Geodata Maps | GfK Global

Worldwide digital maps

Our mission is to bring the power of boundary data to everyday business and make an impact for companies across all industries. Digital maps from GfK are a key ingredient to analyze and visualize data in order to get location-related insights. Our boundary data helps you answer your key business questions incorporating geospatial factors, giving you the extra edge to make more secure decisions.

Benefit from our high quality:

Global coverage
World's largest collection of postal and administrative boundaries. Regular updates ensure the high accuracy of our maps – such as the annual update of our Europe Edition in October.

Expertly curated
Every boundary is validated by our own team of experts to ensure the high accuracy and completeness of our boundaries.
Up to date
We update all European boundaries yearly and each other continent every three years.
Highly detailed and precise coastlines
Seamless in every aspect
- vertically seamless: We offer a 1:1 parent child relationship where each boundary matches its hierarchical parent layer and the children are perfectly nested within.
- horizontally seamless: There are no gaps or overlaps between adjacent features, enabling robust and detailed analyses even across country borders.
- seamless matching: GfK boundaries and market data match perfectly and ensure reliable planning.
- only exception: Disputed areas (in terms of political conflicts) are usually assigned to all involved parties, which automatically results in overlaps within our world map set. Those decisions are generally based on information provided by the United Nations.

These high-quality standards create a safe and robust environment for your analyses and build a valid basis for decision making. GfK boundaries are available in all relevant geoformats (see below) and can easily be embedded into any GIS, BI or mapping application.

Our digital maps are available in all standard map formats:

Available standard formats
- GfK RegioGraph Lay (*.lay)
- ESRI Shapefile (*.shp)
- ESRI File Geodatabase (*.gdb)
- MapInfo TAB Extended (*.tab)
- MapInfo Interchange Format (*.mif)
Further formats
- GeoJSON (*.geojson)
- TopoJSON (*.topojson)
- GeoPackage (*.gpkg)
- PostGIS Dump
- FlatGeobuf (*.fgb)
Standardized table structure
- ID, reference number or ZIP code
- Name in local language
- Name in ASCII characters

CRESTA Zones

Our CRESTA Zones are boundary data for analyzing and sharing results related to natural catastrophes and the associated risks. Created in collaboration with PERILS CRESTA AG, the CRESTA Zones give users in the insurance and risk management industries a consistent, unified, and global basis for calculating, aggregating, and communicating risk information. As such, the zones are a widely accepted standard in industry.

What our clients say

We’ve been using GfK boundary data for many years and it has been instrumental in providing a robust source of geographic data for exposure, hazard and risk analysis. GfK‘s maps and CRESTA Zones help us understand geographical linkages, visualise and share insights, and make informed decisions in mitigating catastrophe risks.

Chris Ewing, Head of Business Development, Aon Impact Forecasting
GfK's commitment to quality aligns seamlessly with Moody’s mission to support the insurance industry in addressing their most complex challenges. In an increasingly interconnected world, where risks continue to grow and compound in unforeseen ways, their robust geodata enhance the geocoding and modelling work that underpins our unique solutions offering covering risk selection, pricing, and management.

Cihan Biyikoglu, Head of Product, Moody's RMS
GfK’s high data granularity and rapid update cycles make it a perfect fit for integration into the Location Risk Intelligence solution, enabling comprehensive assessments of natural hazards and climate change risks. Our
long-standing collaboration has fostered a strong partnership, ensuring superior data quality and actionable insights for informed decision-making.

Christof Reinert, Head of Risk Management Partners, Munich Re