NUTS Level 1 Boundaries for England and Wales, January 2015

Office for National Statistics provides digital vector boundaries for Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics level 1 areas in England and Wales. The dataset includes five boundary versions at different resolutions, from full extent to ultra-generalized 500m clips. Data is current as of 1 January 2015.

Use Cases

• Create regional choropleth maps based on the ultra-generalized boundaries for web visualization.
• Perform spatial joins with statistical data using the full-resolution boundaries for precise analysis.
• Generate simplified base maps for reports using the super-generalized 200m boundaries.
• Analyze coastline representation differences between the 'extent of the realm' and 'clipped to coastline' versions.

Strengths

• Provides five distinct boundary versions with specific file sizes, from 69 KB to 14 MB.
• Includes boundaries at specific resolutions: 20m, 200m, and 500m generalisation.
• Contains intellectual property from both Ordnance Survey and ONS.
• Offers multiple access methods, including REST URLs for ArcGIS services.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Data is from January 2015; freshness should be verified for current applications.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Office for National Statistics

Collection Method

Digital vector boundaries, likely derived from official cartographic sources.

Time Range

As at 1 January 2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-08 13:33:13.700648; freshness should be verified

Geography

England and Wales