Top-Level Domains

A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet.

Generic Top-Level Domains
Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are top-level domains maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet. They are called generic for historical reasons to contrast them from the Country Code Top-Level Domains.

Sponsored Top-Level Domains
A sponsored TLD is a specialized top-level domain that has a sponsor representing a specific community served by the domain. The communities involved are based on ethnic, geographical, professional, technical or other theme concepts proposed by private agencies or organizations that establish and enforce rules restricting the eligibility of registrants to use the TLD.

Generally speaking, a sponsored TLD is a specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing the narrower community that is most affected by the TLD, while an unsponsored TLD operates under policies established by the global Internet community directly through the ICANN process.

Country Code Top-Level Domains
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code.