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An administrative area map level tells you where a mapped unit sits in a country’s territorial hierarchy. ADM1 means a first-order administrative division and ADM2 a second-order division; neither label has one universal local name or boundary definition. Check the map’s metadata to see whether its areas are government jurisdictions or statistical reporting units.
What is an administrative area?
An administrative area, also called an administrative unit or division, is territory associated with government administration. The United Nations Statistics Division defines an administrative unit as “A geographic area with legally defined boundaries created for the purposes of implementing administrative and other government functions.” The handbook presents this within an illustrative data-layer example, so a specific dataset’s definition may differ. United Nations Statistics Division, Handbook on Geographic Information Systems and Digital Mapping
What do ADM1 and ADM2 mean?
ADM1 and ADM2 indicate a unit’s relative rank in an administrative hierarchy: ADM1 is a first-order administrative division, and ADM2 is a second-order administrative division, according to UNGEGN’s designation codes. The labels describe ordinal position, not a particular type of territory. UNGEGN, “Designation Codes and Designations”
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Are all map levels administrative boundaries?
No. Some mapped areas are government jurisdictions; others are statistical or census reporting units used to organize and display information. A statistical area may relate to administrative boundaries without itself having an administrative function. The United Nations’ census-geography guidance distinguishes units with administrative roles from units used for statistical display. United Nations Statistics Division, Handbook on Geospatial Infrastructure in Support of Census Activities
That distinction matters when interpreting a map or joining data: two layers with similar-looking boundaries may represent different kinds of geography. Read the dataset description rather than inferring a unit’s purpose from its outline or level label.
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How to interpret an administrative map level
Before comparing levels across maps or using a boundary layer, verify these details in its metadata:
- Unit type: Is it a legal government jurisdiction, a census or statistical reporting area, or a product that includes both?
- Level definition: What does each ordinal level mean in this country and dataset, and what are the local names?
- Boundary authority and date: Which authority or dataset defines the boundaries, and when were they current?
- Geographic relationships: Are units nested, exhaustive, aligned with statistical areas, or otherwise related to other boundaries? Confirm the relationship instead of assuming it.
United Nations guidance emphasizes defining relationships among geographic units and boundary features. These details help establish whether levels in two datasets can be compared or joined meaningfully. UNGEGN, “Data modelling, Chapter 2.2”
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