Download UK Countries Boundaries
Free download of the four UK constituent countries — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Loads automatically — pick the format you need: GeoJSON, Shapefile, KML, SVG, DXF, GeoPackage, TopoJSON, or FlatGeobuf.
Boundary data provided by geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), licensed CC-BY 4.0. Please provide attribution when using this data.
About the UK countries dataset
This page provides a one-click download of the four UK countries (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) in every common geospatial and design format. Data is sourced from geoBoundaries — an open, peer-reviewed dataset released under CC-BY 4.0. The authoritative UK source is the ONS Open Geography Portal.
For finer detail (counties, council areas, principal areas, NI districts) see the UK counties page. For any other country, use the administrative boundaries downloader.
The 4 UK countries
| England | GB-ENG | London | 57,690,000 | 130,279 |
| Northern Ireland | GB-NIR | Belfast | 1,920,000 | 14,130 |
| Scotland | GB-SCT | Edinburgh | 5,490,000 | 77,933 |
| Wales | GB-WLS | Cardiff | 3,165,000 | 20,779 |
When to use which format
GeoJSON
The most flexible choice — opens in QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, Mapbox, Leaflet, MapLibre, D3. Use the simplified version for client-side web maps.
Shapefile
Use for desktop GIS workflows in ArcGIS, QGIS, or MapInfo. ZIP contains .shp / .dbf / .prj / .shx.
KML
Use for Google Earth and Google My Maps. Each country appears as a labelled polygon.
SVG
Designer-ready vector paths with each country as a separate path. Opens in Illustrator, Figma, Sketch, or Inkscape.
DXF
AutoCAD format for engineers and architects. Each country becomes a closed polyline.
TopoJSON
Topology-encoded GeoJSON, smaller for choropleth maps. Common in D3.js dashboards.
GeoPackage
OGC-standard single-file SQLite container. Ideal for portable GIS workflows.
FlatGeobuf
Binary streaming format optimised for fast loading in MapLibre, OpenLayers, or Leaflet.
Common uses for UK country boundaries
- • General-election or referendum mapping (UK-wide, four-nations split)
- • Devolved-administration reporting (Scotland/Wales/NI Assemblies)
- • Cross-country comparison of NHS, education, or policy data
- • Editorial maps for newspapers and magazines (SVG export)
- • Backgrounds for D3.js / MapLibre choropleths and dashboards
- • Spatial-join filtering of point data by UK country
- • Census / ONS demographic mapping at country level
- • Architectural site plans referencing UK borders (DXF export)
Need to process these boundaries before download?
Download the UK countries GeoJSON above, then drop it into the Workflow Builder to simplify, buffer, clip to a bounding box, generate centroids, or chain multiple operations before exporting in any format.
Alternative UK boundary sources
- • ONS Open Geography Portal — the authoritative UK source, with multiple resolutions, vintages, and detailed metadata.
- • Ordnance Survey OpenData — high-precision UK national mapping, free for commercial use.
- • Natural Earth — cartographer-friendly generalised data for small-scale maps.
- • OpenStreetMap — community-edited boundaries via Overpass queries or Geofabrik extracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between the UK, Great Britain, and the British Isles?
The United Kingdom (UK) is a sovereign state made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the island that contains England, Scotland, and Wales — it does not include Northern Ireland. The British Isles is a geographic grouping that adds the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
Are the Isle of Man and Channel Islands included in this dataset?
No. The Isle of Man and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey are not part of the United Kingdom — they are self-governing British Crown Dependencies and have their own ISO 3166 country codes. They are not included in the UK ADM1 download.
Where does this UK boundary data come from?
The boundaries are sourced from geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020), an open peer-reviewed dataset. The authoritative UK source is the Office for National Statistics (ONS) via the Open Geography Portal. geoBoundaries data is released under CC-BY 4.0 and is suitable for thematic mapping and most analytical work.
Can I download UK constituencies or local authorities here?
This page is the four UK countries (ADM1). For UK counties and local authorities at ADM2 level, see the UK counties page. Parliamentary constituencies are a different geography not currently covered — for those, use ONS Open Geography Portal.
Can I download the UK countries as SVG for design work?
Yes — the SVG export produces a vector file with each country as a separate path. Open in Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Sketch, or Inkscape to recolour for editorial maps, posters, or election infographics. Projection used is Web Mercator at a 1000-pixel viewBox.
How big is the UK countries GeoJSON file?
The full-resolution UK ADM1 GeoJSON is typically 1–3 MB. The simplified version is well under 200 KB and is the right choice for client-side web maps. The SVG export is small (~20–60 KB) because it uses the simplified geometry.
Can I use this data commercially?
Yes — geoBoundaries data is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY) licence. You may use it in commercial products, modify it, and redistribute it as long as you provide attribution to geoBoundaries (Runfola et al., 2020).