Will More Countries Switch from Second-Level Domains to Flat Country-Code Domains?

There are still major examples that retain structured namespaces, including Brazil, Japan, and South Korea. The Netherlands is also an example where government services use a dedicated structure such as .gov.nl. That kind of separation can be useful because visitors immediately know they are dealing with an official government site, unlike the mostly cosmetic distinction between a general domain and a commercial subdomain.

Each country-code registry makes its own rules, so there isn't a universal transition plan. Flat domains are attractive because they're shorter and give registries more names to sell, especially now that there are thousands of other top-level domains competing for attention. That said, many countries still deliberately use categories such as commercial, organizational, or government subdomains.

The UK introduced .uk in 2014, and Australia opened .au registrations in 2022 after many years of relying on .co.uk and .com.au. New Zealand has also allowed direct .nz registrations. These changes are possible, but adoption can remain limited because businesses already use and recognize the older domains. A registry may introduce a flat option without it replacing the traditional one.

A practical way to compare countries is to inspect the Public Suffix List and registration-zone data. If a country has lots of direct registrations beneath its country-code domain, flat naming is already common. If nearly everything appears under structures like .co.xx or .com.xx, direct registration is probably restricted. Smaller registries may be more willing to change, but predicting a specific country is difficult.