ONS Postcode Directory: UK Postcodes Linked to Administrative and Census Geographies

May 2026 snapshot of the ONS Postcode Directory (ONSPD), linking UK postcodes to administrative, electoral, health, and census geographies. The dataset is produced by ONS Geography and includes both current and terminated postcodes, relating them to 2001 and 2021 Census Output Areas and other statistical geographies. It supports the production of area-based statistics from postcoded data and is issued quarterly.

Use Cases

• Aggregate public health statistics to health authority areas based on postcode linkages.
• Analyze electoral trends by constituency using the postcode-to-electoral geography mapping.
• Produce small-area statistics for policy planning by linking data to Census Output Areas and Super Output Areas.
• Perform historical geographic analysis using linkages to both current and terminated postcodes.

Strengths

• Links postcodes to multiple current statutory geographies (administrative, electoral, health).
• Includes linkages to both 2001 and 2021 Census geographies for longitudinal analysis.
• Contains both current and terminated postcodes, supporting historical studies.
• File size is 2.31 GB, indicating a substantial dataset.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale projects.

Provenance

Source

Office for National Statistics (ONS Geography)

Collection Method

Compiled and issued by ONS Geography as part of their geographic services.

Time Range

Snapshot as of May 2026.

Freshness

Quarterly updates; last updated 2026-06-10.

Geography

United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland).