Nicaragua Building Footprints from OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap exports provide building footprints across Nicaragua. The data includes every feature tagged as a building, from residential homes through hospitals, schools, and places of worship. The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) maintains this export, which was last updated on 2026-05-14.

Use Cases

• Population estimation based on building density and type.
• Damage assessment for natural disasters using building footprint data.
• Urban planning and infrastructure development analysis.
• Mapping the distribution of public facilities like schools and hospitals.

Strengths

• Includes all OpenStreetMap features tagged as a building (`building=*`).
• Covers a wide range of building types, from homes to hospitals and schools.
• Available in multiple geospatial formats including GEOPACKAGE, SHP, and JSON.

Limitations

• Completeness varies by region; urban areas are usually well-mapped, remote areas may be incomplete.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

OpenStreetMap

Collection Method

Volunteer-contributed mapping via the OpenStreetMap platform.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 21:24:31.229718; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Nicaragua