Unicode and ISO 10646

Q: What is the relation between ISO/IEC 10646 and Unicode?

In 1991, the ISO Working Group responsible for ISO/IEC 10646 (JTC 1/SC 2/WG 2) and the Unicode Consortium decided to create one universal standard for coding multilingual text. Since then, the ISO 10646 Working Group (SC 2/WG 2) and the Unicode Consortium have worked together very closely to extend the standard and to keep their respective versions synchronized. [EH]

Q: What are the differences between ISO/IEC 10646 and Unicode?

While the character codes and encoding forms are synchronized between Unicode and ISO/IEC 10646, the Unicode Standard imposes additional constraints on implementations to ensure that they treat characters uniformly across platforms and applications. To this end, it supplies an extensive set of functional character specifications, character data, algorithms and substantial background material that is not part of ISO/IEC 10646.

Q: Where do I find out which version of ISO/IEC 10646 is equivalent to a given version of the Unicode Standard?

Each version of the Unicode Standard identifies the corresponding version of ISO/IEC 10646. Start with https://www.unicode.org/versions/ and, in the navigation bar on the left, follow the link for the version of the Unicode Standard you are interested in. The overview page for each version provides information about the relation to ISO/IEC 10646 versions in the summary or overview part near the top. Some versions of the Unicode Standard are synchronized to a combination of ISO/IEC 10646 and one or more amendments.   [AF]

Q: How do I get a physical copy of ISO/IEC 10646 ?

You can purchase copies of ISO/IEC 10646 and its amendments directly from the ISO Store or from the ANSI e-Standards Store. 

Q: Where can I download for ISO/IEC 10646 for free?

ISO/IEC 10646:2020 (6th edition) is available for free download from: http://standards.iso.org/ittf/PubliclyAvailableStandards/index.html.