| ABEDA | Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa |
| ACCT | Agency for the French-Speaking Community (see International Organization of the French-speaking World) |
| ACP Group | African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States |
| AfDB | African Development Bank |
| AFESD | Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development |
| Air Pollution | Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution |
| Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides | Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or Their Transboundary Fluxes |
| Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants | Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Air Pollution-Sulphur 85 | Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions or Their Transboundary Fluxes by at Least 30% |
| Air Pollution-Sulphur 94 | Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Further Reduction of Sulphur Emissions |
| Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds | Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or Their Transboundary Fluxes |
| AMF | Arab Monetary Fund |
| AMU | Arab Maghreb Union |
| Antarctic-Environmental Protocol | Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty |
| Antarctic Marine Living Resources | Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources |
| Antarctic Seals | Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals |
| ANZUS | Australia-New Zealand-United States Security Treaty |
| APEC | Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation |
| Arabsat | Arab Satellite Communications Organization |
| ARF | ASEAN Regional Forum |
| ADB | Asian Development Bank |
| ASEAN | Association of Southeast Asian Nations |
| AU | African Union |
| Autodin | Automatic Digital Network |
| BA | Baltic Assembly |
| bbl/day | barrels per day |
| BCIE | Central American Bank for Economic Integration |
| BDEAC | Central African States Development Bank |
| Benelux | Benelux Economic Union |
| BIMSTEC | Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation |
| Biodiversity | Convention on Biological Diversity |
| BGN | United States Board on Geographic Names |
| BIS | Bank for International Settlements |
| BSEC | Black Sea Economic Cooperation Zone |
| C | Commonwealth |
| c.i.f. | cost, insurance, and freight |
| CACM | Central American Common Market |
| CAEU | Council of Arab Economic Unity |
| CAN | Andean Community of Nations |
| Caricom | Caribbean Community and Common Market |
| CB | citizen’s band mobile radio communications |
| CBSS | Council of the Baltic Sea States |
| CCC | Customs Cooperation Council |
| CDB | Caribbean Development Bank |
| CE | Council of Europe |
| CEI | Central European Initiative |
| CEMAC | Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa |
| CEPGL | Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries |
| CERN | European Organization for Nuclear Research |
| CEPT | Conference Europeanne des Poste et Telecommunications |
| CIS | Commonwealth of Independent States |
| CITES | see Endangered Species |
| Climate Change | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol | Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| COCOM | Coordinating Committee on Export Controls |
| Comsat | Communications Satellite Corporation |
| COMESA | Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa |
| CP | Colombo Plan |
| CPLP | Comunidade dos Paises de Lingua Portuguesa |
| CSTO | Collective Security Treaty Organization |
| CTBTO | Preparation commission for the Nuclear-Ban-Treaty Operation |
| CY | calendar year |
| DC | developed country |
| DDT | dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane |
| Desertification | United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa |
| DIA | United States Defense Intelligence Agency |
| DSN | Defense Switched Network |
| DST | daylight savings time |
| DWT | deadweight ton |
| EAC | East African Community |
| EADB | East African Development Bank |
| EAEC | Eurasian Economic Community |
| EAPC | Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council |
| EBRD | European Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| EC | European Community |
| ECA | Economic Commission for Africa |
| ECE | Economic Commission for Europe |
| ECLAC | Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean |
| ECO | Economic Cooperation Organization |
| ECOSOC | Economic and Social Council |
| ECOWAS | Economic Community of West African States |
| ECSC | European Coal and Steel Community |
| EEC | European Economic Community |
| EFTA | European Free Trade Association |
| EEZ | exclusive economic zone |
| EIB | European Investment Bank |
| EMU | European Monetary Union |
| Endangered Species | Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) |
| Entente | Council of the Entente |
| Environmental Modification | Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques |
| ESA | European Space Agency |
| ESCAP | Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific |
| ESCWA | Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia |
| est. | estimate |
| EU | European Union |
| Euratom | European Atomic Energy Community |
| Eutelsat | European Telecommunications Satellite Organization |
| Ex-Im | Export-Import Bank of the United States |
| f.o.b. | free on board |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization |
| FAX | facsimile |
| FLS | Front Line States |
| FOC | flags of convenience |
| FSU | former Soviet Union |
| FY | fiscal year |
| FZ | Franc Zone |
| G-2 | Group of 2 |
| G-3 | Group of 3 |
| G-5 | Group of 5 |
| G-6 | Group of 6 |
| G-7 | Group of 7 |
| G-8 | Group of 8 |
| G-9 | Group of 9 |
| G-10 | Group of 10 |
| G-15 | Group of 15 |
| G-11 | Group of 11 |
| G-24 | Group of 24 |
| G-77 | Group of 77 |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; now WTO |
| GCC | Gulf Cooperation Council |
| GCTU | General Confederation of Trade Unions |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| GMT | Greenwich Mean Time |
| GNP | gross national product |
| GRT | gross register ton |
| GSM | global system for mobile cellular communications |
| GUAM | Organization for Democracy and Economic Development; acronym for member states – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova |
| GWP | gross world product |
| Hazardous Wastes | Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal |
| HF | high-frequency |
| HIV/AIDS | human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
| IADB | Inter-American Development Bank |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency |
| IANA | Internet Assigned Numbers Authority |
| IBRD | International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| ICC | International Chamber of Commerce |
| ICCt | International Criminal Court |
| ICJ | International Court of Justice (World Court) |
| ICRC | International Committee of the Red Cross |
| ICRM | International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement |
| ICSID | International Center for Secretariat of Investment Disputes |
| ICTR | International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda |
| ICTY | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia |
| IDA | International Development Association |
| IDB | Islamic Development Bank |
| IDP | Internally Displaced Person |
| IEA | International Energy Agency |
| IFAD | International Fund for Agricultural Development |
| IFC | International Finance Corporation |
| IFRCS | International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
| IGAD | Inter-Governmental Authority on Development |
| IHO | International Hydrographic Organization |
| ILO | International Labor Organization |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund |
| IMO | International Maritime Organization |
| IMSO | International Mobile Satellite Organization |
| Inmarsat | International Maritime Satellite Organization |
| InOC | Indian Ocean Commission |
| INSTRAW | International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women |
| Intelsat | International Telecommunications Satellite Organization |
| Interpol | International Criminal Police Organization |
| Intersputnik | International Organization of Space Communications |
| IOC | International Olympic Committee |
| IOM | International Organization for Migration |
| IPU | Inter-parliamentary Union |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider |
| ITSO | International Telecommunications Satellites Organization |
| ITU | International Telecommunication Union |
| ITUC | International Trade Union Confederation, the successor to ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions) and the WCL (World Confederation of Labor) |
| kHz | kilohertz |
| km | kilometer |
| kW | kilowatt |
| kWh | kilowatt-hour |
| LAES | Latin American Economic System |
| LAIA | Latin American Integration Association |
| LAS | League of Arab States |
| Law of the Sea | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS) |
| LDC | less developed country |
| LLDC | least developed country |
| London Convention | see Marine Dumping |
| LOS | see Law of the Sea |
| m | meter |
| Marecs | Maritime European Communications Satellite |
| Marine Dumping | Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter |
| Marine Life Conservation | Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas |
| MARPOL | see Ship Pollution |
| Medarabtel | Middle East Telecommunications Project of the International Telecommunications Union |
| Mercosur | Southern Cone Common Market |
| MHz | megahertz |
| MICAH | International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti |
| MINURSO | United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara |
| MIGA | Multilateral Investment Geographic Agency |
| MINUSTAH | United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti |
| MONUC | United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| NA | not available |
| NAFTA | North American Free Trade Agreement |
| NAM | Nonaligned Movement |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| NC | Nordic Council |
| NEA | Nuclear Energy Agency |
| NEGL | negligible |
| NGA | National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency |
| NIB | Nordic Investment Bank |
| NIC | newly industrializing country |
| NIE | newly industrializing economy |
| NIS | new independent states |
| nm | nautical mile |
| NMT | Nordic Mobile Telephone |
| NSG | Nuclear Suppliers Group |
| Nuclear Test Ban | Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water |
| NZ | New Zealand |
| OAPEC | Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| OAS | Organization of American States |
| OAU | Organization of African Unity; see African Union |
| ODA | official development assistance |
| OECD | Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development |
| OECS | Organization of Eastern Caribbean States |
| OHCHR | Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |
| OIC | Organization of the Islamic Conference |
| OIF | International Organization of the French-speaking World |
| ONUB | United Nations Operation in Burundi |
| OOF | other official flows |
| OPANAL | Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean |
| OPCW | Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons |
| OPEC | Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| OSCE | Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe |
| Ozone Layer Protection | Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer |
| PCA | Permanent Court of Arbitration |
| PFP | Partnership for Peace |
| PIF | Pacific Islands Forum |
| PPP | purchasing power parity |
| Ramsar | see Wetlands |
| RG | Rio Group |
| SAARC | South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation |
| SACU | Southern African Customs Union |
| SACEP | South Asia Co-opeative Environment Programme |
| SADC | Southern African Development Community |
| SCO | Shanghai Cooperation Organization |
| SAFE | South African Far East Cable |
| SECI | Southeast European Cooperative Initiative |
| SHF | super-high-frequency |
| Ship Pollution | Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 (MARPOL) |
| Sparteca | South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement |
| SPC | Secretariat of the Pacific Communities |
| SPF | South Pacific Forum |
| sq km | square kilometer |
| sq mi | square mile |
| TAT | Trans-Atlantic Telephone |
| TEU | Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit |
| Tropical Timber 83 | International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983 |
| Tropical Timber 94 | International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994 |
| UAE | United Arab Emirates |
| UDEAC | Central African Customs and Economic Union |
| UHF | ultra-high-frequency |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| UN | United Nations |
| UNAMSIL | United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone |
| UNCLOS | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, also know as LOS |
| UNCTAD | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |
| UNDCP | United Nations Drug Control Program |
| UNDOF | United Nations Disengagement Observer Force |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Program |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Program |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |
| UNFICYP | United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus |
| UNFPA | United Nations Population Fund |
| UNHCR | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children’s Fund |
| UNICRI | United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute |
| UNIDIR | United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research |
| UNIDO | United Nations Industrial Development Organization |
| UNIFIL | United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon |
| UNITAR | United Nations Institute for Training and Research |
| UNMEE | United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea |
| UNMIK | United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo |
| UNMIL | United Nations Mission in Liberia |
| UNMIT | United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste |
| UNMOGIP | United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan |
| UNMOVIC | United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission |
| UNOCI | United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire |
| UNOMIG | United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia |
| UNOPS | United Nations Office of Project Services |
| UNRISD | United Nations Research Institute for Social Development |
| UNRWA | United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East |
| UNSC | United Nations Security Council |
| UNSSC | Untied Nations System Staff College |
| UNTSO | United Nations Truce Supervision Organization |
| UNU | United Nations University |
| UNWTO | World Tourism Organization |
| UPU | Universal Postal Union |
| US | United States |
| USSR | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union); used for information dated before 25 December 1991 |
| UTC | Coordinated Universal Time |
| UV | ultra violet |
| VHF | very-high-frequency |
| VSAT | very small aperture terminal |
| WADB | West African Development Bank |
| WAEMU | West African Economic and Monetary Union |
| WCL | World Confederation of Labor |
| WCO | World Customs Organization |
| Wetlands | Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially As Waterfowl Habitat |
| WEU | Western European Union |
| WFP | World Food Program |
| WFTU | World Federation of Trade Unions |
| Whaling | International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WIPO | World Intellectual Property Organization |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
| WP | Warsaw Pact |
| WTO | World Trade Organization |
| ZC | Zangger Committee |
