4. Structure of the ISBN
From 1 January 2007, national ISBN agencies shall only provide ISBNs that consist of 13
digits, comprising the following elements:
  Prefix element
  Registration group element
  Registrant element
  Publication element
  Check digit
When printed, the ISBN is always preceded by the letters  ISBN . 
Note: 
In countries where the Latin alphabet is not used, an abbreviation in the characters
of the local script may be used 
in addition 
to the Latin letters  ISBN . 
The ISBN is divided into five elements, three of them of variable length; the first and last
elements are of fixed length. The elements must each be separated clearly by hyphens or
spaces when displayed in 
human readable
 form: 
ISBN 978 0 571 08989 5 
or
ISBN 978 0 571 08989 5
Note: 
The use of hyphens or spaces has no lexical significance and is purely to enhance
readability. 
The number of digits in the second, third, and fourth elements of the ISBN (registration
group element, registrant element, publication element) varies. The length of the
registration group element and of the registrant element is relative to the anticipated
publishing output of the registration group or registrant. When these elements are short in
length it indicates that the output of the registration group or the registrant (or both) is
expected to be a large number of publications. 
4.1 Prefix element
The first element of the ISBN is a three digit number that is made available by EAN
International. Prefixes that have already been made available by EAN International are
978 and 979, but there may be a further prefix allocation made in the future as required to
ensure the continued capacity of the ISBN system. 
EXAMPLE: 978
4.2 Registration group element
The second element of the ISBN identifies the country, geographical region, or language
area participating in the ISBN system. Some members of the ISBN system form language
areas (e.g., registration group number 3 = German language group); others form regional
units (e.g., registration group number 982 = South Pacific). The length of this element
varies but may comprise up to 5 digits. 
Registration group elements are allocated by the International ISBN Agency. 
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