An in-depth description of the various Political Boundaries GIS data layers outlining terms of use, update frequency, attribute explanations, and more. District data layers include: Lake County Boundary, County Board, Judicial Circuit Court Subcircuits, Political Townships, State Representative Districts, State Senate, Congressional Districts, and Voting Precincts.

City of Hobart: Hobart Interim Planning Scheme 2015 Zones While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information portrayed in this data, its purpose is to provide a general indication of the location of Council services. The information provided may contain errors or omissions and the accuracy may not suit all users. A site inspection and investigation is recommended before commencement of any project based on this data.

The California State Places Boundary data.

This dataset offers high-resolution boundary definitions, which allow users to analyze and visualize California’s state limits within mapping and spatial analysis projects.

The shapefile is part of a ZIP archive containing multiple related files that together define and support the boundary data. These files include:

.shp (Shape): This is the core file containing the vector data for California’s Places boundaries, representing the geographic location and geometry of the state outline.

.shx (Shape Index): A companion index file for the .shp file, allowing for quick spatial queries and efficient data access.

.dbf (Attribute Table): A database file that stores attribute data linked to the geographic features in the .shp file, such as area identifiers or classification codes, in a tabular format compatible with database applications.

.prj (Projection): This file contains projection information, specifying the coordinate system and map projection used for the data, essential for aligning it accurately on maps.

.cpg (Code Page): This optional file indicates the character encoding for the attribute data in the .dbf file, which is useful for ensuring accurate text representation in various software.

.sbn and .sbx (Spatial Index): These files serve as a spatial index for the shapefile, allowing for faster processing of spatial queries, especially for larger datasets.

.xml (Metadata): A metadata file in XML format, often following FGDC or ISO standards, detailing the dataset’s origin, structure, and usage guidelines, providing essential information about data provenance and quality.

Programmatically generated Data Dictionary document detailing the Texas State Boundary Detailed service.

    The PDF contains service metadata and a complete list of data fields.
    For any questions or issues related to the document, please contact the data owner of the service identified in the PDF and Credits of this portal item.


  Related Links
  Texas State Boundary Detailed Service URL
  Texas State Boundary Detailed Portal Item

Overview The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues at the U.S. Department of State produces the Large Scale International Boundaries (LSIB) dataset. The current edition is version 11.4 (published 24 February 2025). The 11.4 release contains updated boundary lines and data refinements designed to extend the functionality of the dataset. These data and generalized derivatives are the only international boundary lines approved for U.S. Government use. The contents of this dataset reflect U.S. Government policy on international boundary alignment, political recognition, and dispute status. They do not necessarily reflect de facto limits of control. National Geospatial Data Asset This dataset is a National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDAID 194) managed by the Department of State. It is a part of the International Boundaries Theme created by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Dataset Source Details Sources for these data include treaties, relevant maps, and data from boundary commissions, as well as national mapping agencies. Where available and applicable, the dataset incorporates information from courts, tribunals, and international arbitrations. The research and recovery process includes analysis of satellite imagery and elevation data. Due to the limitations of source materials and processing techniques, most lines are within 100 meters of their true position on the ground. Cartographic Visualization The LSIB is a geospatial dataset that, when used for cartographic purposes, requires additional styling. The LSIB download package contains example style files for commonly used software applications. The attribute table also contains embedded information to guide the cartographic representation. Additional discussion of these considerations can be found in the Use of Core Attributes in Cartographic Visualization section below. Additional cartographic information pertaining to the depiction and description of international boundaries or areas of special sovereignty can be found in Guidance Bulletins published by the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues: https://data.geodata.state.gov/guidance/index.html Contact Direct inquiries to internationalboundaries@state.gov. Direct download: https://data.geodata.state.gov/LSIB.zip Attribute Structure The dataset uses the following attributes divided into two categories: ATTRIBUTE NAME | ATTRIBUTE STATUS CC1 | Core CC1_GENC3 | Extension CC1_WPID | Extension COUNTRY1 | Core CC2 | Core CC2_GENC3 | Extension CC2_WPID | Extension COUNTRY2 | Core RANK | Core LABEL | Core STATUS | Core NOTES | Core LSIB_ID | Extension ANTECIDS | Extension PREVIDS | Extension PARENTID | Extension PARENTSEG | Extension These attributes have external data sources that update separately from the LSIB: ATTRIBUTE NAME | ATTRIBUTE STATUS CC1 | GENC CC1_GENC3 | GENC CC1_WPID | World Polygons COUNTRY1 | DoS Lists CC2 | GENC CC2_GENC3 | GENC CC2_WPID | World Polygons COUNTRY2 | DoS Lists LSIB_ID | BASE ANTECIDS | BASE PREVIDS | BASE PARENTID | BASE PARENTSEG | BASE The core attributes listed above describe the boundary lines contained within the LSIB dataset. Removal of core attributes from the dataset will change the meaning of the lines. An attribute status of “Extension” represents a field containing data interoperability information. Other attributes not listed above include “FID”, “Shape_length” and “Shape.” These are components of the shapefile format and do not form an intrinsic part of the LSIB. Core Attributes The eight core attributes listed above contain unique information which, when combined with the line geometry, comprise the LSIB dataset. These Core Attributes are further divided into Country Code and Name Fields and Descriptive Fields. County Code and Country Name Fields “CC1” and “CC2” fields are machine readable fields that contain political entity codes. These are two-character codes derived from the Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes Standard (GENC), Edition 3 Update 18. “CC1_GENC3” and “CC2_GENC3” fields contain the corresponding three-character GENC codes and are extension attributes discussed below. The codes “Q2” or “QX2” denote a line in the LSIB representing a boundary associated with areas not contained within the GENC standard. The “COUNTRY1” and “COUNTRY2” fields contain the names of corresponding political entities. These fields contain names approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) as incorporated in the ‘"Independent States in the World" and "Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty" lists maintained by the Department of State. To ensure maximum compatibility, names are presented without diacritics and certain names are rendered using common cartographic abbreviations. Names for lines associated with the code "Q2" are descriptive and not necessarily BGN-approved. Names rendered in all CAPITAL LETTERS denote independent states. Names rendered in normal text represent dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, or are otherwise presented for the convenience of the user. Descriptive Fields The following text fields are a part of the core attributes of the LSIB dataset and do not update from external sources. They provide additional information about each of the lines and are as follows: ATTRIBUTE NAME | CONTAINS NULLS RANK | No STATUS | No LABEL | Yes NOTES | Yes Neither the "RANK" nor "STATUS" fields contain null values; the "LABEL" and "NOTES" fields do. The "RANK" field is a numeric expression of the "STATUS" field. Combined with the line geometry, these fields encode the views of the United States Government on the political status of the boundary line. ATTRIBUTE NAME | | VALUE | RANK | 1 | 2 | 3 STATUS | International Boundary | Other Line of International Separation | Special Line A value of “1” in the “RANK” field corresponds to an "International Boundary" value in the “STATUS” field. Values of ”2” and “3” correspond to “Other Line of International Separation” and “Special Line,” respectively. The “LABEL” field contains required text to describe the line segment on all finished cartographic products, including but not limited to print and interactive maps. The “NOTES” field contains an explanation of special circumstances modifying the lines. This information can pertain to the origins of the boundary lines, limitations regarding the purpose of the lines, or the original source of the line. Use of Core Attributes in Cartographic Visualization Several of the Core Attributes provide information required for the proper cartographic representation of the LSIB dataset. The cartographic usage of the LSIB requires a visual differentiation between the three categories of boundary lines. Specifically, this differentiation must be between: International Boundaries (Rank 1); Other Lines of International Separation (Rank 2); and Special Lines (Rank 3). Rank 1 lines must be the most visually prominent. Rank 2 lines must be less visually prominent than Rank 1 lines. Rank 3 lines must be shown in a manner visually subordinate to Ranks 1 and 2. Where scale permits, Rank 2 and 3 lines must be labeled in accordance with the “Label” field. Data marked with a Rank 2 or 3 designation does not necessarily correspond to a disputed boundary. Please consult the style files in the download package for examples of this depiction. The requirement to incorporate the contents of the "LABEL" field on cartographic products is scale dependent. If a label is legible at the scale of a given static product, a proper use of this dataset would encourage the application of that label. Using the contents of the "COUNTRY1" and "COUNTRY2" fields in the generation of a line segment label is not required. The "STATUS" field contains the preferred description for the three LSIB line types when they are incorporated into a map legend but is otherwise not to be used for labeling. Use of the “CC1,” “CC1_GENC3,” “CC2,” “CC2_GENC3,” “RANK,” or “NOTES” fields for cartographic labeling purposes is prohibited. Extension Attributes Certain elements of the attributes within the LSIB dataset extend data functionality to make the data more interoperable or to provide clearer linkages to other datasets. The fields “CC1_GENC3” and “CC2_GENC” contain the corresponding three-character GENC code to the “CC1” and “CC2” attributes. The code “QX2” is the three-character counterpart of the code “Q2,” which denotes a line in the LSIB representing a boundary associated with a geographic area not contained within the GENC standard. To allow for linkage between individual lines in the LSIB and World Polygons dataset, the “CC1_WPID” and “CC2_WPID” fields contain a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), version 4, which provides a stable description of each geographic entity in a boundary pair relationship. Each UUID corresponds to a geographic entity listed in the World Polygons dataset. These fields allow for linkage between individual lines in the LSIB and the overall World Polygons dataset. Five additional fields in the LSIB expand on the UUID concept and either describe features that have changed across space and time or indicate relationships between previous versions of the feature. The “LSIB_ID” attribute is a UUID value that defines a specific instance of a feature. Any change to the feature in a lineset requires a new “LSIB_ID.” The “ANTECIDS,” or antecedent ID, is a UUID that references line geometries from which a given line is descended in time. It is used when there is a feature that is entirely new, not when there is a new version of a previous feature. This is generally used to reference countries that have dissolved. The “PREVIDS,” or Previous ID, is a UUID field that contains old versions of a line. This is an additive field, that houses all Previous IDs. A new version of a feature is defined by any change to the

This layer contains Legal City boundaries within Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works provides the most current shape file of these city boundaries for download at its Spatial Information Library.Note: This boundary layer will not line up with the Thomas Brothers city layer. Principal attributes include:CITY_NAME: represents the city's name.CITY_TYPE: may be used for definition queries; "Unincorporated" or "City".FEAT_TYPE: contains the type of feature each polygon represents:Land - Use this value for your definition query if you want to see only land features on your map.Pier - One example is the Santa Monica Pier. Man-made features may be regarded as extensions of the coastline.Breakwater - Examples include the breakwater barriers that protect the Los Angeles Harbor.Water - Polygons with this attribute value represent internal navigable waters. Examples of internal waters are found in the Long Beach Harbor and in Marina del Rey.3NM Buffer - Per the Submerged Lands Act, the seaward boundaries of coastal cities and unincorporated county areas are three nautical miles (a nautical mile is 1852 meters) from the coastline.

The California State Boundary data from the US Census Bureau's 2023 MAF/TIGER database provides detailed geographic boundary data designed for use in Geographic Information System applications.

This dataset offers high-resolution boundary definitions, which allow users to analyze and visualize California’s state limits within mapping and spatial analysis projects.

The shapefile is part of a ZIP archive containing multiple related files that together define and support the boundary data. These files include:

.shp (Shape): This is the core file containing the vector data for California’s boundary, representing the geographic location and geometry of the state outline.

.shx (Shape Index): A companion index file for the .shp file, allowing for quick spatial queries and efficient data access.

.dbf (Attribute Table): A database file that stores attribute data linked to the geographic features in the .shp file, such as area identifiers or classification codes, in a tabular format compatible with database applications.

.prj (Projection): This file contains projection information, specifying the coordinate system and map projection used for the data, essential for aligning it accurately on maps.

.cpg (Code Page): This optional file indicates the character encoding for the attribute data in the .dbf file, which is useful for ensuring accurate text representation in various software.

.sbn and .sbx (Spatial Index): These files serve as a spatial index for the shapefile, allowing for faster processing of spatial queries, especially for larger datasets.

.xml (Metadata): A metadata file in XML format, often following FGDC or ISO standards, detailing the dataset’s origin, structure, and usage guidelines, providing essential information about data provenance and quality.

This comprehensive set of files ensures compatibility with most GIS software and allows users to perform a wide range of spatial analyses with detailed information on California’s boundary as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau's 2023 MAF/TIGER database.

The 2019 cartographic boundary shapefiles are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. In New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has defined an alternative county subdivision (generally cities and towns) based definition of Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) known as New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs). NECTAs are defined using the same criteria as Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and are identified as either metropolitan or micropolitan, based, respectively, on the presence of either an urban area of 50,000 or more population or an urban cluster of at least 10,000 and less than 50,000 population. A NECTA containing a single core urban area with a population of at least 2.5 million may be subdivided to form smaller groupings of cities and towns referred to as NECTA Divisions. The generalized boundaries in this file are based on those defined by OMB based on the 2010 Census, published in 2013, and updated in 2015, 2017, and 2018.

Abstract

The dataset was derived by the Bioregional Assessment Programme. This dataset was derived from multiple datasets. You can find a link to the parent datasets in the Lineage Field in this metadata statement. The History Field in this metadata statement describes how this dataset was derived.

A line shapefile of the Hunter subregion boundary with line segments attributed with the biophysical feature/dataset that defines that section of the boundary. This dataset is derived from the Bioregional Assessment areas and links to the source datasets are in the lineage field of this metadata statement.

Purpose

To identify the underlying source used to define the boundary. Mostly the Bioregion boundary was used but some sections are defined by geology and CMA boundaries.For report map purposes.

Dataset History

A polygon shapefile of the Hunter subregion was converted to a line shapefile. The subregion boundary was then compared with the datasets that the subregion metadata listed as boundary sources (see lineage).

The subregion boundary line was split (ArcGIS Editor Split tool) into sections that coincided with the source boundary layers and attributed accordingly.

Dataset Citation

Bioregional Assessment Programme (2014) Hunter bioregion boundary definition sources. Bioregional Assessment Derived Dataset. Viewed 07 February 2017, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/3052c699-3b0d-4504-95e3-18598147c5ae.

Dataset Ancestors

• Derived From Bioregional Assessment areas v02

• Derived From Australian Coal Basins

• Derived From Natural Resource Management (NRM) Regions 2010

• Derived From Bioregional Assessment areas v03

• Derived From Bioregional Assessment areas v01

• Derived From GEODATA TOPO 250K Series 3, File Geodatabase format (.gdb)

• Derived From GEODATA TOPO 250K Series 3

• Derived From NSW Catchment Management Authority Boundaries 20130917

• Derived From Geological Provinces - Full Extent

This layer contains Legal City boundaries within Los Angeles County. The Landbase is jointly maintained by the Los Angeles County Assessor and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works provides the most current shape file of these city boundaries for download at its https://egis-lacounty.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/la-county-city-boundaries/explore?location=34.153321%2C-118.083123%2C9.49.Note: This boundary layer will not line up with the Thomas Brothers® city layer.Principal attributes include:CITY_NAME: represents the city's name.CITY_TYPE: may be used for definition queries; "Unincorporated" or "City".FEAT_TYPE: contains the type of feature each polygon represents:Land - Use this value for your definition query if you want to see only land features on your map.Pier - One example is the Santa Monica Pier. Man-made features may be regarded as extensions of the coastline.Breakwater - Examples include the breakwater barriers that protect the Los Angeles Harbor.Water - Polygons with this attribute value represent internal navigable waters. Examples of internal waters are found in the Long Beach Harbor and in Marina del Rey.3NM Buffer - Per the Submerged Lands Act, the seaward boundaries of coastal cities and unincorporated county areas are three nautical miles (a nautical mile is 1852 meters) from the coastlineURL: cities website current as of 01/01/2023This product is for information purposes and should not be used for legal, engineering, or survey purposes. County assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

The ACT Boundary is a single region defined for land administration and the legal description of the Australian Capital Territory. The ACT boundary are defined in metes and bounds form in the Districts Act 1966, and thus cannot be changed without changes to the legislation. The ACT Border was first defined by surveyors between 1910 and 1915, it was redefined by surveyors again between 2003 and 2008. The original border is defined by metes and bounds description in the Seat of Governance ACT 1909, the current ACT Border definition is shown on survey plans held at the ACT Environment and Planning Directorate (EPD).

Creative Commons License Creative Common By Attribution 4.0 (Australian Capital Territory), Please read Data Terms and Conditions statement before data use.

The Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) defines the areal extent of surface water drainage to a point, accounting for all land and surface areas. Watershed Boundaries are determined solely upon science-based hydrologic principles, not favoring any administrative boundaries or special projects, nor particular program or agency. The intent of defining Hydrologic Units (HU) for the Watershed Boundary Dataset is to establish a base-line drainage boundary framework, accounting for all land and surface areas. At a minimum, the WBD is being delineated and georeferenced to the USGS 1:24,000 scale topographic base map meeting National Map Accuracy Standards (NMAS). Hydrologic units are given a Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC). For example, a hydrologic region has a 2-digit HUC. A HUC describes where the unit is in the country and the level of the unit."A hydrologic unit is a drainage area delineated to nest in a multi-level, hierarchical drainage system. Its boundaries are defined by hydrographic and topographic criteria that delineate an area of land upstream from a specific point on a river, stream or similar surface waters. A hydrologic unit can accept surface water directly from upstream drainage areas, and indirectly from associated surface areas such as remnant, non-contributing, and diversions to form a drainage area with single or multiple outlet points. Hydrologic units are only synonymous with classic watersheds when their boundaries include all the source area contributing surface water to a single defined outlet point."

This feature service is derived from the Esri "United States Zip Code Boundaries" layer, queried to only CA data.For the original data see: https://esri.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=5f31109b46d541da86119bd4cf213848Published by the California Department of Technology Geographic Information Services Team.The GIS Team can be reached at ODSdataservices@state.ca.gov.U.S. ZIP Code Boundaries represents five-digit ZIP Code areas used by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail more effectively. The first digit of a five-digit ZIP Code divides the United States into 10 large groups of states (or equivalent areas) numbered from 0 in the Northeast to 9 in the far West. Within these areas, each state is divided into an average of 10 smaller geographical areas, identified by the second and third digits. These digits, in conjunction with the first digit, represent a Sectional Center Facility (SCF) or a mail processing facility area. The fourth and fifth digits identify a post office, station, branch or local delivery area.As of the time this layer was published, in January 2025, Esri's boundaries are sourced from TomTom (June 2024) and the 2023 population estimates are from Esri Demographics. Esri updates its layer annually and those changes will immediately be reflected in this layer. Note that, because this layer passes through Esri's data, if you want to know the true date of the underlying data, click through to Esri's original source data and look at their metadata for more information on updates.Cautions about using Zip Code boundary dataZip code boundaries have three characteristics you should be aware of before using them:Zip code boundaries change, in ways small and large - these are not a stable analysis unit. Data you received keyed to zip codes may have used an earlier and very different boundary for your zip codes of interest.Historically, the United States Postal Service has not published zip code boundaries, and instead, boundary datasets are compiled by third party vendors from address data. That means that the boundary data are not authoritative, and any data you have keyed to zip codes may use a different, vendor-specific method for generating boundaries from the data here.Zip codes are designed to optimize mail delivery, not social, environmental, or demographic characteristics. Analysis using zip codes is subject to create issues with the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem that will bias any results because your units of analysis aren't designed for the data being studied.As of early 2025, USPS appears to be in the process of releasing boundaries, which will at least provide an authoritative source, but because of the other factors above, we do not recommend these boundaries for many use cases. If you are using these for anything other than mailing purposes, we recommend reconsideration. We provide the boundaries as a convenience, knowing people are looking for them, in order to ensure that up-to-date boundaries are available.

This layer consists of one polygon representing the area and political boundary of the City of Cambridge.Explore all our data on the Cambridge GIS Data Dictionary.Attributes NameType DetailsDescription

AdminVector is the vector data set of Belgian administrative and statistical units. It includes various classes. First class: Belgian statistic sectors as defined by the FPS Economy. Second class: municipal sections, with no unanimous definition. The five following classes correspond to official administrative units as managed by the FPS Finance. Other classes are added to these classes, like border markers or the Belgian maritime zone. The boundaries of the seven first classes are consolidated together in order to keep the topological cohrence of the objects. This data set can be freely downloaded.

Original purpose

This coastline boundary dataset was originally derived for research on population proximity to the UK coast. It required adaptation of boundary files in order to prevent areas close to major rivers from being counted as ‘coastal’. With no single definition of what ‘coastal’ is, we took a decision to cut off the coastline where major estuaries/rivers narrowed to approximately 1km. The original publication that used this approach and informed the development of the dataset is cited below (Wheeler et al, 2012).

Please note therefore that this is a somewhat arbitrary definition of what is coastal, and you will need to make sure this definition is appropriate for your application for this to be useful.

Method & Data Format

Original source data: UK Census 2011 Lower-layer Super Output Areas / Data Zones – full resolution / Mean High Water version.

LSOA/DZ boundaries were dissolved to create outline boundary at Mean High Water.

Major estuaries/rivers were manually truncated where they narrowed to approximately 1km width.

Data are provided as a GeoJSON file

Co-ordinate system is British National Grid (EPSG 27700)

Original data source & copyright

This boundary dataset was derived from Ordnance Survey/Office for National Statistics/Scottish Government data, under Open Government Licence. Its use/re-use is dependent on appropriate citation and acknowledgement of the original source data.

Licence: Adapted and redistributed under Open Government Licence: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Copyright statements to appear on any maps/publications containing these data:

Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2012

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2012

Copyright Scottish Government, contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right (2012).

Citation and Attribution

The original source of the approach and methodology for this coastal definition should be cited as:

Wheeler, B.W., White, M., Stahl-Timmins, W., Depledge, M.H., 2012. Does living by the coast improve health and wellbeing? Health and Place 18: 5, 1198-1201. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.015

The boundary dataset requires the copyright statements as above to be stated on any publication/redistribution.

The adapted data are redistributed here under CC-BY Licence - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

City of Hobart: Draft Proposed Tasmanian Planning Scheme. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information portrayed in this data, its purpose is to provide a general indication. The information provided may contain errors or omissions and the accuracy may not suit all users. A site inspection and investigation is recommended before commencement of any project based on this data.THIS IS A DRAFT COPY ONLY AND AS YET HAS NOT BEEN ENDORSED BY THE HOBART CITY COUNCIL

Refer to the 'Current Geographic Boundaries Table' layer for a list of all current geographies and recent updates.

This dataset contains meshblock 2025 (version 2), a major released version of meshblock boundaries as at 8 August 2025. This version contains 57,569 meshblocks, including 16 with empty or null geometries (non-digitised meshblocks). This version reflects a small number of changes made to meshblocks for the 2025 Representation Commission to define the 2025 general and Māori electorate boundaries that will be used for the 2026 general election.

Stats NZ maintains an annual meshblock pattern for collecting and producing statistical data. This allows data to be compared over time.

A meshblock is the smallest geographic unit for which statistical data is collected and processed by Stats NZ. A meshblock is a defined geographic area, which can vary in size from part of a city block to a large area of rural land. The optimal size for a meshblock is 30–60 dwellings (containing approximately 60–120 residents).

Each meshblock borders on another to form a network covering all of New Zealand, including coasts and inlets and extending out to the 200-mile economic zone (EEZ) and is digitised to the 12-mile limit. Meshblocks are added together to build up larger geographic areas such as statistical area 1 (SA1), statistical area 2 (SA2), statistical area 3 (SA3), and urban rural (UR). They are also used to define electoral districts, territorial authorities, and regional councils.

Meshblock boundaries generally follow road centrelines, cadastral property boundaries, or topographical features such as rivers. Expanses of water in the form of lakes and inlets are defined separately from land.

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Meshblock maintenance

Meshblock boundaries are amended by:

1. Splitting – subdividing a meshblock into two or more meshblocks.
2. Nudging – shifting a boundary to a more appropriate position.

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Reasons for meshblock splits and nudges can include:

• to maintain meshblock criteria rules.
• to improve the size balance of meshblocks in areas where there has been population growth
• to maintain alignment to cadastre and other geographic features.
• Stats NZ requests for boundary changes so that statistical geography boundaries can be moved external requests for boundary changes so that administrative or electoral boundaries can be moved
• to separate land and water. Mainland, inland water, islands, inlets, and oceanic are defined separately

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Meshblock changes are made throughout the year. A major release is made at 1 January each year with ad hoc releases available to users at other times.

While meshblock boundaries are continually under review, 'freezes' on changes to the boundaries are applied periodically. Such 'freezes' are imposed at the time of population censuses and during periods of intense electoral activity, for example, prior and during general and local body elections.

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Meshblock numbering

Meshblocks are not named and have seven-digit codes.

When meshblocks are split, each new meshblock is given a new code. The original meshblock codes no longer exist within that version and future versions of the meshblock classification. Meshblock codes do not change when a meshblock boundary is nudged.

Meshblocks that existed prior to 2015 and have not changed are numbered from 0000100 to 3210003. Meshblocks created from 2015 onwards are numbered from 4000000.

Digitised and non-digitised meshblocks

The digital geographic boundaries are defined and maintained by Stats NZ.

Meshblocks cover the land area of New Zealand, the water area to the 12mile limit, the Chatham Islands, Kermadec Islands, sub-Antarctic islands, offshore oil rigs, and Ross Dependency. The following 16 meshblocks are not held in digitised form.

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Meshblock / Location (statistical area 2 name)

• 0016901 Oceanic Kermadec Islands
• 0016902 Kermadec Islands
• 1588000 Oceanic Oil Rig Taranaki
• 3166401 Oceanic Campbell Island
• 3166402 Campbell Island
• 3166600 Oceanic Oil Rig Southland
• 3166710 Oceanic Auckland Islands
• 3166711 Auckland Islands
• 3195000 Ross Dependency
• 3196001 New Zealand Economic Zone
• 3196002 Oceanic Bounty Islands
• 3196003 Bounty Islands
• 3196004 Oceanic Snares Islands
• 3196005 Snares Island
• 3196006 Oceanic Antipodes Islands
• 3196007 Antipodes Islands

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High-definition version

This high definition (HD) version is the most detailed geometry, suitable for use in GIS for geometric analysis operations and for the computation of areas, centroids and other metrics. The HD version is aligned to the LINZ cadastre.

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Macrons

Names are provided with and without tohutō/macrons. The column name for those without macrons is suffixed ‘ascii’.

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Digital data

Digital boundary data became freely available on 1 July 2007

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Further information

To download geographic classifications in table formats such as CSV please use Ariā

For more information please refer to the Statistical standard for geographic areas 2023.

Contact: geography@stats.govt.nz

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This data is originated from the 1:100,000 national basic geographic database, which was open freely for public by the National Basic Geographic Information Center in November 2017. The boundary of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was spliced and clipped as a whole, so as to facilitate the study on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. This data set is the 1:100,000 administrative boundaries of the qinghai-tibet plateau, including National_Tibet_line、 Province_Tibet、City_Tibet、County_Tibet_poly and County_Tibet_line. Administrative boundary layer (County_Tibet_poly) property name and definition: Item Properties Describe Example PAC Administrative division code 513230 NAME The name of the County line name Administrative boundary layer (BOUL) attribute name and definition: Item Properties Describe Example GB classification code 630200 Administrative boundary layer (County_Tibet_line) attribute item meaning: Item Properties Describe Example GB 630200 Provincial boundary GB 640200 Prefectural, municipal and state administrative boundaries GB 650201 county administrative boundaries (determined)