaric | авар мацӀ, магӀарул мацӀ | av |
| Avestan | avesta | ae |
| Aymara | aymar aru | ay |
| Azerbaijani | azərbaycan dili, تۆرکجه | az |
| Bambara | bamanankan | bm |
| Bashkir | башҡорт теле | ba |
| Basque | euskara, euskera | eu |
| Belarusian | беларуская мова | be |
| Bengali | বাংলা | bn |
| Bihari languages | भोजपुरी | bh |
| Bislama | Bislama | bi |
| Bosnian | bosanski jezik | bs |
| Breton | brezhoneg | br |
| Bulgarian | български език | bg |
| Burmese | ဗမာစာ | my |
| Catalan, Valencian | català, valencià | ca |
| Chamorro | Chamoru | ch |
| Chechen | нохчийн мотт | ce |
| Chichewa, Chewa, Nyanja | chiCheŵa, chinyanja | ny |
| Chinese | 中文 (Zhōngwén), 汉语, 漢語 | zh |
| Chuvash | чӑваш чӗлхи | cv |
| Cornish | Kernewek | kw |
| Corsican | corsu, lingua corsa | co |
| Cree | ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ | cr |
| Croatian | hrvatski jezik | hr |
| Czech | čeština, český jazyk | cs |
| Danish | dansk | da |
| Divehi, Dhivehi, Maldivian | ދިވެހި | dv |
| Dutch, Flemish | Nederlands, Vlaams | nl |
| Dzongkha | རྫོང་ཁ | dz |
| English | English | en |
| Esperanto | Esperanto | eo |
| Estonian | eesti, eesti keel | et |
| Ewe | Eʋegbe | ee |
| Faroese | føroyskt | fo |
| Fijian | vosa Vakaviti | fj |
| Finnish | suomi, suomen kieli | fi |
| French | français, langue française | fr |
| Fulah | Fulfulde, Pulaar, Pular | ff |
| Galician | Galego | gl |
| Georgian | ქართული | ka |
| German | Deutsch | de |
| Greek, Modern (1453–) | ελληνικά | el |
| Guarani | Avañe’ẽ | gn |
| Gujarati | ગુજરાતી | gu |
| Haitian, Haitian Creole | Kreyòl ayisyen | ht |
| Hausa | (Hausa) هَوُسَ | ha |
| Hebrew | עברית | he |
| Herero | Otjiherero | hz |
| Hindi | हिन्दी, हिंदी | hi |
| Hiri Motu | Hiri Motu | ho |
| Hungarian | magyar | hu |
| Interlingua | Interlingua | ia |
| Indonesian | Bahasa Indonesia | id |
| Interlingue, Occidental | (originally:) Occidental, (after WWII:) Interlingue | ie |
| Irish | Gaeilge | ga |
| Igbo | Asụsụ Igbo | ig |
| Inupiaq | Iñupiaq, Iñupiatun | ik |
| Ido | Ido | io |
| Icelandic | Íslenska | is |
| Italian | Italiano | it |
| Inuktitut | ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ | iu |
| Japanese | 日本語 (にほんご) | ja |
| Javanese | ꦧꦱꦗꦮ, Basa Jawa | jv |
| Kalaallisut, Greenlandic | kalaallisut, kalaallit oqaasii | kl |
| Kannada | ಕನ್ನಡ | kn |
| Kanuri | Kanuri | kr |
| Kashmiri | कश्मीरी, كشميري | ks |
| Kazakh | қазақ тілі | kk |
| Central Khmer | ខ្មែរ, ខេមរភាសា, ភាសាខ្មែរ | km |
| Kikuyu, Gikuyu | Gĩkũyũ | ki |
| Kinyarwanda | Ikinyarwanda | rw |
| Kirghiz, Kyrgyz | Кыргызча, Кыргыз тили | ky |
| Komi | коми кыв | kv |
| Kongo | Kikongo | kg |
| Korean | 한국어 | ko |
| Kurdish | Kurdî, کوردی | ku |
| Kuanyama, Kwanyama | Kuanyama | kj |
| Latin | latine, lingua latina | la |
| Luxembourgish, Letzeburgesch | Lëtzebuergesch | lb |
| Ganda | Luganda | lg |
| Limburgan, Limburger, Limburgish | Limburgs | li |
| Lingala | Lingála | ln |
| Lao | ພາສາລາວ | lo |
| Lithuanian | lietuvių kalba | lt |
| Luba-Katanga | Kiluba | lu |
| Latvian | latviešu valoda | lv |
| Manx | Gaelg, Gailck | gv |
| Macedonian | македонски јазик | mk |
| Malagasy | fiteny malagasy | mg |
| Malay | Bahasa Melayu, بهاس ملايو | ms |
| Malayalam | മലയാളം | ml |
| Maltese | Malti | mt |
| Maori | te reo Māori | mi |
| Marathi | मराठी | mr |
| Marshallese | Kajin M̧ajeļ | mh |
| Mongolian | Монгол хэл | mn |
| Nauru | Dorerin Naoero | na |
| Navajo, Navaho | Diné bizaad | nv |
| North Ndebele | isiNdebele | nd |
| Nepali | नेपाली | ne |
| Ndonga | Owambo | ng |
| Norwegian Bokmål | Norsk Bokmål | nb |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | Norsk Nynorsk | nn |
| Norwegian | Norsk | no |
| Sichuan Yi, Nuosu | ꆈꌠ꒿ Nuosuhxop | ii |
| South Ndebele | isiNdebele | nr |
| Occitan | occitan, lenga d’òc | oc |
| Ojibwa | ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ | oj |
| Church Slavic, Old Slavonic | ѩзыкъ словѣньскъ | cu |
| Oromo | Afaan Oromoo | om |
| Oriya | ଓଡ଼ିଆ | or |
| Ossetian, Ossetic | ирон æвзаг | os |
| Punjabi, Panjabi | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, پنجابی | pa |
| Pali | पालि, पाळि | pi |
| Persian | فارسی | fa |
| Polish | język polski, polszczyzna | pl |
| Pashto, Pushto | پښتو | ps |
| Portuguese | Português | pt |
| Quechua | Runa Simi, Kichwa | qu |
| Romansh | Rumantsch Grischun | rm |
| Rundi | Ikirundi | rn |
| Romanian, Moldavian, Moldovan | Română | ro |
| Russian | русский | ru |
| Sanskrit | संस्कृतम् | sa |
| Sardinian | sardu | sc |
| Sindhi | सिन्धी, سنڌي، سندھی | sd |
| Northern Sami | Davvisámegiella | se |
| Samoan | gagana fa’a Samoa | sm |
| Sango | yângâ tî sängö | sg |
| Serbian | српски језик | sr |
| Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic | Gàidhlig | gd |
| Shona | chiShona | sn |
| Sinhala, Sinhalese | සිංහල | si |
| Slovak | Slovenčina, Slovenský jazyk | sk |
| Slovenian | Slovenski jezik, Slovenščina | sl |
| Somali | Soomaaliga, af Soomaali | so |
| Southern Sotho | Sesotho | st |
| Spanish, Castilian | Español | es |
| Sundanese | Basa Sunda | su |
| Swahili | Kiswahili | sw |
| Swati | SiSwati | ss |
| Swedish | Svenska | sv |
| Tamil | தமிழ் | ta |
| Telugu | తెలుగు | te |
| Tajik | тоҷикӣ, toçikī, تاجیکی | tg |
| Thai | ไทย | th |
| Tigrinya | ትግርኛ | ti |
| Tibetan | བོད་ཡིག | bo |
| Turkmen | Türkmen, Түркмен | tk |
| Tagalog | Wikang Tagalog | tl |
| Tswana | Setswana | tn |
| Tonga (Tonga Islands) | Faka Tonga | to |
| Turkish | Türkçe | tr |
| Tsonga | Xitsonga | ts |
| Tatar | татар теле, tatar tele | tt |
| Twi | Twi | tw |
| Tahitian | Reo Tahiti | ty |
| Uighur, Uyghur | ئۇيغۇرچە, Uyghurche | ug |
| Ukrainian | Українська | uk |
| Urdu | اردو | ur |
| Uzbek | Oʻzbek, Ўзбек, أۇزبېك | uz |
| Venda | Tshivenḓa | ve |
| Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt | vi |
| Volapük | Volapük | vo |
| Walloon | Walon | wa |
| Welsh | Cymraeg | cy |
| Wolof | Wollof | wo |
| Western Frisian | Frysk | fy |
| Xhosa | isiXhosa | xh |
| Yiddish | ייִדיש | yi |
| Yoruba | Yorùbá | yo |
| Zhuang, Chuang | Saɯ cueŋƅ, Saw cuengh | za |
| Zulu | isiZulu | zu |
ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 Code country codes
| Country | ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 Code |
| Andorra | AD |
| United Arab Emirates | AE |
| Afghanistan | AF |
| Antigua and Barbuda | AG |
| Anguilla | AI |
| Albania | AL |
| Armenia | AM |
| Angola | AO |
| Antarctica | AQ |
| Argentina | AR |
| American Samoa | AS |
| Austria | AT |
| Australia | AU |
| Aruba | AW |
| Åland Islands | AX |
| Azerbaijan | AZ |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BA |
| Barbados | BB |
| Bangladesh | BD |
| Belgium | BE |
| Burkina Faso | BF |
| Bulgaria | BG |
| Bahrain | BH |
| Burundi | BI |
| Benin | BJ |
| Saint Barthélemy | BL |
| Bermuda | BM |
| Brunei Darussalam | BN |
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | BO |
| Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | BQ |
| Brazil | BR |
| Bahamas | BS |
| Bhutan | BT |
| Bouvet Island | BV |
| Botswana | BW |
| Belarus | BY |
| Belize | BZ |
| Canada | CA |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | CC |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | CD |
| Central African Republic | CF |
| Congo | CG |
| Switzerland | CH |
| Côte d’Ivoire | CI |
| Cook Islands | CK |
| Chile | CL |
| Cameroon | CM |
| China | CN |
| Colombia | CO |
| Costa Rica | CR |
| Cuba | CU |
| Cabo Verde | CV |
| Curaçao | CW |
| Christmas Island | CX |
| Cyprus | CY |
| Czechia | CZ |
| Germany | DE |
| Djibouti | DJ |
| Denmark | DK |
| Dominica | DM |
| Dominican Republic | DO |
| Algeria | DZ |
| Ecuador | EC |
| Estonia | EE |
| Egypt | EG |
| Western Sahara | EH |
| Eritrea | ER |
| Spain | ES |
| Ethiopia | ET |
| Finland | FI |
| Fiji | FJ |
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | FK |
| Micronesia (Federated States of) | FM |
| Faroe Islands | FO |
| France | FR |
| Gabon | GA |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | GB |
| Grenada | GD |
| Georgia | GE |
| French Guiana | GF |
| Guernsey | GG |
| Ghana | GH |
| Gibraltar | GI |
| Greenland | GL |
| Gambia | GM |
| Guinea | GN |
| Guadeloupe | GP |
| Equatorial Guinea | GQ |
| Greece | GR |
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | GS |
| Guatemala | GT |
| Guam | GU |
| Guinea-Bissau | GW |
| Guyana | GY |
| Hong Kong | HK |
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands | HM |
| Honduras | HN |
| Croatia | HR |
| Haiti | HT |
| Hungary | HU |
| Indonesia | ID |
| Ireland | IE |
| Israel | IL |
| Isle of Man | IM |
| India | IN |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | IO |
| Iraq | IQ |
| Iran (Islamic Republic of) | IR |
| Iceland | IS |
| Italy | IT |
| Jersey | JE |
| Jamaica | JM |
| Jordan | JO |
| Japan | JP |
| Kenya | KE |
| Kyrgyzstan | KG |
| Cambodia | KH |
| Kiribati | KI |
| Comoros | KM |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | KN |
| Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of) | KP |
| Korea, Republic of | KR |
| Kuwait | KW |
| Cayman Islands | KY |
| Kazakhstan | KZ |
| Lao People’s Democratic Republic | LA |
| Lebanon | LB |
| Saint Lucia | LC |
| Liechtenstein | LI |
| Sri Lanka | LK |
| Liberia | LR |
| Lesotho | LS |
| Lithuania | LT |
| Luxembourg | LU |
| Latvia | LV |
| Libya | LY |
| Morocco | MA |
| Monaco | MC |
| Moldova, Republic of | MD |
| Montenegro | ME |
| Saint Martin (French part) | MF |
| Madagascar | MG |
| Marshall Islands | MH |
| North Macedonia | MK |
| Mali | ML |
| Myanmar | MM |
| Mongolia | MN |
| Macao | MO |
| Northern Mariana Islands | MP |
| Martinique | MQ |
| Mauritania | MR |
| Montserrat | MS |
| Malta | MT |
| Mauritius | MU |
| Maldives | MV |
| Malawi | MW |
| Mexico | MX |
| Malaysia | MY |
| Mozambique | MZ |
| Namibia | NA |
| New Caledonia | NC |
| Niger | NE |
| Norfolk Island | NF |
| Nigeria | NG |
| Nicaragua | NI |
| Netherlands | NL |
| Norway | NO |
| Nepal | NP |
| Nauru | NR |
| Niue | NU |
| New Zealand | NZ |
| Oman | OM |
| Panama | PA |
| Peru | PE |
| French Polynesia | PF |
| Papua New Guinea | PG |
| Philippines | PH |
| Pakistan | PK |
| Poland | PL |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | PM |
| Pitcairn | PN |
| Puerto Rico | PR |
| Palestine, State of | PS |
| Portugal | PT |
| Palau | PW |
| Paraguay | PY |
| Qatar | QA |
| Réunion | RE |
| Romania | RO |
| Serbia | RS |
| Russian Federation | RU |
| Rwanda | RW |
| Saudi Arabia | SA |
| Solomon Islands | SB |
| Seychelles | SC |
| Sudan | SD |
| Sweden | SE |
| Singapore | SG |
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha | SH |
| Slovenia | SI |
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen | SJ |
| Slovakia | SK |
| Sierra Leone | SL |
| San Marino | SM |
| Senegal | SN |
| Somalia | SO |
| Suriname | SR |
| South Sudan | SS |
| Sao Tome and Principe | ST |
| El Salvador | SV |
| Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | SX |
| Syrian Arab Republic | SY |
| Eswatini | SZ |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | TC |
| Chad | TD |
| French Southern Territories | TF |
| Togo | TG |
| Thailand | TH |
| Tajikistan | TJ |
| Tokelau | TK |
| Timor-Leste | TL |
| Turkmenistan | TM |
| Tunisia | TN |
| Tonga | TO |
| Turkey | TR |
| Trinidad and Tobago | TT |
| Tuvalu | TV |
| Taiwan, Province of China | TW |
| Tanzania, United Republic of | TZ |
| Ukraine | UA |
| Uganda | UG |
| United States Minor Outlying Islands | UM |
| United States of America | US |
| Uruguay | UY |
| Uzbekistan | UZ |
| Holy See | VA |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | VC |
| Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | VE |
| Virgin Islands (British) | VG |
| Virgin Islands (U.S.) | VI |
| Viet Nam | VN |
| Vanuatu | VU |
| Wallis and Futuna | WF |
| Samoa | WS |
| Yemen | YE |
| Mayotte | YT |
| South Africa | ZA |
| Zambia | ZM |
| Zimbabwe | ZW |
Wrapping up
Hopefully, you find these tables a useful reference when adding hreflang attributes to your pages.
If you would like to find out more about our technical SEO services, contact us by emailing hello@emiquent.com.
