Spatially harmonized second-level geography
Most countries include second-level geographic detail in their sample data. IPUMS creates harmonized variables providing geographically stable second-level subnational units over time. Second-level geography for place of residence is available through a single global variable, GEOLEV2, and its associated shapefile. Harmonized second-level variables and shapefiles are also created for each country. Where available, IPUMS also provides harmonized migration variables whose codes match the place-of-residence variables.
Changes over time in administrative boundaries are handled by combining the affected geographic units to create larger, temporally-stable units comprised of two or more districts, counties, etc. The units created in this process do not cross first-level boundaries (i.e., they fully nest within the first-level harmonized units). South Africa 2001 is an exception in this regard.
The attribute data for the global file include codes for the GEOLEV2 variable, the BPLCOUNTRY (country of birth) variable, and the COUNTRY (country of residence) variable. The first three digits of GEOLEV2 give the country code, the next three digits specify the first-level geographic unit GEOLEV1, and the last three digits specify the second-level geographic unit within the first-level unit.
Download global GEOLEV2 shapefile (.shp)
The table below lists the second-level geography identified for each IPUMS International country and provides GIS shapefiles for the sample years represented in the spatially harmonized geography and migration variables. Some countries (e.g. Chile and Morocco) have two sets of spatially harmonized geographic variables due to substantial reorganization of administrative boundaries between census years. Other countries do not provide second-level geographic detail in the sample data for place of residence or migration or both. Note that not all countries that provide second-level migration data have been harmonized at this time. These variables, identified as "not yet available" in the table, will be added in future updates.
| Country | Second-level geography | Second-level geography variable | Corresponding second-level migration & birthplace variables | GIS files |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Department | GEO2_AR | MIG2_5_AR | 1970-2010 |
| Armenia | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Austria | ENUTS3 | GEO2_AT | MIG2_1_AT | 1971-2011 |
| Bangladesh | Zilla | GEO2_BD | n.a. | 1991-2011 |
| Belarus | Raion | GEO2_BY | n.a. | 2009 |
| Benin | Commune | GEO2_BJ | MIG2_P_BJ BPL2_BJ |
1979-2013 |
| Bolivia | Province | GEO2_BO | MIG2_5_BO BPL2_BO |
1976-2012 |
| Botswana | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Brazil | Municipality | GEO2_BR | MIG2_P_BR MIG2_5_BR |
1980-2010 |
| Burkina Faso | Province | GEO2_BF | MIG2_1_BF BPL2_BF BPL2ALT_BF |
1996-2006 |
| Cambodia | District | GEO2_KH | MIG2_P_KH BPL2_KH |
1998-2019 |
| Cameroon | Department | GEO2_CM | MIG2_P_CM MIG2_5_CM MIG2_11_CM BPL2_CM |
1976-2005 |
| Canada | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Chile | Department | GEO2ALT_CL | BPL2_CL | 1960-1970 |
| Chile | Commune | GEO2_CL | MIG2_5_CL | 1982-2017* |
| China | Prefecture/city | GEO2_CN | MIG2_P_CN | 1982-2000 |
| Colombia | Municipality | GEO2_CO | MIG2_P_CO MIG2_5_CO |
1973-2005 |
| Costa Rica | Canton | GEO2_CR | MIG2_P_CR MIG2_5_CR BPL2_CR |
1963-2011 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Department | GEO2_CI | MIG2_1_CI BPL2_CI |
1988-1998 |
| Cuba | Municipality | GEO2_CU | MIG2_P_CU BPL2_CU |
2002-2012 |
| Dominican Republic | Municipality | GEO2_DO | MIG2_5_DO MIG2ALT_5_DO |
1960-2010 |
| Ecuador | Canton | GEO2_EC | MIG2_P_EC MIG2_5_EC BPL2_EC |
1962-2010 |
| Egypt | District | GEO2_EG | MIG2_P_EG | 1986-2006 |
| El Salvador | Municipality | GEO2_SV | MIG2_P_SV | 1992-2007 |
| Ethiopia | Zone | GEO2_ET | MIG2_P_ET | 1994-2007 |
| Fiji | Province | GEO2_FJ | MIG2_5_FJ | 1966-2014 |
| Finland | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| France | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Germany | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Ghana | District | GEO2_GH | MIG2_5_GH | 2000-2010 |
| Greece | Municipality | GEO2_GR | n.a. | 1971-2011 |
| Guatemala | Municipality | GEO2_GT | MIG2_P_GT MIG2_5_GT |
1964-2002 |
| Guinea | Sub-prefecture | GEO2_GN | n.a. | 1996-2014 |
| Haiti | Arrondisement | GEO2_HT | MIG2_P_HT MIG2_5_HT |
1971-2003 |
| Honduras | Municipality | GEO2_HN | MIG2_5_HN BPL2_HN |
1961-2013 |
| Hungary | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| India | District | GEO2_IN | n.a. | 1987-2009 |
| Indonesia | Regency | GEO2_ID | MIG2_P_ID MIG2_5_ID |
1971-2010 |
| Iran | Sub-province | GEO2_IR | MIG2_P_IR | 2006-2011 |
| Iraq | District (Qadah) | GEO2_IQ | Not yet available | 1997 |
| Ireland | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Israel | Subdistrict | GEO2_IL | MIG2_5_IL | 1972-1995 |
| Italy | Province | GEO2_IT | MIG2_1_IT | 2014-2020** |
| Jamaica | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Jordan | District | GEO2_JO | n.a. | 2004 |
| Kenya | District | GEO2_KE | MIG2_1_KE BPL2_KE |
1969-2019 |
| Kyrgyzstan | District | GEO2_KG | MIG2_P_KG | 1999-2009 |
| Laos | District | GEO2_LA | MIG2_P_LA MIG2_10_LA |
1995-2015 |
| Lesotho | Constituency | GEO2_LS | n.a. | 2006 |
| Liberia | District | GEO2_LR | n.a. | 1974 |
| Malawi | Traditional Authority (TA) | GEO2_MW | MIG2_1_MW BPL2_MW |
1987-2018 |
| Malaysia | Administrative District | GEO2_MY | MIG2_P_MY MIG2_5_MY |
1970-2000 |
| Mali | Circle | GEO2_ML | MIG2_P_ML | 1987-2009 |
| Mauritius | Municipal Ward/Village Council Area | GEO2_MU | MIG2_5_MU | 1990-2011 |
| Mexico | Municipality | GEO2_MX | MIG2_5_MX | 1960-2020 |
| Mongolia | Municipality | GEO2_MN | n.a. | 2000-2020 |
| Morocco | Province | GEO2ALT_MA | MIG2ALT_P_MA MIG2ALT_1_MA MIG2ALT_7_MA |
1982-2004 |
| Morocco | Province | GEO2_MA | n.a. | 2014* |
| Mozambique | District | GEO2_MZ | MIG2_1_MZ MIG2_5_MZ BPL2_MZ |
1997-2017 |
| Myanmar | District | GEO2_MM | MIG2_P_MM | 2014 |
| Nepal | District | GEO2_NP | MIG2_5_NP | 2001-2011 |
| Netherlands | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Nicaragua | Municipality | GEO2_NI | MIG2_5_NI | 1971-2005 |
| Nigeria | Local Government Area | GEO2_NG | n.a. | 2007-2010 |
| Pakistan | Administrative Division | GEO2_PK | MIG2_8_PK | 1973-1998 |
| Palestine | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Panama | District | GEO2_PA | MIG2_P_PA | 1960-2010 |
| Papua New Guinea | District | GEO2_PG | MIG2_5_PG | 1980-2011 |
| Paraguay | District | GEO2_PY | MIG2_5_PY | 1962-2002 |
| Peru | Province | GEO2_PE | MIG2_5_PE | 1993-2017 |
| Philippines | Municipality | GEO2_PH | MIG2_P_PH MIG2_5_PH MIG2_10_PH |
1990-2010 |
| Poland | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Portugal | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Puerto Rico | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Romania | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Russia | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Rwanda | District | GEO2_RW | MIG2_P_RW MIG2ALT_P_RW |
2012* |
| Saint Lucia | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Senegal | Department | GEO2_SN | MIG2_1_SN MIG2_5_SN MIG2_10_SN |
1988-2013 |
| Sierra Leone | Chiefdom/Ward | GEO2_SL | MIG2_5_SL MIG2_14_SL |
2004-2015 |
| Slovakia | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Slovenia | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| South Africa | District Council | GEO2_ZA | MIG2_P_ZA | 2001-2016 |
| South Sudan | County | GEO2_SS | n.a. | 2008 |
| Spain | Province | GEO2_ES | MIG2_P_ES MIG2_1_ES MIG2_5_ES MIG2_10_ES |
1981-2020 |
| Sudan | County | GEO2_SD | n.a. | 2008 |
| Suriname | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Switzerland | Regional Planning Unit | GEO2_CH | n.a. | 2011 |
| Tanzania | District | GEO2_TZ | MIG2_1_TZ | 1988-2012 |
| Thailand | District | GEO2_TH | n.a. | 1990-2000 |
| Togo | Prefecture | GEO2_TG | MIG2_P_TG | 2010* |
| Trinidad and Tobago | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| Turkey | District | GEO2_TR | n.a. | 1985-2000 |
| Uganda | County | GEO2_UG | n.a. | 1991-2014 |
| Ukraine | Raion | GEO2_UA | n.a. | 2001 |
| United Kingdom | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |
| United States | PUMA | GEO2ALT_US | n.a. | 1980-2010 |
| United States | PUMA | GEO2_US | n.a. | 2000-2020 |
| Uruguay | Census Section | GEO2_UY | n.a. | 1985-2011 |
| Venezuela | Municipality | GEO2_VE | MIG2_5_VE | 1971-2001 |
| Vietnam | District | GEO2_VN | MIG2_5_VN | 2009-2019 |
| Zambia | District | GEO2_ZM | MIG2_1_ZM | 1990-2010 |
| Zimbabwe | District | GEO2_ZW | MIG2_5_ZW | 2012 |
n.a. = Not available in the sample data.
*Previous sample years were not included in this file due to large geographic restructuring between sample years.
**This file corresponds only to Labor Force Survey samples.
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