There is a popular tip that goes around social media every few months: check the first three digits of a barcode to see where a product was really made. 690 means China, 890 means India, 00 to 13 means the USA, and so on.
The numbers are real. The conclusion is wrong. Here is what those digits actually mean and what a barcode can and cannot tell you.
What the First Digits Really Are
Most retail products carry an EAN-13 barcode (13 digits) or, in North America, a UPC-A barcode (12 digits). Both are managed by GS1, a non profit standards body with member organisations in more than 100 countries.
An EAN-13 number breaks down like this:
| Part | Example (5901234123457) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| GS1 prefix | 590 | Which national GS1 office issued the number |
| Company number | 1234 | The specific brand owner |
| Item reference | 12345 | The specific product and size |
| Check digit | 7 | Error check calculated from the other digits |
The split between company number and item reference varies. Large companies get shorter company numbers so they have room for more products.
The key word is **issued**. A company joins its local GS1 office, pays a fee and receives a block of numbers starting with that country's prefix. The prefix records where the brand owner registered, nothing more.
Why the Prefix Is Not the Country of Origin
GS1 says this directly: the prefix does not identify the country where a product was made. In practice:
- Brands manufacture abroad. A British company that has its products made in Vietnam still prints its 50 prefix barcodes on them
- Companies register where they sell. An exporter may join the GS1 office in its main market, so a product made in one country carries another country's prefix
- Retailers use their own codes. Supermarket own brand items carry the retailer's company prefix, whoever the supplier is
So a 690 to 699 prefix suggests the brand owner registered with GS1 China. It is a hint about the company, not a guarantee about the factory. For country of origin, read the "Made in" line on the packaging, which is the statement legally required in many markets.
Common GS1 Country Prefixes
Here are some of the prefixes you will see most often. GS1 publishes the full list.
| Prefix | GS1 member organisation |
|---|---|
| 000 to 019, 030 to 039, 060 to 139 | United States and Canada |
| 300 to 379 | France and Monaco |
| 400 to 440 | Germany |
| 450 to 459, 490 to 499 | Japan |
| 460 to 469 | Russia |
| 471 | Taiwan |
| 489 | Hong Kong |
| 500 to 509 | United Kingdom |
| 540 to 549 | Belgium and Luxembourg |
| 690 to 699 | China |
| 750 | Mexico |
| 760 to 769 | Switzerland |
| 789 to 790 | Brazil |
| 800 to 839 | Italy |
| 840 to 849 | Spain |
| 869 | Turkey |
| 870 to 879 | Netherlands |
| 880 | South Korea |
| 890 | India |
| 930 to 939 | Australia |
| 940 to 949 | New Zealand |
UPC barcodes on North American products have 12 digits. Read as an EAN-13, they gain a leading zero, which is why US and Canadian products fall in the 0 range.
Prefixes That Are Not Countries at All
Some ranges are reserved for special uses. These are a common source of confusion.
- 978 and 979 (Bookland). Books. The rest of the barcode is the ISBN
- 977. Magazines and other serial publications, carrying an ISSN
- 20 to 29. Restricted circulation numbers used inside a single store or company. Loose fruit, deli counter items and anything sold by weight often carry these, sometimes with the price or weight built into the number
- 02 and 04. Also used for restricted, in-store numbering in some systems
- 980 to 984 and 99. Refund receipts, coupons and vouchers
If you scan a weighed cheese at home and the number looks meaningless online, this is why. It only means something inside that shop's system.
How to Check a Barcode Is Valid
The last digit of an EAN-13 or UPC barcode is a check digit, so a typo or a damaged print can be caught. You can verify it by hand:
1. Take the first 12 digits of an EAN-13
2. Multiply them alternately by 1 and 3, starting with 1
3. Add up the results
4. The check digit is the number you need to add to reach the next multiple of 10
For 590123412345: 5x1 + 9x3 + 0x1 + 1x3 + 2x1 + 3x3 + 4x1 + 1x3 + 2x1 + 3x3 + 4x1 + 5x3 = 83. The next multiple of 10 is 90, so the check digit is 7, giving 5901234123457.
If the result does not match the printed last digit, the number was copied wrong or the code is not a real retail barcode. A valid check digit only proves the number is well formed, though. It does not prove the product is genuine, and counterfeiters can print correct barcodes just as easily as anyone else.
What a Barcode Can and Cannot Tell You
| Question | Can the barcode answer it? |
|---|---|
| Which company registered the product? | Usually, via a GS1 lookup |
| Which country the company registered in? | Usually, via the prefix |
| Where the product was made? | No. Check the packaging |
| Whether the product is genuine? | No |
| The product name and size? | Often, via an online product database |
| The price? | Only for in-store weighed items with a 2 prefix |
For a deeper look at how barcodes differ from QR codes, which can store whole web addresses instead of a single number, see our post on barcode vs QR code.
Scanning a Barcode on iPhone
The built in Camera app on iPhone is good at QR codes but does not show product barcodes. For EAN and UPC codes you need a scanner app.
Smart QR is our free QR and barcode reader for iPhone. It reads EAN-13, UPC and other common formats, shows you the number, and keeps a history of what you have scanned. That makes it quick to check a prefix, compare two products or look an item up online.
To be clear about the limit, a scanner reads what the barcode encodes. It cannot tell you where something was made if the barcode does not contain that information, and for retail barcodes it never does. Our guide to scanning codes on iPhone covers the built in options too.
The Short Version
- The first two or three digits of a barcode are a GS1 prefix
- The prefix shows where the brand registered its numbers, not where the product was made
- 978 and 979 mean books, 977 means magazines, and 20 to 29 means in-store items
- The last digit is a check digit you can verify with a simple sum
- For country of origin, trust the "Made in" label, not the barcode