diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 21c66b5d0a9..9b355170836 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
     "alpha-shape": "^1.0.0",
     "arraytools": "^1.0.0",
     "convex-hull": "^1.0.3",
+    "country-regex": "^1.0.0",
     "d3": "^3.5.12",
     "delaunay-triangulate": "^1.1.6",
     "es6-promise": "^3.0.2",
diff --git a/src/constants/country-name_to_iso3.js b/src/constants/country-name_to_iso3.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 493ce1d2d00..00000000000
--- a/src/constants/country-name_to_iso3.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,268 +0,0 @@
-/**
-* Copyright 2012-2016, Plotly, Inc.
-* All rights reserved.
-*
-* This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
-* LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
-*/
-
-
-'use strict';
-
-module.exports = {
-    DZA: 'algeria',
-    AGO: 'angola',
-    EGY: 'egypt',
-    BGD: 'bangladesh|^(?=.*east).*paki?stan',
-    NER: '\\bniger(?!ia)',
-    LIE: 'liechtenstein',
-    NAM: 'namibia',
-    BGR: 'bulgaria',
-    BOL: 'bolivia',
-    GHA: 'ghana|gold.?coast',
-    CCK: '\\bcocos|keeling',
-    PAK: '^(?!.*east).*paki?stan',
-    CPV: 'verde',
-    JOR: 'jordan',
-    LBR: 'liberia',
-    LBY: 'libya',
-    MYS: 'malaysia',
-    IOT: 'british.?indian.?ocean',
-    PRI: 'puerto.?rico',
-    MYT: 'mayotte',
-    PRK: '^(?=.*democrat).*\\bkorea|^(?=.*people).*\\bkorea|^(?=.*north).*\\bkorea|\\bd\\.?p\\.?r\\.?k',
-    PSE: 'palestin|\\bgaza|west.?bank',
-    TZA: 'tanzania',
-    BWA: 'botswana|bechuana',
-    KHM: 'cambodia|kampuchea|khmer|^p\\.?r\\.?k\\.?$',
-    UMI: 'minor.?outlying.?is',
-    TTO: 'trinidad|tobago',
-    PRY: 'paraguay',
-    HKG: 'hong.?kong',
-    SAU: '\\bsa\\w*.?arabia',
-    LBN: 'lebanon',
-    SVN: 'slovenia',
-    BFA: 'burkina|\\bfaso|upper.?volta',
-    SVK: '^(?!.*cze).*slovak',
-    MRT: 'mauritania',
-    HRV: 'croatia',
-    CHL: '\\bchile',
-    CHN: '^(?!.*\\bmac)(?!.*\\bhong)(?!.*\\btai).*china|^p\\.?r\\.?c\\.?$',
-    KNA: 'kitts|\\bnevis',
-    JAM: 'jamaica',
-    SMR: 'san.?marino',
-    GIB: 'gibraltar',
-    DJI: 'djibouti',
-    GIN: '^(?!.*eq)(?!.*span)(?!.*bissau)(?!.*portu)(?!.*new).*guinea',
-    FIN: 'finland',
-    URY: 'uruguay',
-    VAT: 'holy.?see|vatican|papal.?st',
-    STP: '\\bs(a|ã)o.?tom(e|é)',
-    SYC: 'seychell',
-    NPL: 'nepal',
-    CXR: 'christmas',
-    LAO: '\\blaos?\\b',
-    YEM: '^(?!.*arab)(?!.*north)(?!.*sana)(?!.*peo)(?!.*dem)(?!.*south)(?!.*aden)(?!.*\\bp\\.?d\\.?r).*yemen',
-    BVT: 'bouvet',
-    ZAF: '\\bs\\w*.?africa',
-    KIR: 'kiribati',
-    PHL: 'philippines',
-    SXM: '^(?!.*martin)(?!.*saba).*maarten',
-    ROU: 'r(o|u|ou)mania',
-    VIR: '^(?=.*\\bu\\.?\\s?s).*virgin|^(?=.*states).*virgin',
-    SYR: 'syria',
-    MAC: 'maca(o|u)',
-    NFK: 'norfolk',
-    NIC: 'nicaragua',
-    MLT: '\\bmalta',
-    KAZ: 'kazak',
-    TCA: 'turks',
-    PYF: 'french.?polynesia|tahiti',
-    NIU: 'niue',
-    DMA: 'dominica(?!n)',
-    GBR: 'united.?kingdom|britain|^u\\.?k\\.?$',
-    BEN: 'benin|dahome',
-    GUF: '^(?=.*french).*guiana',
-    BEL: '^(?!.*luxem).*belgium',
-    MSR: 'montserrat',
-    TGO: 'togo',
-    DEU: '^(?!.*east).*germany|^(?=.*\\bfed.*\\brep).*german',
-    GUM: '\\bguam',
-    LKA: 'sri.?lanka|ceylon',
-    SSD: '\\bs\\w*.?sudan',
-    FLK: 'falkland|malvinas',
-    PCN: 'pitcairn',
-    BES: '^(?=.*bonaire).*eustatius|^(?=.*carib).*netherlands|\\bbes.?islands',
-    GUY: 'guyana|british.?guiana',
-    CRI: 'costa.?rica',
-    COK: '\\bcook',
-    MAR: 'morocco|\\bmaroc',
-    MNP: 'mariana',
-    LSO: 'lesotho|basuto',
-    HUN: '^(?!.*austr).*hungary',
-    TKM: 'turkmen',
-    SUR: 'surinam|dutch.?guiana',
-    NLD: '^(?!.*\\bant)(?!.*\\bcarib).*netherlands',
-    BMU: 'bermuda',
-    HMD: 'heard.*mcdonald',
-    TCD: '\\bchad',
-    GEO: '^(?!.*south).*georgia',
-    MNE: '^(?!.*serbia).*montenegro',
-    MNG: 'mongolia',
-    MHL: 'marshall',
-    MTQ: 'martinique',
-    CSK: 'czechoslovakia',
-    BLZ: 'belize|^(?=.*british).*honduras',
-    DDR: 'german.?democratic.?republic|^(d|g)\\.?d\\.?r\\.?$|^(?=.*east).*germany',
-    MMR: 'myanmar|burma',
-    AFG: 'afghan',
-    BDI: 'burundi',
-    VGB: '^(?=.*\\bu\\.?\\s?k).*virgin|^(?=.*brit).*virgin|^(?=.*kingdom).*virgin',
-    BLR: 'belarus|byelo',
-    BLM: 'barth(e|é)lemy',
-    GRD: 'grenada',
-    TKL: 'tokelau',
-    GRC: 'greece|hellenic|hellas',
-    GRL: 'greenland',
-    SHN: 'helena',
-    AND: 'andorra',
-    MOZ: 'mozambique',
-    TJK: 'tajik',
-    THA: 'thailand|\\bsiam',
-    HTI: 'haiti',
-    MEX: '\\bmexic',
-    ANT: '^(?=.*\\bant).*(nether|dutch)',
-    ZWE: 'zimbabwe|^(?!.*northern).*rhodesia',
-    LCA: '\\blucia',
-    IND: 'india(?!.*ocea)',
-    LVA: 'latvia',
-    BTN: 'bhutan',
-    VCT: 'vincent',
-    VNM: '^(?!.*republic).*viet.?nam|^(?=.*socialist).*viet.?nam',
-    NOR: 'norway',
-    CZE: '^(?=.*rep).*czech|czechia|bohemia',
-    ATF: 'french.?southern|\\bfr.*\\bso.*\\ban.*\\b\\bt',
-    ATG: 'antigua',
-    FJI: 'fiji',
-    HND: '^(?!.*brit).*honduras',
-    MUS: 'mauritius',
-    DOM: 'dominican',
-    LUX: '^(?!.*belg).*luxem',
-    ISR: 'israel',
-    YUG: 'yugoslavia',
-    FSM: 'micronesia',
-    PER: 'peru',
-    REU: 'r(e|é)union',
-    IDN: 'indonesia',
-    VUT: 'vanuatu|new.?hebrides',
-    MKD: 'macedonia|^f\\.?y\\.?r\\.?o\\.?m\\.?$',
-    COD: '\\bdem.*congo|congo.*\\bdem|congo.*\\bdr|\\bdr.*congo|\\bd\\.?r\\.?c|\\bd\\.?r\\.?o\\.?c|\\br\\.?d\\.?c|belgian.?congo|congo.?free.?state|kinshasa|zaire|l\\w{1,2}opoldville',
-    COG: '^(?!.*\\bdem)(?!.*\\bdr)(?!.*kinshasa)(?!.*zaire)(?!.*belg)(?!.*l\\w{1,2}opoldville)(?!.*free).*\\bcongo',
-    ISL: 'iceland',
-    GLP: 'guadeloupe',
-    ETH: 'ethiopia|abyssinia',
-    COM: 'comoro',
-    COL: 'colombia',
-    NGA: 'nigeria',
-    TLS: '^(?=.*leste).*timor|^(?=.*east).*timor',
-    TWN: 'taiwan|taipei|formosa',
-    PRT: 'portugal',
-    MDA: 'moldov|b(a|e)ssarabia',
-    GGY: 'guernsey',
-    MDG: 'madagascar|malagasy',
-    ATA: 'antarctica',
-    ECU: 'ecuador',
-    SEN: 'senegal',
-    ESH: 'sahara',
-    MDV: 'maldive',
-    ASM: '^(?=.*americ).*samoa',
-    SPM: 'miquelon',
-    CUW: '^(?!.*bonaire).*\\bcura(c|ç)ao',
-    FRA: '^(?!.*\\bdep)(?!.*martinique).*france|french.?republic|\\bgaul',
-    LTU: 'lithuania',
-    RWA: 'rwanda',
-    ZMB: 'zambia|northern.?rhodesia',
-    GMB: 'gambia',
-    WLF: 'futuna|wallis',
-    JEY: 'jersey',
-    FRO: 'faroe|faeroe',
-    GTM: 'guatemala',
-    DNK: 'denmark',
-    IMN: '^(?=.*isle).*\\bman',
-    MAF: '^(?=.*collectivity).*martin|^(?=.*france).*martin(?!ique)|^(?=.*french).*martin(?!ique)',
-    AUS: 'australia',
-    AUT: '^(?!.*hungary).*austria|\\baust.*\\bemp',
-    SJM: 'svalbard',
-    VEN: 'venezuela',
-    PLW: 'palau',
-    KEN: 'kenya|british.?east.?africa|east.?africa.?prot',
-    TUR: 'turkey',
-    ALB: 'albania',
-    OMN: '\\boman|trucial',
-    TUV: 'tuvalu',
-    ALA: '\\b(a|å)land',
-    BRN: 'brunei',
-    TUN: 'tunisia',
-    RUS: '\\brussia|soviet.?union|u\\.?s\\.?s\\.?r|socialist.?republics',
-    BRB: 'barbados',
-    BRA: 'brazil',
-    CIV: 'ivoire|ivory',
-    SRB: '^(?!.*monte).*serbia',
-    GNQ: 'guine.*eq|eq.*guine|^(?=.*span).*guinea',
-    USA: '^(?!.*islands).*united.?states|^u\\.?s\\.?a\\.?$|^u\\.?s\\.?$',
-    QAT: 'qatar',
-    WSM: '^(?!.*amer).*samoa',
-    AZE: 'azerbaijan',
-    GNB: 'bissau|^(?=.*portu).*guinea',
-    SWZ: 'swaziland',
-    TON: 'tonga',
-    CAN: 'canada',
-    UKR: 'ukrain',
-    KOR: '^(?!.*democrat)(?!.*people)(?!.*north).*\\bkorea|\\br\\.?o\\.?k\\b',
-    AIA: 'anguill?a',
-    CAF: '\\bcen.*\\baf|^c\\.?a\\.?r\\.?$',
-    CHE: 'switz|swiss',
-    CYP: 'cyprus',
-    BIH: 'herzegovina|bosnia',
-    SGP: 'singapore',
-    SGS: 'south.?georgia|sandwich',
-    SOM: 'somali',
-    UZB: 'uzbek',
-    CMR: 'cameroon',
-    POL: 'poland',
-    EAZ: 'zanz',
-    KWT: 'kuwait',
-    ERI: 'eritrea',
-    GAB: 'gabon',
-    CYM: 'cayman',
-    ARE: 'emirates|^u\\.?a\\.?e\\.?$|united.?arab.?em',
-    EST: 'estonia',
-    MWI: 'malawi|nyasa',
-    ESP: 'spain',
-    IRQ: '\\biraq|mesopotamia',
-    SLV: 'el.?salvador',
-    MLI: '\\bmali\\b',
-    YMD: '^(?=.*peo).*yemen|^(?!.*rep)(?=.*dem).*yemen|^(?=.*south).*yemen|^(?=.*aden).*yemen|^(?=.*\\bp\\.?d\\.?r).*yemen',
-    IRL: 'ireland',
-    IRN: '\\biran|persia',
-    ABW: '^(?!.*bonaire).*\\baruba',
-    SLE: 'sierra',
-    PAN: 'panama',
-    SDN: '^(?!.*\\bs(?!u)).*sudan',
-    SLB: 'solomon',
-    NZL: 'new.?zealand',
-    MCO: 'monaco',
-    ITA: 'italy',
-    JPN: 'japan',
-    KGZ: 'kyrgyz|kirghiz',
-    UGA: 'uganda',
-    NCL: 'new.?caledonia',
-    PNG: 'papua|\\bp.*\\bn.*\\bguin.*|^p\\.?n\\.?g\\.?$|new.?guinea',
-    ARG: 'argentin',
-    SWE: 'sweden',
-    BHS: 'bahamas',
-    BHR: 'bahrain',
-    ARM: 'armenia',
-    NRU: 'nauru',
-    CUB: '\\bcuba'
-};
diff --git a/src/lib/geo_location_utils.js b/src/lib/geo_location_utils.js
index 91077d14e29..f21015b4c91 100644
--- a/src/lib/geo_location_utils.js
+++ b/src/lib/geo_location_utils.js
@@ -9,15 +9,13 @@
 
 'use strict';
 
+var countryRegex = require('country-regex');
 var locationUtils = module.exports = {};
 
 var Plotly = require('../plotly');
 
-// an hash object iso3 to regex string
-var countryNameData = require('../constants/country-name_to_iso3');
-
 // make list of all country iso3 ids from at runtime
-var countryIds = Object.keys(countryNameData);
+var countryIds = Object.keys(countryRegex);
 
 var locationmodeToIdFinder = {
     'ISO-3': Plotly.Lib.identity,
@@ -51,7 +49,7 @@ function countryNameToISO3(countryName) {
 
     for(var i = 0; i < countryIds.length; i++) {
         iso3 = countryIds[i];
-        regex = new RegExp(countryNameData[iso3]);
+        regex = new RegExp(countryRegex[iso3]);
 
         if(regex.test(countryName.toLowerCase())) return iso3;
     }