Version: 0.1.0 | Published: 10 Dec 2025 | Updated: 93 days ago
Summary
Description:
This dataset provides harmonized small-area geography boundaries for the entire United Kingdom, combining LSOA-equivalent geographies from England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The dataset includes Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) for England and Wales (2021 boundaries), Data Zones for Scotland (2022 boundaries), and Data Zones for Northern Ireland (2021 boundaries). These geographies have been harmonized to provide consistent small-area boundaries across the UK for spatial analysis and data aggregation. All boundaries have the common coordinate reference system EPSG:27700, OSGB36/British National Grid.
**IMPORTANT** - This is a beta version of the data product. We have released it as a preview to allow users exploration and experimentation while we perform final quality assurance and additional checks. If you encounter any issue or have questions, please get in touch with us at [imago@liverpool.ac.uk](mailto:imago@liverpool.ac.uk) We will shortly be releasing a more stable version. Please check [https://imago.ac.uk](https://imago.ac.uk) for news and updates.
Contact Point:
Documentation
Documentation:
The dataset contains harmonized boundary geometries and identifiers for small-area geographies across the UK. Each record includes: (1) data_zone_code and data_zone_name: standardized zone code and name for all UK nations; (2) country: nation identifier (England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland); (3) nation-specific codes and names (LSOA21C/LSOA21N for England and Wales, dzcode/dzname for Scotland, DZ2021_c/DZ2021_n for Northern Ireland); (4) geometry: polygon boundaries in British National Grid projection. These geographies are designed to enable small-area statistics and provide consistent spatial units for analysis across the UK.
Coverage
Spatial
Spatial Coverage:
United Kingdom
Geographical Levels:
LSOA
Temporal
Start Date:
2021
Frequency:
Static (boundary snapshot)
Date of Latest Release:
10 December 2025
Date of First Release:
10 December 2025
Provenance
Origin
Purpose:
All boundaries originate from official national statistical agencies and
represent the standard small-area geographies in use for each UK nation as of
2021. England and Wales LSOAs are built from Census Output Areas with typical
populations of 1,000–3,000 residents. Scottish Data Zones (2022) are built from
2022 Census Output Areas with populations typically between 500–1,000. Northern
Ireland Data Zones (2021) have populations of approximately 200–1,400 residents.
The dataset is suitable for UK-wide small-area spatial analysis, with the caveat
that population sizes and zone design differ across nations. **IMPORTANT** -
This version is released as beta. This means that, although we have applied our
quality standard in its production, we are still assessing its overall quality
and identifying minor issues that need resolution before a more stable version
can be released. As soon as we are ready, we will issue a new release. Please
check https://imago.ac.uk for news and updates.
Source:
This harmonized boundary dataset combines three official UK statistical geography products: (1) Lower Layer Super Output Areas (December 2021) for England and Wales, produced by the Office for National Statistics, available at https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/68515293204e43ca8ab56fa13ae8a547_0/; (2) Data Zone Boundaries (2022) for Scotland, produced by National Records of Scotland based on 2022 Census data, available at https://spatialdata.gov.scot/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/f6656adf-b720-4612-ad5c-1d13eae94c8b; (3) Data Zone Boundaries (2021) for Northern Ireland, produced by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, available at https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/data-zone-boundaries-gis-format. All datasets were harmonized with consistent field naming conventions to enable UK-wide spatial analysis. The harmonization was performed by the Imago Team.
Collection Status:
0.1.0
Author 1
Name Organisation:
Imago: Data Service for Imagery
Family Name Person:
Elisabetta Pietrostefani
Access and Governance
Usage
Data Use Requirements:
None
Access
Access Rights:
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Licence:
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Format and Standards
Vocabulary Encoding Scheme:
EPSG:27700, OSGB36/British National Grid