ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 English country names and code elements. This list states the country names (official short names in English) in alphabetical order as given in ISO 3166-1 and the corresponding ISO 3166-1-alpha-2 code elements.
This list is updated whenever a change to the official code list in ISO 3166-1 is effected by the ISO 3166/MA.
It lists 250 official short names and code elements as of Dec 2012.
This material is licensed by its maintainers under the Public Domain Dedication and License.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that this material is ultimately sourced from ISO and their rights and licensing policy is somewhat unclear. As this is a short, simple database of facts there is a strong argument that no rights can subsist in this collection. However, ISO state on their site:
ISO makes the list of alpha-2 country codes available for internal use and non-commercial purposes free of charge.
This carries the implication (though not spelled out) that other uses are not permitted and that, therefore, there may be rights preventing further general use and reuse.