Country
RIXML 2.5 Element
Represents nations or sovereign territories referenced in research analysis. The mandatory code attribute uses ISO 3166-1 country codes, while the optional primaryIndicator attribute designates which countries are most relevant to the research content.
Strongly recommended. Indicates the country or countries that are discussed in a research product.
Usage
Include zero to many Country elements within ProductClassifications to specify which nations the research addresses. Set primaryIndicator to Yes for the most important countries discussed. Level One prohibits Rating and Weighting child elements.
Business Context
Essential for geographic tagging and content routing, enabling distribution platforms to filter research by territorial focus and helping clients identify region-specific analysis.
Specification Guide
Overview
Country identifies a specific nation or sovereign territory that is discussed, analysed, or otherwise referenced by a research product, using an ISO 3166-1 country code. It is the primary geographic-classification tag in RIXML and underpins country-level routing, filtering, entitlement enforcement, and country-focused investment analysis. Country elements typically appear within Countries inside ProductClassifications (under Context), and also within CountryEntitlement for geographic distribution restrictions.
Usage
Country is strongly recommended whenever the research has any geographic dimension (sources: data-dictionary-2.4 p.57, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.60, data-dictionary-v3-draft p.44). Cardinality is zero-or-more within Countries/ProductClassifications, so multiple countries can be listed for multi-country coverage and ordered via the sequence attribute.
The code attribute is required and carries the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 two-letter code (e.g. US, GB, JP). The primaryIndicator attribute marks which countries are the principal focus of the product; when ProductFocus is set to Country, at least one Country element MUST have primaryIndicator="Yes" [user-guide-2.1 p.32; data-dictionary-2.4 p.57].
Optional attributes include emergingIndicator for emerging-market designation, and the publisher-action attributes coverageAction, ratingAction and weightingAction for signalling changes in coverage, rating, or weighting at the country level. In the full schema Country may contain Rating and Weighting child elements for country-level assessments; in Level One it is restricted to attributes only.
Rules
- MUSTThe code attribute MUST use an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 two-letter country code (e.g.
US).[Best Practices for Publishing RIXML p.8] [RIXML Implementation Guide v2.5.1 p.29] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.60] - MUSTWhen ProductFocus is set to Country, at least one Country element MUST have primaryIndicator set to
Yes.[RIXML User Guide v2.1 p.32] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.4 p.57] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.60] [RIXML User Guide v2.3.1 p.41] - SHOULDCountry SHOULD be included whenever the research product discusses one or more specific countries, since it is a strongly recommended geographic classification element.[RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.4 p.57] [RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1 p.60] [RIXML Research Suite Data Dictionary v3.0 (DRAFT) p.44]↗
- INFORMATIVELevel One compliance does not require Rating or Weighting child elements inside Country; these children are part of the full schema only and MAY be omitted (or treated as not supported) by Level One consumers.[RIXML Level One Addendum v2.2 p.25] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.3.1 p.20] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.4 p.20] [RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5 p.20]
- SHOULDIn RIXML v3.0 (draft), automated-tagging attributes such as
tagSourceandtagConfidenceSHOULD be supported on Country alongside other key taxonomic tags like Region, AssetClass and Subject.[RIXML All-Member Meeting September 2023 p.31]↗ [RIXML Research Suite Data Dictionary v3.0 (DRAFT) p.44]↗
Relationships
- constrained-byISO3166-1CountryType — The code attribute is typed by ISO3166-1CountryType, restricting values to the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code list.
- child-ofProductClassifications — Country appears (via Countries) as a classification entry within ProductClassifications under Context to describe the geographic scope of the research.
- conditionally-required-byProductFocus — When ProductFocus is set to Country, at least one Country must be marked primary via primaryIndicator.
- used-byCountryEntitlement — Country is reused inside CountryEntitlement to express geographic entitlement or distribution restrictions.
- may-containRating — In the full schema, Country may contain one or more Rating child elements expressing country-level ratings. Level One does not include this child.
- may-containWeighting — In the full schema, Country may contain one or more Weighting child elements expressing country-level weightings. Level One does not include this child.
- complementsRegion — Country tags individual nations, while Region tags broader geographic areas; the two are typically used together to describe the geographic scope of research.
Where It Fits
Definition
| Type | |
| Namespace | http://www.rixml.org/2017/9/RIXML |
| Min Occurs | 1 |
| Max Occurs | 1 |
Attributes
The ISO 3166-1 code for the country. required |
emergingIndicatorYesNoEnum |
Indicates whether the publisher defines this country as an emerging market. optionalSince 2.1 |
sequenceinteger |
Used to indicate any meaningful ordering of the Products contained in this Research item. Particularly useful in publishing compendium products made up of multiple sub-products. Ordering is ascending. optionalSince 2.1 |
primaryIndicatorYesNoEnum |
Indicates the primary country or countries discussed in the research product. If the product is focused on the Country level (i.e. the ProductFocus tag is set to Country), then at least one Country must be marked as primary. required |
coverageActionCoverageActionEnum |
Highlights an action taken by the publisher. Indicates that the publisher is changing the coverage status of a Security. Example: a publisher initiates coverage of Security ABC. optionalSince 2.1 |
ratingActionRatingActionEnum |
Highlights an action taken by the publisher. Indicates that the publisher is changing their rating on a Security. Example: a publisher downgrades Security ABC. optionalSince 2.1 |
weightingActionWeightingActionEnum |
Highlights an action taken by the publisher. Indicates that the publisher is changing the weighting of the security type. optionalSince 2.1 |
Example
<Country code="example"
primaryIndicator="Yes" />Version History
Unchanged since introduction in RIXML 2.1
Country has been part of the RIXML classification model since at least v2.1, where the conditional rule linking it to ProductFocus = Country was already documented [user-guide-2.1 p.32].
- v2.2 – v2.5: Stable definition. Required code (ISO 3166-1) and optional primaryIndicator. From v2.3.1 onward the user guide and data dictionary document optional emergingIndicator, sequence and publisher-action attributes (coverageAction, ratingAction, weightingAction), and child Rating / Weighting elements in the full schema (sources: user-guide-2.3.1 p.41, data-dictionary-2.4 p.57, data-dictionary-2.5.1 p.60).
- Level One profiles (2.2 – 2.5): Consistently exclude Rating and Weighting child elements from Country to simplify the profile (sources: level-one-2.2 p.25, level-one-2.3.1 p.20, level-one-2.4 p.20, level-one-2.5 p.20).
- v3.0 (draft): Country is placed inside a CountryList wrapper. Attribute names move to a more modern style — isPrimary and isEmerging (boolean) replace primaryIndicator/emergingIndicator, and new automated-tagging attributes tagSource and tagConfidence are added. Country-level ratings and weightings are exposed via aggregated RatingList and WeightingList structures (sources: data-dictionary-v3-draft p.44, meeting-2023-09 p.31).
Business Rules
If the product is focused on the Country level (ProductFocus tag is set to Country), then at least one Country must be marked as primary
Level One does not allow Country elements within ProductClassifications to contain Rating or Weighting elements
For company reports, all elements describing the primary company's characteristics (sector/industry, region, country) must have their primaryIndicator set to Yes
Design Decisions
At least one Country must be marked as primary when the product is focused at the Country level
When ProductFocus tag is set to Country, there must be at least one primary Country to indicate the main geographic focus of the research product
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.61
Semantic Relationships
Constrains3 relationships
At least one country must be marked as primary when product focus is set to Country level
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.61— primaryIndicator (Required, YesNoEnum)
Country identification must use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard two-letter codes rather than alternative country naming conventions to ensure standardized geographic tagging
RIXML Implementation Guide v2.5.1, p.29— Country Codes
Country code attribute must use values from ISO 3166-1 standard
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.20— Research.Product.Context.ProductClassifications.Country
Contrasts With1 relationship
When focus is Region, the report emphasizes regional analysis rather than individual countries mentioned
RIXML Research Data Dictionary v2.5.1, p.83— Region
Blocks Action2 relationships
Level One specification prohibits Country elements from containing Rating child elements
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.20— Research.Product.Context.ProductClassifications.Country
Level One specification prohibits Country elements from containing Weighting child elements
RIXML Level One Addendum v2.5, p.20— Research.Product.Context.ProductClassifications.Country