Middle Layer Super Output Areas: England and Wales Administrative Boundaries for 2001

December 2001 digital vector boundaries for Middle Layer Super Output Areas in England and Wales. The dataset contains three boundary versions: full resolution (extent of the realm), full resolution clipped to the coastline, and a 20m generalised version clipped to the coastline. It is provided by the Office for National Statistics and contains both Ordnance Survey and ONS Intellectual Property Rights.

Use Cases

• Mapping administrative regions for census data analysis based on the provided vector boundaries.
• Conducting spatial analysis of socioeconomic indicators using the 2001 geographic framework.
• Creating generalised base maps for public reports using the 20m clipped coastline boundaries.
• Integrating historical boundary data for longitudinal studies of area changes over time.

Strengths

• Provides three specific boundary versions: full extent (154 MB), full clipped (154 MB), and 20m generalised clipped (49 MB).
• Contains boundaries with a specific temporal reference date of 31 December 2001.
• Includes access via multiple ArcGIS REST services for viewing and feature download.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is specific to a single snapshot in time (December 2001), limiting contemporary analysis.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale processing.

Provenance

Source

Office for National Statistics

Time Range

December 2001

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:32:51.718503; freshness should be verified.

Geography

England and Wales