DXCC Country List and Callsign Prefix Reference

The DXCC (DX Century Club) programme is the premier DX award in amateur radio, issued by the ARRL for confirmed contacts with 100 or more distinct DXCC entities. This searchable reference covers the most commonly worked DXCC entities with their primary callsign prefixes, continent, CQ zone, and ITU zone. Use the search box or continent filter to find any entry.

A DXCC entity is not simply a country in the political sense. The ARRL uses a specific set of criteria to define entities, which means some politically unified countries count as multiple entities (the United States includes Alaska, Hawaii, and various territories as separate entities) while some politically separate territories may not qualify at all.

The two primary criteria are the separation criterion (land areas separated from their parent country by open sea, or separated by another DXCC entity, may qualify separately) and the size criterion (an area must meet a minimum size threshold). The full rules are published in the DXCC Rules document available from the ARRL.

The total number of current DXCC entities fluctuates as political changes occur worldwide — new countries gain independence, territories change status, and the ARRL periodically reviews borderline cases. The list currently stands at around 340 entities. Not all of these are active at any given time; some rare entities may go years between activations.

Every amateur radio callsign begins with a prefix that identifies the country or territory of the licence. The prefix is typically one or two letters sometimes followed by a digit. For example W, K, N and AA–AL all indicate United States stations. VK indicates Australia, JA indicates Japan, and DL indicates Germany.

Some prefixes are shared across multiple entities. The G prefix covers England, while GW is Wales, GM is Scotland, and GI is Northern Ireland — all separate DXCC entities despite sharing the G base prefix. Similarly VE covers all Canadian provinces but each province is the same DXCC entity (Canada), while some Canadian territories have their own unique entities.

When you hear a callsign on the air, the ITU prefix allocation lets you immediately identify where the station is licensed. The QRZ.com database and ClubLog are the standard tools for looking up specific callsigns and verifying their DXCC entity.