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Original author(s)Robert J. Hijmans
Initial release2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Stable release
4.1 / 16 July 2022; 18 months ago (2022-07-16)[1]
Written inGeoPackage
TypeGeographic Information Systems, Data visualization
LicenseCopyrighted with academic friendly policy
Websitegadm.org

GADM, the Database of Global Administrative Areas, is a high-resolution database of country administrative areas, with a goal of "all countries, at all levels, at any time period."[2] Although it is a public database, GADM has a higher spatial resolution than other free databases,[3] and also higher than commercial software such as ArcGIS.[4] Those sources are commonly use to complete data analysis with data visualisation such as data plots, choropleth map, etc.[5][6]

Format

The database is available in a few export formats, including shapefiles that are used in most common GIS applications.[7] Files for use with the data analysis language R are also available.

License

GADM is not freely available for commercial use. The GADM project created the spatial data for many countries from spatial databases provided by national governments, NGO, and/or from maps and lists of names available on the Internet (e.g. from Wikipedia).

See also

References

  1. ^ "GADM data". Gadm.org. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  2. ^ Main GADM website
  3. ^ Free Geography Tools website
  4. ^ Kelly Center blog
  5. ^ chloropleth map of deforestation in Africa
  6. ^ Swiss canton languages
  7. ^ Marine Life Mapping & Visualisation
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