Global Vector Data Sources and Usage Notes
Introduces sources of global vector data and download methods. For domestic administrative boundary vectors in China, it is recommended to use administrative boundary data from Tianditu; iXGIS already provides a Tianditu download tool.
Global vector data refers to geographic data that covers the world and represents natural and human features as points, lines, and polygons. Common features include:
- Natural features: coastlines, international boundaries, rivers, lakes, watersheds, marine regions, terrain-derived lines, and more
- Human features: national/provincial/municipal administrative boundaries, settlements/place names, transportation features such as roads, railways, routes, ports, and airports, protected areas, and more
Common formats/coordinate systems: Shapefile, GeoPackage, GeoJSON, GeoParquet, and similar formats. Most datasets are published in WGS84 (EPSG:4326). Scale/detail: detail is usually described by cartographic scale or minimum mapping unit (MMU), for example 1:110M, 1:50M, or 1:10M.
Common authoritative or widely used data sources at a glance
- Natural Earth (NE): global basemap data, including countries, coastlines, rivers, populated places, and more. It is available at 1:110M, 1:50M, and 1:10M, is clean and suitable for cartography, and is released under a public domain license.
- OpenStreetMap (OSM): crowdsourced global roads, buildings, points of interest, and more. It is detailed and updated quickly, but semantics depend on tags such as
highway=*, and quality varies by region. Licensed under ODbL. - GADM: global administrative boundaries down to county/township levels, with large differences by country and rich attributes. The license is relatively conservative, so review the terms carefully for commercial use.
- FAO GAUL / UN-aligned boundaries: administrative boundaries aligned with United Nations conventions, useful for statistics and governance scenarios. Downloads must comply with the usage statement.
- EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zones, VLIZ): global maritime jurisdiction and sea-area boundaries, commonly used in maritime, fisheries, and ocean planning work.
- HydroBASINS / HydroRIVERS (WWF): global hierarchical watersheds and river networks, convenient for hydrological and freshwater ecology analysis.
- GLWD (Global Lakes & Wetlands): global lake and wetland polygon features.
- WDPA / WD-OECM (Protected Planet databases): global protected-area boundaries and attributes, such as national parks and nature reserves. Licensing and usage statements are strict.
- GSHHG: multi-resolution global coastlines, national boundaries, and rivers, suitable for mapping and coastal analysis.
Data Sources
The following table summarizes major publicly accessible global administrative-boundary vector datasets to help you choose by accuracy, license, and update frequency.
| Dataset | Administrative levels* | Latest/common version | Update frequency | License | Access method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GADM | ADM 0-4 | v4.1 (2022-07-16) | Irregular | CC BY-NC 4.0 | Country-by-country downloads from the official site |
| GAUL (FAO) | ADM 0-2 | 2024 Edition | Annual | Research/humanitarian use only | FAO GeoNetwork |
| geoBoundaries | ADM 0-4 | Static snapshot released in 2025-01 | Annual/quarterly | CC BY 4.0 | Official site/API and HDX bulk downloads |
| Natural Earth | ADM 0-2 | v5.1 (2023-12) | Irregular | Public Domain | 1:10M/50M/110M ZIP packages |
| OCHA COD-AB / HDX | ADM 0-4 | Dynamic | Continuous | Mostly CC BY 4.0 | Country data packages on HDX |
| OpenStreetMap (OSM) | ADM 0-8 | Real time | Daily | ODbL 1.0 | Geofabrik Shapefile/PBF regional packages |
| Esri Boundaries | ADM 0-1 | Updated 2024-09 | Continuous | Esri proprietary | Direct ArcGIS Online access or local packages |
Dataset characteristics and selection guidance
- Publication-quality cartography and lightweight visualization Prefer Natural Earth. It is public domain, has no copyright burden, and the 1:10M package is only several dozen MB. If you need vector coastlines, capital points, maritime dispute lines, and similar features, they can also be downloaded together. naturalearthdata.com
- Academic/research analysis
- GADM: deep administrative hierarchy and detailed shapes, useful for statistical analysis. However, commercial use is prohibited, and some island boundaries have gaps. gadm.org
- GAUL: maintained by FAO and aligned with UN official boundaries. New versions have been released annually in recent years, making it suitable for agriculture and food-security models. A usage statement is required. FAO Home
- Open-source engineering or commercial products
- geoBoundaries: CC BY and usable commercially. It provides both high-precision original data and simplified CGAZ data, and preserves multiple versions for disputed areas such as De facto and US DoS views. geoboundaries.org
- OSM / Geofabrik: if a project needs daily updates or administrative communities down to street level, OSM relations can be used directly. Pay attention to ODbL share-alike requirements for derived databases. geofabrik.de
- Humanitarian relief and disaster response
- OCHA COD-AB (Common Operational Dataset): official boundaries from national governments or UN country offices. These datasets often include P-codes, making them convenient for joining with population or disaster-location data. data.humdata.org
Natural Earth Dataset
Natural Earth is a public domain map dataset designed primarily for cartography and visualization rather than high-precision GIS analysis. It is available at 1:10M, 1:50M, and 1:110M scales.
It supports multiple country POV versions, and the boundaries differ between views. Download the version that fits your use case.
Data download page: Natural Earth - Free vector and raster map data at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m scales
| Key information | |
|---|---|
| Positioning | Free public domain global basemap material, intended primarily for cartography and visualization rather than high-precision GIS analysis (GIS Geography) |
| Scales | Three datasets for the same themes: 1:10M, 1:50M, and 1:110M. They are designed to maintain consistent appearance across zoom levels (GIS Geography) |
| Categories | Cultural: countries/provinces, cities, roads, airports, railways, seaports, disputed areas, and more. Physical: land, rivers and lakes, peaks, coastlines, ocean features, vegetation zones, and more. Raster: shaded relief, Natural Earth 1/2, ocean bathymetry, cross-blended hypsometric tints, and more (GIS Geography) |
| Data formats | Themes are packaged as ESRI Shapefile; rasters are GeoTIFF. The official site also provides a Quick-start kit with QGIS/ArcMap styles for immediate use (naturalearthdata.com) |
| License | Fully public domain. You may freely copy, modify, and use it commercially; the authors recommend retaining source attribution (GIS Geography) |
| Maintainers | Volunteer community plus NACIS (North American Cartographic Information Society), with core authors including Nathaniel V. Kelso and Tom Patterson |
Download Data
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Global boundaries down to country level, including 258 countries and territories worldwide, at 1:10M scale using v5.1 (Dec 2023) data.
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Download countries (4.7 MB) version 5.1.1
Download without boundary lakes (4.87 MB) version 5.1.1
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Global country-level boundaries from different national points of view. The China POV version is broadly consistent with the boundaries in China's public-version vector data.
- Download countries (China POV) (4.68 MB) version 5.1.1
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Global boundaries down to states and provinces
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Download states and provinces (14.22 MB) version 5.1.1
Download as scale ranks (12.83 MB) version 5.1.1
Download without large lakes (14.36 MB) version 5.1.1
Download boundary lines (5.72 MB) version 5.1.0
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Populated places: city and town points, from Tokyo to Wasilla and from Cairo to Kandahar
- Download populated places (2.68 MB) version 5.1.2
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Roads
- Download roads (8.66 MB) version 5.0.0
- Download North America supplement (45.57 MB) version 4.0.0
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Railways
- Download railroads (14.42 MB) version 4.0.0
- Download North America supplement (405.5 KB) version 4.0.0
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Rivers and lake centerlines
- Download rivers and lake centerlines (1.98 MB) version 5.0.0
- Download scale ranks and tapering (2.3 MB) version 5.0.0
- Download Australia supplement (401.62 KB) version 5.0.0
- Download Europe supplement (584.96 KB) version 5.0.0
- Download North America supplement (3.07 MB) version 5.0.0
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Lakes and reservoirs
- Download lakes (2.24 MB) version 5.0.0
- Download historic lakes (27.12 KB) version 5.0.0
- Download pluvial lakes (214.24 KB) version 4.0.0
- Download Australia supplement (96.06 KB) version 5.0.0
- Download Europe supplement (180.74 KB) version 5.0.0
- Download North America supplement (656.21 KB) version 5.0.0
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Time zones, including 24+ time zones with local offsets and map color codes
- Download time zones (1.88 MB) version 4.0.0
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United States only
- Download counties (1.83 MB) version 5.1.1
- Download without large lakes (1.85 MB) version 5.1.1
- Download as scale ranks (1.33 MB) version 5.1.1
- Download scale ranks with minor islands (1.33 MB) version 5.1.1
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Full page: Natural Earth > 1:10m Cultural Vectors - 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m
Load Data
Upload data
After extracting the downloaded data, upload it to Cloud Resource Manager. The software recognizes the vector data formats and prompts the user to import the data as the default pgv format or keep the existing shp format.
Load data
Select the uploaded ne_10m_time_zones.pgv data. The Resource Manager dynamic toolbar will show available operations such as Download, Delete, Load, and Rename. Select Load to load the data into the current project.
Essential Notes
When using Natural Earth or other vector datasets that contain China's boundaries, you must pay special attention to boundary accuracy. Except for Download countries (China POV) (4.68 MB) version 5.1.1, other vector datasets contain multiple compilation errors in China's boundaries. Typical examples include Nanggarze County, Lhozhag County, Cuona City, and Medog County.
Use China's public-version 1:1,000,000 vector data to replace China-region data from these foreign sources. The simplest approach is to use a clipping tool to remove the China portion from Natural Earth data, then replace it with the correct data.
Processing Workflow
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Delete the China, Hong Kong, and related features from the global vector data.
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Use China's land-area polygon vector data to erase the corresponding region from the global vector data. In the toolbox, open
Analysis Tools > Overlay Analysis > Erase. -
Merge the erased global vector data with the China land-area polygon vector data. Use
GIS Toolbox > Analysis Tools > Overlay Analysis > Unionto combine the two files.
GAUL Data Source
The GAUL data source is maintained by the Geospatial Unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It is aligned with UN official boundaries, has released new versions annually in recent years, and is suitable for agriculture and food-security models.
| Key point | Description |
|---|---|
| Maintainer | Geospatial Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |
| Boundary principle | Fully follows the current official boundaries of the United Nations Cartographic Section (UNCS); disputed areas retain a UN view attribute flag |
| Levels | Level 0 (L0): countries/territories. Level 1 (L1): first-level administrative units such as provinces and states. Level 2 (L2): second-level administrative units such as counties and districts |
| Latest version | GAUL 2024, released on 2025-04-08 (FAO Home) |
| Release cadence | Annual releases since 2023, such as 2023 and 2024, with timely updates against UN annual boundary bulletins |
| Formats | Shapefile (WGS 84) and GeoPackage; globally seamless and topologically consistent, with a unique GAUL_CODE |
| License | Non-commercial (research/humanitarian use only). Users must accept the GAUL Data License and complete the online declaration |
Level 1 and Level 2 Data Description and Downloads
| GAUL 2024 Level 1 | GAUL 2024 Level 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform URL | Download page | Download page |
| Administrative level | First-level administrative units such as provinces and states | Second-level administrative units such as counties and districts |
| Coverage | 249 countries/territories and 6,741 L1 units | 240 countries/territories and about 55,000 L2 units |
| Coordinate system | WGS 84 (EPSG:4326), geometries corrected for seamless topology | Same as left |
| Core fields | GAUL0_CODE / GAUL1_CODE, GAUL1_NAME, ISO3_CODE, DISP_AREA for disputed-area markers, and more | Adds GAUL2_CODE and GAUL2_NAME to the fields on the left |
| File form | Shapefile (ZIP about 120 MB) and GeoPackage (about 95 MB) | Shapefile (ZIP about 650 MB) and GeoPackage (about 510 MB) |
| Release date | 2025-04-08 | 2025-04-08 |
| Download address | Administrative boundaries (Level 1) - GAUL 2024 | Administrative boundaries (Level 2) - GAUL 2024 dataset |
Essential Notes
When using the GAUL dataset, you must also pay attention to multiple compilation errors in China's boundaries. In addition to the Natural Earth errors around Nanggarze County, Lhozhag County, Cuona City, and Medog County, there are also compilation errors near the boundary between Ngari Prefecture and Hotan Prefecture.
Use China's public-version 1:1,000,000 vector data to replace China-region data from these foreign sources. The simplest approach is to use a clipping tool to remove the China portion from Natural Earth data, then replace it with the correct data.