When the internet was first taking shape, the idea of country-code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) was simple: give every nation its own digital space. What no one expected was that some countries would find themselves sitting on virtual gold mines — not from their native users, but from clever marketers and businesses around the world who saw these two-letter domains as branding shortcuts.

It’s one of those weird, serendipitous things in life – almost like winning a lottery.  Two thousand years ago when the Polynesian language of Tuvaluan was formed, no one could have anticipated that one day, Pluto.TV would shell out a registration fee for a .TV domain, because of a chance coincidence in English.  If someone had chosen a different consonant 2,000 years ago, Tuvalu would be out $7-$10 million a year – 1/6 of its GDP!  That kind of blows my mind.

Here’s a look at the top countries that have truly cashed in on their TLDs

Tuvalu (.tv)

Tuvalu, a remote island nation in the Pacific, hit the jackpot with .tv. With “TV” universally recognized as shorthand for television, streaming services and video creators worldwide have adopted this ccTLD for their brands. Cost: Generally $25–50/year

Montenegro (.me)

Montenegro markets .me as the ultimate personal domain. I’d wager most people who sign up for a .me at GoDaddy have no idea that .me is a ccTLD and probably think it’s analogous to .info.  Cost: Around $10–20/year

Colombia (.co)

.co is officially Colombia’s domain, but globally it’s recognized as an abbreviation for “company” or “corporation.”  Given how congested .com is, it’s popular as a snappy alternative.  Cost: About $25–40/year.

Libya (.ly)

.ly got worldwide attention for its use in URL shorteners and brand hacks.  Despite Libya’s highly unstable political situation, it’s endured as a popular TLD hack.  BTW, Libya doesn’t allow adult content.  Cost: Around $75–100/year (premium pricing for short names).

Federated States of Micronesia (.fm)

Perfect for music and audio brands, .fm – as in FM radio – has become the go-to for radio stations, streaming services, and podcasts.  It has a nice retro ring to it.  Cost: Roughly $60–100/year

Anguilla (.ai)

Talk about having the right letters in the right place at the right time!  This small East Caribbean country has struck it rich in this AI-fueled age.  You can’t go anywhere on the Internet these days without bumping into a .ai domain.  Cost: Generally $60–120/year

British Indian Ocean Territory (.io)

Before .ai became the current startup darling, .io was very popular (and still is).  It’s another “tech-like sound alternative to .com” domain, evoking “input/output”.  A little pricier than a typical .com registration but not as overpopulated.  Cost: Typically $30–60/year.

Djibouti (.dj)

Djibouti is a nation near the horn of Africa.  Are there any DJs in Djibouti?  Undoubtedly, but there are a whole lot more of them in Western nations that are using .dj domains for their music enterprises.  Cost: Around $40–80/year

Cocos (Keeling) Islands (.cc)

Marketed as “the next .com,” .cc is popular for churches, cricket clubs, and creative companies that like the alliteration.  It’s probably never going to challenge .com, or even .co, but then, no one expected some of these other ccTLDs to take off, so why not?  Cost: Around $20–40/year

Laos (.la)

.la has been adopted by Los Angeles businesses and creatives, even though it’s technically for Laos. You’ll find local LA enterprises using it for geographic branding.  Geographically confusing, but a profitable sideline for the Laotians.  Cost: About $30–50/year

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.