World administrative and
ZIP Code Boundaries
Enterprise-ready boundary data at country, postal, and up to four admin levels for 247 countries.
coverage
- Coherence and precision up to 4 levels
- Edge-matched polygons
- Clean coastlines and borders
- Proprietary topological model
- Geospatial expert consulting
| Country | Postal Codes | Regions | Cities | Admin Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 41,353 | 3,197 | 53,436 | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 1,791,707 | 402 | 32,061 | 4 |
| Germany | 26,336 | 4,723 | 13,101 | 4 |
| France | 16,050 | 35,232 | 39,597 | 4 |
| Canada | 898,855 | 326 | 8,350 | 2 |
| Australia | 2,949 | 574 | 16,192 | 2 |
Global coverage
Extensive country coverage, including hard-to-source geographies like China, Japan, Brazil, and Russia.
Edge-matched polygons
Our proprietary topological model ensures shape accuracy. No gaps, no overlaps, no duplicate data.
High precision
Accurate mapping of the world at every level, up to 1-meter precision.
Data dictionary
Comprehensive field definitions and data specifications from GeoPostcodes ZIP code database
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO | Char(2) | ISO 3166-1 country code |
| ID | Integer | Unique identifier of the record |
| ZIP | Char(15) | ZIP / Postal code |
| Square_km | Double | Surface area covered by the postal code in square kilometers |
| Level | Integer | Contains a value ranked from 0 to 4 to define the administrative division level, from the largest to the smallest |
| Parent_id | Integer | ID of the parent division |
| Char(60) | Name in the first, second or third export language |
| Type | Char(60) | Type of administrative division |
| Geometry | MultiPolygon | The polygon corresponding to the ZIP / Postal code or administrative division, delivered as a MultiPolygon in the WGS84 datum |
Available file formats
Choose from multiple data formats to seamlessly integrate global boundaries data into your systems
Shapefile Format
Binary vector format with geometry and attributes across multiple files.
GeoJSON Format
GeoPackage
KML Format
GeoParquet
Extension of Apache Parquet, a powerful column-oriented data format.
How to integrate our self-hosted database
Flexible deployment, seamless integration, and various resolutions, all within your own infrastructure.
1
Choose your delivery method
Select the delivery option that fits your infrastructure.
Download the full database directly from your Customer Portal.
Retrieve the full files via API for automated ingestion into your pipeline.
2
Choose your resolution
Two formats, same coverage. Choose precision for analysis or speed for reporting.
Boundaries built to 1-meter precision for clustering, geofencing, and reverse geocoding.
Lightweight format for reporting and BI. Enables fast-loading without losing coverage.
3
Integrate into your system
Import the data easily into any software, product, database, GIS, MDM, and BI system.
Use cases for boundary data
From shipping optimization to market analysis, our boundary data powers
key operations
Territory Mapping
Define and manage sales territories using accurate postal code and administrative boundaries.
Reporting and Business Intelligence
Ensure accurate and consistent reports across your organization. Enhance data analysis with location intelligence.
Geofencing
Define geofences that trigger alerts and
automate location-based campaigns with
meter-level accuracy.
Map and Visualization
Analyze complex trends and discover actionable insights. Build engaging and intuitive map-based data visualizations.
Network Design
Optimize shipping routes and design efficient logistics networks for operational excellence.
Risk Management
Map natural hazard risk areas to identify addresses at risk and minimize avoidable losses.
Trusted by industry leaders
Join more than 100 enterprise clients who trust GeoPostcodes for their location data
Anjo Grebe
Consultant
Dr. Peter Wild
Managing Partner
Kousha Mazloumi
Director of Data Science
Kousha Mazloumi
Director of Data Science
William Chao
Product Owner of Geographic Information Services
Kate Kilby
Senior Product Manager
Dave Hamm
Project Manager
Kavian Ranjbar
Data Governance Specialist
Nick Beaugié
Senior Software Engineer
Why choose GeoPostcodes
Global coverage
Complete coverage across 247 countries, including hard-to-source geographies like China, Japan, Brazil, and Russia.
Highest quality
Built on extensive, authoritative sourcing with robust data engineering and quality control. Standardized and up-to-date.
Expert Consulting
With 15 years of experience, we guide your implementation and deliver data in the format that fits your system.
GLOBAL COVERAGE
Most popular countries for boundary data
Explore our top countries for boundary data. You can also visit the country hubs to view all available countries.
Frequently Asked Questions
GeoPostcodes boundary data is available in multiple industry-standard formats to fit any workflow:
- Shapefile (SHP) — the most widely supported vector format, compatible with ArcGIS, QGIS, and virtually all GIS software
- GeoPackage (GPKG) — an open, portable, standards-based format that embeds data in a single SQLite file
- GeoParquet — a column-oriented format optimized for high-performance analytics, based on the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard
- KML — XML-based geographic format maintained by Google, ideal for Google Earth and web mapping
- GeoJSON — open standard format for web development and Python/JavaScript workflows (available for the Postal Boundaries database)
Yes, you can create a free account on the GeoPostcodes Customer Portal at portal.geopostcodes.com and download free samples to preview the data before committing to a license. The portal’s Data Explorer and Map Explorer also let you browse and visualise the data interactively at no cost.
For full global coverage across all 247 countries, a commercial license is required. Contact our team to discuss the right option for your use case.
GeoPostcodes boundary data is not delivered via API. Instead, data is delivered as self-hosted files that you download and integrate directly into your own infrastructure. Self-hosted delivery means your systems are never dependent on a third-party API for uptime, performance, or data access. You get enhanced security, full compliance control, and consistent performance at a fixed cost, no per-call fees, no rate limits, and no risk of breaking changes from an upstream service. Once integrated, the data is entirely under your control.
The GeoPostcodes boundaries database covers 247 countries and territories worldwide, including hard-to-source geographies such as China, Japan, Brazil, and Russia that many competing datasets fail to represent accurately or completely.
The GeoPostcodes boundaries database covers both sovereign states, independent countries recognized under international law, and non-sovereign territories, such as overseas departments, dependent territories, and autonomous regions administered by another country (for example, French Overseas Territories or British Overseas Territories).
Both are included in the 247-geography count and can be identified and filtered through the administrative level and type fields, allowing you to segment by political status depending on your use case.
All GeoPostcodes boundary data, both the Administrative Boundaries Database and the Postal Boundaries Database, uses the WGS84 datum (EPSG:4326), the global standard coordinate reference system used by GPS and most web mapping applications.
Geometries are delivered as MultiPolygon features in WGS84, making them directly compatible with QGIS, ArcGIS, PostGIS, Python (geopandas), R (sf), and all major GIS and BI tools without requiring a projection conversion.
The Postal Boundaries Database is delivered as a single file containing the following fields:
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO | Char(2) | ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 country code |
| ZIP | Char(15) | ZIP / Postal code |
| SQUARE_KM | Double | Surface area covered in square kilometers |
| geometry | MultiPolygon | Boundary polygon in WGS84 |
The Administrative Boundaries Database includes:
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO | Char(2) | ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 country code |
| id | Integer | Unique record identifier |
| level | Integer | Administrative level: 0 = country, 1–4 = sub-national divisions (smallest to largest) |
| parent_id | Integer | ID of the parent division (null at country level) |
| name_lang1 | Char(60) | Name in the first export language |
| name_lang2 | Char(60) | Name in the second export language (optional) |
| name_lang3 | Char(60) | Name in the third export language (optional) |
| type | Char(60) | Type of administrative division (e.g. state, province, commune, parish) |
| geometry | MultiPolygon | Boundary polygon in WGS84 |
Both databases are fully compatible with each other and with other GeoPostcodes datasets.
GeoPostcodes boundary data is available at two precision levels:
- High-precision — shapes are kept at their highest level of detail, up to 1-meter precision. Designed for applications requiring exact boundary accuracy, such as geofencing, territory assignment, and precise spatial analysis.
- Visualization precision — shapes are intelligently simplified for rendering performance, ideal for dashboards, reporting tools, and web mapping applications where file size and rendering speed matter more than sub-meter accuracy.
You can select the resolution that fits your application’s requirements at the time of download.
Edge-matching means that wherever two boundary polygons share a border, those borders are geometrically identical. They use the exact same coordinates, with no gaps between them and no overlapping areas.
GeoPostcodes achieves this through a proprietary topological model, which processes all boundaries as a connected network rather than as independent shapes. The result is a clean, consistent dataset where adjacent polygons fit together perfectly.
In practice, this matters because non-edge-matched data creates “slivers”, tiny unassigned gaps or overlapping areas at shared borders. These cause errors in spatial joins, point-in-polygon lookups, area calculations, and choropleth mapping. Edge-matched data eliminates these problems entirely, removing a common and time-consuming source of data cleaning in GIS and BI workflows.
GeoPostcodes data specialists regularly update the boundaries database to reflect the world’s changing geography, including border changes, newly recognized territories, administrative reorganizations, and postal code boundary revisions.
Licensed customers can download the updated data through the Download Center in the Customer Portal, which clearly shows when each file was last updated and highlights any versions not yet downloaded. Updates are included in your license at no additional cost.
GeoPostcodes data is available under a commercial license, making it suitable for use in commercial applications, products, and services. Specific terms, including attribution requirements, redistribution rights, and permitted use cases, are defined in your individual license agreement.
To discuss licensing options for your use case, whether it’s an ongoing SaaS integration or an enterprise deployment, get in touch with our team. We’ll identify the right license structure and ensure you have everything in place before going live.