Geography and GIS

IPUMS Geography Overview

IPUMS provides geographic information to facilitate cross-temporal and cross-national comparative analyses. Multiple census years are available for most countries in the database, and geography variables are harmonized taking into consideration changes in administrative boundaries over time.

Geography and Migration

IPUMS provides spatially harmonized previous-residence variables for all countries at the first administrative level of geography and for selected countries at the second administrative level of geography. The migration variables are coded to match the harmonized place of residence variables for each country to facilitate analysis of intra-national migration.

GIS Boundary Files Download

IPUMS boundary files (shapefiles) facilitate subnational, national and international data mapping. The attribute data in all shapefiles corresponds to a specific geographic variable in the IPUMS International microdata for mapping purposes.

Geospatial contextuals (BETA!)

A list of external geospatial data sources, that can be used along with IPUMS International data. Examples include precipitation, temperature, ecoregion, soils, etc. IPUMS provides an inventory of geospatial data sources and guidance on how to aggregate them to the lowest available geography in IPUMS.

List of All Geography Variables

A comprehensive table that lists geography variables across all the countries in the IPUMS database. The table lists spatially harmonized and year-specific geography variables as well as map (JPEG) images for all mappable geography variables.

Crosswalk to IPUMS DHS geography

A list of geography variables with codes that match those in the IPUMS DHS and IPUMS International databases. The variables are intended to facilitate combining data from the censuses and Demographic and Health Surveys.