The sixteen teams were divided into four pools of four teams. The four pool winners took part in play-offs to determine the two nations advancing to the World Group II Play-offs. The nations finishing last in their pools took part in play-offs, with the two losing nations relegated to Group II in 2011.
The eight teams were divided into two pool of four teams each. The winner of each pool played-off against the runner-up of the other pool to determine which two nations would be promoted to Group I in 2011. The bottom nation in each pool played-off against third place in other pool, with two losing nations relegated to the 2011 Group III.
The seven teams were divided into one pool of three teams and one pool of four. The winner of each pool played the runner-up of the other pool to determine which two nations would be promoted to Group II in 2011.