Some downloads will take longer than others depending on the scope of the information requested.  If your download fails or returns a timed out response, consider breaking down the query into smaller sub-components by separating:

  • Countries
  • Topic

Alternatively, you can download these data through the R package.  See Tools for Researchers.

Thank you for your flexibility!

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SUNGEO Historical GIS Boundaries

A key challenge of working with historical administrative data is that the names, number, shape and boundaries of geographic units change over time. Yet open-source GIS data and aggregate zonal statistics are generally available only for contemporary administrative units, which may not align with historical units of interest. To help address this problem, SUNGEO offers GIS data on time-variant historical administrative (and other) boundaries, along with methods to convert data to alternative units, and resolve unit boundary misalignments, splits, and consolidations.

For additional details and information on how to cite these data, please see the Documentation page.

Download GIS data

Files are in geojson format.
Geographic unit definitions
  • adm0: country level
  • adm1: first-tier administrative units (e.g. U.S. states, Ukrainian oblasts)
  • adm2: second-tier administrative units (e.g. U.S. counties, Ukrainian rayons)
  • cst: electoral constituencies (e.g. U.S. Congressional districts)
  • hex05: hexagonal grid cells, half-degree in diameter
  • prio: PRIO-GRID rectangular cells, half-degree across
Please select a file from the menus below.

SHGIS: SUNGEO Historical GIS

HEXGRID: SUNGEO Hexagonal Grid

GAUL: Global Administrative Unit Layers

GRED: GeoReferenced Electoral Districts Datasets

PRIOGRID: PRIO-GRID 2.0 (0.5 degree square grid)