# Boundary-Line Documentation

Boundary-Line provides a representation of the hierarchy of administrative and electoral boundaries and their names for England, Scotland and Wales. Boundary-Line for England and Wales was initially digitised from Ordnance Survey’s boundary record sheets at 1:10 000 scale (or, in some cases, at larger scales).

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**This product is updated twice a year in May and October.**
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<figure><img src="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2F8e7SPNmsHPZfH2XFt8kP%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=877b8aaa-eb6d-417e-b7c7-a0aee8d66104" alt="A representation of Boundary-Line data showing the boundary lines surrounding Newcastle Upon Tyne"><figcaption><p>A representation of Boundary-Line data showing boundary lines within Great Britain</p></figcaption></figure>

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**Highlight social and economic trends**

Public bodies release a wealth of data via data.gov.uk, census results and other sources. By illustrating your analysis on maps created with Boundary-Line, you'll be able to highlight the social and economic trends shaping changes in how we live and work.

**View historical county boundaries**

As an addition to the core Boundary-Line product, which is updated twice a year, you can download data showing historical county boundaries from the late 19th century. This is ideal for historians who need to analyse old census records and archives.

**A robust framework**

Monitoring outcomes by area is key for public bodies. Boundary-Line gives you a robust analytical framework to ensure the right communities get the right resources.

**Professional quality, free of charge**

Mapped at a scale of 1:10 000, Boundary-Line is quality-assured to the same standard as our premium products. But since it's covered by the Open Government Licence (OGL), you can download it for free and use it in a wide range of ways.
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{% tab title="Use Cases" %}
**Bring statistics to life, for academics or policy-makers**

Boundary-Line brings the statistics in your reports to life. It lets you show differences between regions or councils using easy-to-read shaded maps.

**Individual properties**

When you're consulting on **updating boundaries** to take account of population change, Boundary-Line lets you show on a map where the line's being drawn, right down to the level of individual properties.

**Decision making applications**

Boundary-Line can be used for GIS analysis to support a wide range of business decision-making, such as:

* Political analysis
* Environmental analysis
* Statistical analysis for social or marketing decision-making
* Geo-demographic analysis
* Asset management
* Planning applications
* Legal work
* Reference and research
* Customised graphic output
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{% tab title="Summary" %}

* **Access:** Download via the [OS Data Hub](https://osdatahub.os.uk/)
* **Data theme:** Administrative and Statistical Units
* **Data structure:** Vector – Polygons
* **Coverage**: Great Britain
* **Scale:** 1:10 000
* **Format:** Vector tiles, GeoPackage, ESRI Shapefile, MapInfo TAB, GML 3.2.1
* **Ordering area:** All of Great Britain
* **Publication months**: May, October
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## How to get this product

Access to this OS OpenData product is free [through the OS Data Hub](https://osdatahub.os.uk/data/downloads/open/BoundaryLine).

## Sample data

### Visualise Boundary-Line sample data online

This product is available to try out free online using one of our three sets of sample data (Exeter, Newport and Inverness) through the OS MasterMap Product Viewer:

<table data-view="cards" data-full-width="false"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>OS MasterMap Product Viewer</strong></td><td>Interactive demonstrator of OS MasterMap Generation data</td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing OS VectorMap Local product data over an urban area."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2Fuld7V42IKrB8ovpC1JXB%2FVectorMap-Local-1.png?alt=media&#x26;token=cb3e8ae9-d669-4bc9-b7a7-5f479d780447">VectorMap-Local-1.png</a></td><td><a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/20981dabcb14402687dccb437a4a78fb/">https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/20981dabcb14402687dccb437a4a78fb/</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

## Other ways to access this data

Access to Boundary-Line data is available through the [OS NGD Administrative and Statistical Units Theme](https://docs.os.uk/osngd/data-structure/administrative-and-statistical-units), providing a definitive dataset of administrative and electoral boundaries and their names for England, Wales and Scotland. [Visit the OS NGD docs site](https://docs.os.uk/osngd) to discover how to access the OS NGD and learn what's available to users.

## What's next?

To access documentation and resources relating to this product, please refer to the following:

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-cover data-type="image">Cover image</th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><h4>Boundary data Lightning Talk</h4></td><td>A helpful introductory article hosted on our More than Maps platform providing additional information and context about working with boundary data sets.</td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data against a light backdrop map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2F8fgw0do2WSASRIPPqiMw%2FBoundary-Line-1.png?alt=media&#x26;token=46191b1d-f29e-4663-823a-441ecdd76fd2">Boundary-Line-1.png</a></td><td><a href="https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/data-demonstrators/addressing-and-location-demonstrators/why-are-there-differences-in-boundaries">https://docs.os.uk/more-than-maps/data-demonstrators/addressing-and-location-demonstrators/why-are-there-differences-in-boundaries</a></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Overview</strong></p><p>The overview introduces Boundary-Line and gives context for all users – highlighting key features, providing examples of potential uses, and listing details such as file sizes, supply formats, etc.</p></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data over a map of Scotland."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2F5pX9ZnM5N6ybp1ri7Lip%2FBoundary-Line-4.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f3c8aec3-c61e-4412-88b0-e6cc2e0d0df0">Boundary-Line-4.png</a></td><td><a href="boundary-line/boundary-line-overview">boundary-line-overview</a></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Product Information</strong></p><p>The product information document contains additional theoretical information related to Boundary-Line. All users will find the document useful and informative.</p></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data over a background map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2Fc6gH65mgd3SDIFUgZaua%2FBoundary-Line-2.png?alt=media&#x26;token=1657d225-51a0-49eb-af05-3edf41e24d66">Boundary-Line-2.png</a></td><td><a href="boundary-line/boundary-line-product-information">boundary-line-product-information</a></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Technical Specification</strong></p><p>The technical specification provides detailed technical information about Boundary-Line. It is targeted at technical users and software developers.</p></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data over a background map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2FIWj8mQ4kcQMUhz60LvsQ%2FBoundary-Line-3.png?alt=media&#x26;token=2adab662-9052-4878-8427-4ee54781c7b3">Boundary-Line-3.png</a></td><td><a href="boundary-line/boundary-line-technical-specification">boundary-line-technical-specification</a></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Guide to Ceremonial County Boundaries</strong></p><p>Detailing how we created our dataset of the ceremonial county boundaries for England, Scotland and Wales.</p></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data over a background map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2FyLQXA1yzP0aoYUolaaCx%2FBoundary-Line-5.png?alt=media&#x26;token=60623059-cf70-44b3-95f8-e0b3e24f2ec7">Boundary-Line-5.png</a></td><td><a href="boundary-line/guide-to-ceremonial-county-boundaries">guide-to-ceremonial-county-boundaries</a></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Additional Product Details</strong></p><p>The additional product details page provides background information on districts, counties, boundaries and wards included in this data.</p></td><td></td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data over a background map."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2Fg2jtn2ZL1gKpBGcWXq3Q%2FBoundary-Line-2.png?alt=media&#x26;token=a817cb14-6df1-4705-bd15-ef94a938df07">Boundary-Line-2.png</a></td><td><a href="boundary-line/additional-product-details">additional-product-details</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Downloads</strong></td><td>The downloads page provides supplementary files to support this product in use.</td><td data-object-fit="cover" data-alt="Example image showing Boundary-Line product data over a map of Scotland."><a href="https://1897589978-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcNpJpLP8RROUaWVQo5ea%2Fuploads%2F5pX9ZnM5N6ybp1ri7Lip%2FBoundary-Line-4.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f3c8aec3-c61e-4412-88b0-e6cc2e0d0df0">Boundary-Line-4.png</a></td><td><a href="boundary-line/boundary-line-downloads">boundary-line-downloads</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

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New users should start with the Overview to gain high-level insight into the product. The Technical Specification contains detailed technical insights. The Additional Product Details and Guide to Ceremonial County Boundaries documents provide valuable background information regarding this product.
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