World Polygons

The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues (GGI) at the U.S. Department of State produces the Large-Scale International Boundaries (LSIB) dataset. LSIB version 11.4, released February 24, 2025 is the current version of the dataset. The LSIB is the official international boundaries dataset of the U.S. government, and is recognized as a National Geospatial Data Asset and a core dataset in the US National Spatial Data Infrastructure. The LSIB is available for public download on geodata.state.gov, data.gov, and geoplatform.gov. To assist in GIS analysis and cartographic visualization, the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues also creates polygon datasets that incorporate the boundary alignment from the LSIB. World Polygons Version 11.4 is a new collection of polygon datasets that is specifically designed to match the LSIB 11.4 dataset. The purpose of the World Polygons dataset is to enable geographic visualization, at multiple cartographic scales, which incorporates U.S. Government official international boundary alignment, cartographic styling that reflects the political status of boundaries, and country or area names used by the Department of State and other international standards. This dataset also provides a mechanism for attribute joins for the analysis and visualization of country-level information (e.g., gross domestic product or population of each country). To facilitate this effort, the dataset contains contain a series of spatial files in geopackage (.gpkg) format, as well as Web Map Service (WMS) layers and accompanying attribute data (described below): Generalized lines were processed using tools from Mapshaper.org, specifically the Visvalingram-Wyatt generalization algorithm. The generalized polygon files have 65% or 99.5% of the original nodes removed from the high-resolution files. All datasets contain the same number of political entities. The styling guidance for the generalized files is the same as for the full-resolution polygons. As a general scale recommendation, the 99.5% generalized layers are suitable for use from global scales to 1:20 million, the 65% generalized layers from 1:20 million to 1:2 million, and the high-resolution layers from 1:2 million to 1:1. WMS service endpoints will be referenced via the online metadata page located at https://geodata.state.gov This is a beta release designed for testing and evaluation. Given the iterative nature of this effort, users should expect that subsequent releases will have modifications, including international land boundary alignment, shoreline resolution, attribute structure, and release formats. The polygons are not a standalone dataset. They must be used with the matching LSIB overlay and a shoreline dataset. This polygon data set alone should not be relied upon as a representation of the views of the United States regarding sovereignty or international boundaries. The source LSIB line dataset is available for download on geodata.state.gov, data.gov, and geoplatform.gov. The inclusion of a shoreline file is intended only for cartographic purposes. High Resolution - World Polygons - Shoreline Lines - LSIB 11.4 Generalized – 65% - World Polygons - Shoreline Lines - LSIB 11.4 Generalized – 99.5% - World Polygons - Shoreline Lines - LSIB 11.4 Shoreline Data Source The shoreline data source for this polygon dataset is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Islands resource, available for download at https://doi.org/10.5066/P91ZCSGM. USGS developed the Global Islands dataset from annual composites of 2014 Landsat satellite imagery. Not all islands in the original dataset are in this release and certain shoreline segments were edited to match LSIB. Cartographic Visualization The proper use of the World Polygon dataset in cartographic products requires the layering of the LSIB lines on top of the polygons along with the corresponding shoreline dataset. The edges of the polygon must be turned off. When combined with the polygon dataset, the LSIB lines must be symbolized with a visual hierarchy corresponding with the “Rank” field and labeled according to the “Label” field. The polygons should not have an outline or stroke added that conflicts with the LSIB line depiction. When using colors to separate geographic entities, use the “MapTint_2” or “Map_Sov_Tint_3” fields. These fields are populated with the GENC two- and three-character codes corresponding with the country or area that should be used to show sovereignty for cartographic purposes. In other words, these attributes link dependencies (e.g., Greenland) with the parent country (e.g., Denmark). Similar linkages are encoded in the WP_ID and WP_PAR_ID fields. The “Label” field contains suggested labels for polygon entities. Not all polygons have required labels and some labels are not suitable for use at all scales. The “Entity” field is not appropriate for labeling as that field is only designed for data management purposes and provides a readable name corresponding to a “WP_ID” entry. Labels derived from this field require additional manual editing. Any labels applied on cartographic products should be reviewed for appropriate use of diacritics, case, and should reflect general USG standards for the labeling of dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and administrative units. The polygon layers contain the Caspian Sea as a data artifact. The Caspian Sea does not need to be cartographically represented. Additional information Specific cartographic information can be found in Guidance Bulletins published by the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues (https://data.geodata.state.gov/guidance/index.html). For U.S. Government and military users, additional boundaries information and analysis can be accessed through the Boundaries and Sovereignty Encyclopedia (BASE) web application maintained by the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues. BASE can be accessed on the internet at https://statetoday.net/base. Access requires a username and password which can be requested through the site for users with a .gov or .mil email address.