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

Digital vector boundaries for Middle Layer Super Output Areas in England and Wales as of 31 December 2001. The dataset contains three boundary versions: full resolution for the realm's extent, full resolution clipped to the coastline, and a 20-meter generalised version also clipped. Contains both Ordnance Survey and Office for National Statistics Intellectual Property Rights.

Use Cases

• Mapping administrative regions based on the provided vector boundaries.
• Performing spatial joins with census data using the 2001 MSOA geography.
• Creating generalised maps for publication using the 20-meter clipped boundaries.
• Analyzing coastal versus inland administrative extents using the different clipping methods.

Strengths

• Provides three specific boundary versions: full extent, full clipped, and 20m generalised clipped.
• File sizes are specified: 154 MB for full resolution files and 49 MB for the generalised version.
• Contains intellectual property from authoritative sources: Ordnance Survey and the Office for National Statistics.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is specific to a single snapshot date (31 December 2001), limiting temporal analysis.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale processing.

Provenance

Source

Office for National Statistics

Collection Method

Likely digitized and generalized from official Ordnance Survey mapping.

Time Range

As of 31 December 2001

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:32:50.278580; freshness should be verified.

Geography

England and Wales