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gTLD and ccTLD are top-level-domain classifications. gTLDs are generic; ccTLDs are country-code domains associated with countries or territories. Both live in the DNS root, but their policy and governance frameworks differ.
The difference is classification
Both gTLDs and ccTLDs occupy the top level of DNS. The difference is not their technical depth in the namespace; it is how the TLD is classified and governed.
For a reference site, that classification should come from IANA's root-zone data. Do not infer it from the spelling of a TLD.
Side-by-side
| gTLD | ccTLD | |
|---|---|---|
| Namespace position | Directly below the DNS root | Directly below the DNS root |
| Classification | Generic / related IANA generic categories | Country-code |
| Policy model | Depends on the registry and applicable ICANN agreement | Depends on the ccTLD manager and local policy framework |
| Good source for type | IANA Root Zone Database | IANA Root Zone Database |
About country-code labels
Most ASCII ccTLDs are two-letter labels derived from the country-code system used by IANA. Internationalized country-code TLDs also exist and use IDN encoding at the DNS protocol layer.
A native-script ccTLD may not look like two ASCII letters to a user. Its DNS representation still has an ASCII-compatible A-label.
Why this matters for browsing
A good TLD directory should let people browse by authoritative type without collapsing everything into “domain extensions.” Filtering by gTLD, ccTLD and IDN presentation are different dimensions and can coexist.
Primary sources
These are the primary references this guide is designed around. When implementation data disagrees with editorial copy, the primary source wins.