Global Subnational Administrative Boundaries for 109 Countries, Edge-Matched

Global administrative level 1-4 boundaries for 109 countries and territories, aggregated from multiple sources. The dataset is provided in three variations: edge-matched, original, and extended, with metadata about sources. A version with historic boundaries is also available.

Use Cases

• Create standardized maps for humanitarian needs assessment based on the edge-matched boundary variation.
• Analyze regional data with administrative units based on the provided level 1-4 boundaries.
• Maintain source data integrity for specific countries using the original, unmodified boundary variation.
• Perform cross-border analysis using the extended boundary variation designed for international border needs.

Strengths

• Covers administrative boundaries for 109 countries and territories.
• Provides three specific processing variations (edge-matched, original, extended) for different use cases.
• Includes metadata about the sources used for each boundary layer.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

HDX, aggregating multiple sources listed in the metadata table.

Collection Method

Aggregation and processing (edge-matching) of existing subnational boundary datasets.

Time Range

Latest versions as of the update date; a separate historic version is available.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-19 23:39:37.166694; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage for 109 countries and territories.